While I find myself somewhat astray from pop music’s essential verse-chorus structure, usually listening to heavier forms of experimental rock or indie—when Chappell Roan stares into the camera at her first Coachella set and claims "I'm your favorite artist's favorite artist" it's hard not to be entranced by the midwest princess' unapologetic flamboyance.
After opening for Olivia Rodrigo's Guts tour at the end of February 2024, Roan's rise to stardom has only soared with the release of her 2023 debut album, The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess, an ode to her repressive upbringing as a queer woman living in Missouri navigating love, sex, and heartbreak. Producer Dan Nigro is the creative mastermind behind the album who remains a pop force and partner for Roan despite her being dropped by Atlantic Records in 2020 following the release of her song "Pink Pony Club." It was Nigro who connected Roan and Rodrigo from his work on Rodrigo's infamous Sour and Guts albums.
Roan could have taken Atlantic's dropping as a means to shelf "Pink Pony Club," but the singer persevered and released the song on The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess with Island Records. The uplifting, thoughtful anthem is a glorious embrace of her queer and creative identity inspired by a night at the Abbey, a Los Angeles gay club. With this album release, Roan shed years of judgment from the experience of growing up in a conservative town and finding a sense of belonging in a new larger buzzing city. The Abbey, as a physical and metaphorical oasis, proved to be consequential in Roan's discovery process and the recognition of the beauty of her new community. Still, Roan reminds us she hasn't forgotten her roots—"Don't think I've left you all behind/Still love you and Tennessee/You're always on my mind."
One song, "Casual," showcases Roan's vocal range with highly theatrical lyricism, aching for clarity on a situation and bluntly delivering the experience of attachment problems in its chorus. "Knee deep in the passenger seat and you're eating me out/Is it casual now?" Roan's combination of sparkly, disco-suited sound and confessional emotionality can best be summarized by the word "camp or campy," a term often used to describe an aesthetic style that relies on exaggeration, and irony used often in drag performances. Roan fully embodies the pop camp drag glam aesthetic, transporting us to a collective space reminiscent of her Abbey experience. Whether live or virtually, we, as spectators, can experience the empowerment of embracing individuality and acceptance, especially today when the gender spectrum is a polarized issue.
Another hit, "Red Wine Supernova," captures the excitement of meeting a girl for the first time with an upbeat tempo alongside lyrics urging a girl to "come over." The track is bubbly and flirtatious, featuring the line, "Fell in love with the thought of you." Similarly, "Femininomenon," explores a relationship by transforming the typical romance ballad with hyperpop elements, intentionally challenging cultural narratives about dating and love. By the end of the first verse, Roan declares, “I'm so sick of online love—And I don't understand, why can't any man,” signaling a shift activating the empowerment process. As the tempo picks up, each verse is distilled to three words, creating increasing suspense. The climax arrives with a long pause, followed by Roan's question, "Can you play a song with a fucking beat?" The roar of an engine underscores her words, and the soundscape soon unifies the full Femininomenon. Just as Roan harnesses theatrics in her songs’ technicalities, her presence on stage is far from dull or predictable. At this year’s NY Governor’s Ball Music Festival Roan emerged center-stage from an enormous apple dressed as Lady Liberty herself painted head-to-toe in green body paint including green hair passionately demanding gay rights while embodying the hallmark of American freedom.
Simply, when someone asks, What makes an artist an artist? Chappell Roan is someone to turn to. Despite all the media attention and fame, she has maintained her originality and continues to evolve as an artist, becoming a beacon of acceptance, courage, and confidence on the global stage. The Boston Calling 2024 music festival saw an estimated 40,000 fans cramming and eager to see Roan in the May afternoon. The incident soon went viral on TikTok due to the sheer magnitude of the crowd and exclaim for the singer’s heartfelt performance. Roan dressed in a vibrant red dress paired with an oversized, furry black coat with her on-brand striking, white face makeup.
Between the overnight superfans championing their love for the singer on what feels like every social media platform and the recent unprecedented crowds at music festivals, Chappell Roan's artistic force is disrupting mainstream pop culture. For so many, Roan’s music paves a direction to a sense of belonging. Roan, who herself struggled with locating a community that felt authentic, has carefully crafted songs imbued with all the emotional turmoils of feeling severed from the norm and packaged them for a broader audience—the beauty in the fruition of her work being the dominating sense of community it fosters. This is about feeling everything and feeling without shame.
Charlotte is a writing Intern from the University of Conn at WithitGirl. She recently finished her Junior year and plans on spending time at home in New York this summer working as a poetry and creative nonfiction reader for Trio House Press, a small press publishing poetry, creative nonfiction, and other writing.
Additional Information
IG: @chappellroan
TikTok: @chappellroan
Twitter:@chappellroan
Rolling Stone: Chappell Roan: Campy, Glittery Pop Star of the Future
Capital Buzz: Interview of Chapell Roan Making of the Album
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