On Chappell Roan
Chappell Roan at Boston Calling 2024
June 21, 2024
Our girl just did the Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon last night and she KILLED it! (Check out the videos - both the interview and performance. She looks stunning and sounds amazing live.) Her album “The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess” has been on repeat in our house, car, and ear buds for the last month. I think what I love most about Chappell Roan is that her version of femininity is unquestionably female but she manages to skirt the male gaze. For example, take “Pink Pony Club.” How many songs are there (in all the various genres) about female dancers that focus primarily on objectification?? (“Girls, Girls, Girls” in particular comes to mind.) Alternatively, “Pink Pony Club” is written from the inside looking out, and I think the fact that she is coming from a queer perspective makes this especially possible.
She’s exploding at the moment and it’s so exciting to see really good pop music from an artist with depth and authenticity, but who also doesn’t take herself too seriously. She’s drag, she’s camp, and she’s messy in the best way (brutal honesty mixed with reflection and humor). What a refreshing moment in pop culture. “HOT TO GO,” “Femininomenon,” and “Super Graphic Ultra Modern Girl” will all be summer dance classics by August, along with my favorite, “Red Wine Supernova.” Her ballads are just as strong and each tell their own story (“California” especially), as well as her mid-tempo songs like “Naked In Manhattan,” “Love Me Anyway,” “Good Luck Babe,” and “My Kink Is Karma.” But “Pink Pony Club” is her anthem. This idea of breaking free on your own terms (even if it disappoints the folks back home) and embracing your own truth regarding sexuality and gender expression is resonating with Spotify listeners and festival crowds everywhere.
Her shows are female centered spaces where femininity is expressed and consumed by women for women (while being safe spaces for other gender identities as well). And she did it on her own! No Disney endorsement or major record label campaign pushing her into the spotlight. Her growth has been totally organic and now festivals like Bonnaroo have to move her to larger stages to accommodate the massive crowds she’s pulling. People in Europe have to wait in online queues behind 10,000 other fans for tickets to venues that only hold 3,000. So great to see this buzz and enthusiasm for a super talented, openly queer artist whose music and live performances bring buckets of (much needed) validation and joy. We’re eagerly awaiting her stadium tour.
April 27, 2025
Since the above post was written, Chappell Roan has won Best New Artist at the Grammys and “Pink Pony Club” is currently number four on the Billboard Music Charts. She is also getting unfairly pummeled in the tabloids, which sadly is par for the course when it comes to young, outspoken, determined artists. She is a true bright light and our hope is that she’s able to stay grounded in this sea of toxic discourse aimed at artificially sparking outrage. We had the fortune of stumbling upon her in May 2024 at the Boston Calling Music Festival. We’ve been fans ever since. “The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess” was the soundtrack of last summer. Her star keeps rising and she deserves every accolade, award, and gold record. She also deserves kindness, the benefit of the doubt, and some space from adoring fans. She’s an artistic treasure and oftentimes we just eat them up and spit them out. Hopefully we can keep her mentally, emotionally, and physically safe.
