Your favorite artist’s favorite artist
By Roma Garcia
What is it about Chappell Roan? She has recently made a name for herself in the music industry with people falling in love with her seemingly overnight, myself included. But what set Chappell Roan apart from other artists and caused this femininomenon?
A major factor in Roan’s popularity is her unique sound which has enlivened the pop genre. Pop music in itself is a broad term, encompassing songs that have a repeated chorus and are easy to dance to. The repetitive aspect of pop is what leads to the catchy tunes that get stuck in your head, and has defined how pop songs are made. TikTok has been a major influence on the current era of pop music, with artists cultivating a snippet of their song to go viral. For instance, artist PinkPatheress has stated that “a song doesn’t need to be longer than 2 minutes 30,” or that a song “[doesn’t] need to repeat a verse, [it doesn’t] need to have a bridge.” And don’t get me wrong, I love PinkPantheress, but this attitude in the pop genre has led to songs taking off and being replaced within a week.
Chappell Roan provides a refreshing twist to the genre with her 80s-style music and intricate lyrics on sexuality. Her borderline operatic vocals featured in “Good Luck, Babe!” and “Pink Pony Club” along with the electronic synth in her songs give her that 80s vibe reminiscent of Madonna. What also sets Chappell Roan apart is her lyrics, which range from deep and serious to fun and silly! “Good Luck, Babe!” is a ballad about the struggle of compulsory heterosexuality, focusing on a woman trapped in a heterosexual marriage despite longing to be with a woman, whereas the song “Femininomenon” is about a woman not being satisfied with a man, with lighthearted lyrics like “get it hot like Papa John.” Additionally, the instrumentation changes throughout the song, leaving the listener wondering what will happen next. In “Red White Supernova” and “Femininomenon” the beat slows and picks up at different parts of the song, and in both songs, the lyrics of the chorus change slightly with Roan saying something different in the background, “(uhm, can you play a song with a f*cking beat?)”
What makes Chappell Roan even more captivating is her extravagant, drag-inspired outfits. Her concerts each have a unique theme the audience can follow. Past themes have been “pink cowgirl” for “Pink Pony Club” and “rainbow” for “Kaleidoscope.” Her outfits are detailed enough to be a story of their own, such as her Tiny-Desk concert outfit featuring her in a messy wig, cigarettes, and prom dress, or her SNL performance with an elegant Swan Lake-inspired costume that mixes the “softness of the white swan with the wickedness of the black swan”.
While Roan is certainly not the first to bring queer culture into mainstream media, she is revolutionary by bringing sexually explicit lyrics about life as a queer woman into pop. She delves into sexuality through her music and has said that through the character of Chappell Roan, she feels more confident singing about these topics in proper Hannah Montana fashion. And that really encapsulates what’s so enticing about Chappell Roan: her ability to empower.
As Chappell Roan continues to rise in fame, her future in the music industry looks incredibly promising. Her debut album, Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess, released in 2023, has had its songs making the rounds on TikTok with “HOT TO GO!” appearing in over 79k videos and “Good Luck Babe!” in 119.8k. However, all this fame in a short amount of time is overwhelming. Within a single year, she went from booking venues for 600 people to venues for 10,000 being too small. Understandably, Roan has expressed discomfort with her explosion in popularity, which has sometimes exacerbated her mental health struggles. She has been open with fans about her mental health, such as when she shared on Instagram that she was diagnosed with Bipolar II disorder. However, she’s also not slowing down, uploading to Instagram her updated tour dates for the European leg of her tour. She is currently on The Midwest Princess Tour which began in September 2023 and is set to end in October 2024 after performing in 9 countries. Roan’s journey as a small town girl from the Midwest has come far and she is only just getting started, I can’t wait to see where her career goes next!
