At the beginning of 2017 we could've mapped out Charli XCX 's year. At least we thought. She'd released After The Afterparty as the first taste of her third album and was surely looking to release it within the year. We'd get a couple of a singles and a couple of great videos and we'd sign off on the year saying that Charli had a great 2017.

Well, it's now December and we don't have that long-awaited third album nor do we have any indication that it's coming soon. And that's what made Charli's year so phenomenal. She turned frustration into opportunity and instead of throwing singles at the wall, waiting for something to stick, she threw out the rule book and rewrote pop's business book as well as its aesthetic.

Earlier in the year, she gave a triumphant performance on Mura Masa's 1 Night, ushering in a year that would see Charli collaborate relentlessly. She lifted up those around her in the pop community and was also lifted up herself, creating a close-knit community of pop innovators formed around her PC Music base. She wrote with Camila Cabello, directed for Alma, supported Halsey and Sia and partied with everyone from Tove Lo to Flume. Hip-hop and electronic music has always thrived on collaboration but pop is so often a one-man race. Charli refused that and became a curator as much as an artist.

Her Number 1 Angel mixtape that dropped quickly is perhaps the best example of that. She pulled together an all-female lineup including Uffie, MØ, Starrah, RAYE, CupcakKe and Abra for a mind-bending pop record that took PC Music's hyperactive soundscapes and renovated them with emotional yet club-ready melodies. Suddenly the conversation around the delayed album hushed as fans began to figure out that it was no longer the end game. Charli was releasing music in real time with an aesthetic that was simultaneously nostalgic and futuristic. There's still nothing like Number 1 Angel in the pop world and yet last week she played two songs from the tape to adoring stadium crowds in Australia.