You’ve likely seen someone do the HOT TO GO dance, or maybe Good Luck, Babe, has come up once or twice on your daily doomscroll. No matter what you’ve experienced in the past 5 months, one thing is apparent—Chappell Roan has taken the world by storm.
Though it seems as if she materialized out of thin air, it took her many years of hard work to reach her current level of fame. Born Kayleigh Rose Amstutz in Willard, Missouri, the ‘Midwest Princess’ had a constricting conservative Christian upbringing. She loved music from a young age, learned to play piano, and began performing. At 14 years old, she started posting covers on YouTube, which caught the eye of record labels. Roan was promptly signed to Atlantic Records in May 2015. She adopted the stage name Chappell Roan, which is derived from her deceased grandfather’s surname (Chappell) and a word from his favorite song (The Strawberry Roan). Soon after, she released her first single, Good Hurt, and her first EP, School Nights, in 2017 and 2018 respectively and they drew in some critical acclaim. She began working with Olivia Rodrigo’s producer, Dan Nigro, on her new single Pink Pony Club. However, she was not bringing in as much money as the label had hoped, so they dropped her. She returned to her average life, having to work as a nanny, barista, and production assistant to make a living. Yet, she didn’t give up and continued to independently release singles while working at a drive thru in the midwest. Pink Pony Club soon exploded in popularity. She then worked with her producer to put out more notable singles until finally releasing her debut album in September 2023.
The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess is a beautiful amalgamation of 80s-inspired synth, queerness, and modern ideals. Its diverse tracks range from angsty ballads such as Casual to the upbeat dance song that is HOT TO GO (which some are calling this generation’s YMCA). Chappell’s unique sound is a breath of fresh air in today’s music industry, that’s packed to the brim with copy-paste mundane beats. Each one of her songs has stand-out instrumentals, whether it be the soft piano intro to Pink Pony Club, or the cinematic strings at the beginning of Femininomenon. Her impressive vocals shine through not only on every track of the album, but also in her near-iconic live performances. One such instance was her Governor’s Ball performance—after turning down her invitation to sing at the White House for pride month—in which she painted herself green to look like the Statue of Liberty. Speaking of politics, Roan’s music has even been used in Kamala Harris’ presidential campaign, calling the vice president a “femininomenon” and using the song of the same name.
Roan has been the center of conversation around boundaries and how celebrities are treated in light of recent controversy. In an Instagram post from late August she urges that “[W]hen I’m on stage, when I’m performing, when I’m in drag, when I’m at a work event, when I’m doing press…I am at work… I don’t agree with the notion that I owe a mutual exchange of energy, time, or attention to people I do not know, do not trust, or who creep me out—just because they’re expressing admiration.” In the seven-slide post, she illustrates that being famous comes with its downfalls, such as strangers coming up to her and touching her unconsensually or finding and being weird to her family. The responses to this action were extremely mixed. Some completely sided with Chappell and agreed that celebrities should be treated as any other human and have the right to set boundaries. Others were annoyed, calling her undeserving of the fame since she couldn’t handle it.
Chappell Roan has become a household name, and for good reason. She is the savior of the music industry, in every aspect, that we all need. She’s “your favorite artist’s favorite artist” and “your dream girl’s dream girl”. Her story teaches people to work hard, persevere, speak out, never sacrifice your values for the validation of others, and most importantly: being yourself is the best way to become successful.