From Die Young to Femininomenon, Chappell Roan has shown us the power of exploding happiness and unconditional acceptance. She is welcoming in a new era of queer hedonism.And even when anguish presents itself, it is vital to remember that the happy tears will come along one day too. Whether she’s dancing at the Pink Pony Club, or crafting an exquisite siren world out of a casual relationship, Roan’s main oar in steering her own ship is queer joy.
photo: Ryan Clemens
The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess is sincere and authentic. Her music is a moment of solace from the harsh realities of the world we live in, letting us escape. Roan is creating her own universe; encouraging each of us to shape a future unashamed and indomitable. She is depicting a fantastical alternative reality, one beautifully indulgent, bright and vibrant. Connecting with those around us allows these thematics to exist in flashing colors. We had the joy of asking Chappell Roan directly how she views creative freedom.Kathryn: How do you navigate creative freedom within the scope of putting your songs out there with high emphasis on individuality?Chappell: It’s interesting now because I have less obstacles. When I was independent, I had freedom but there were limitations, because of honestly, money.I feel like, I am definitely steering the ship. I don’t have anyone telling me what I can and can’t do and now that there aren’t so many monetary restrictions, it almost is like there’s so many options. It’s kind of crazy!But I feel like I have such a solid identity within my project [The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess], and what feels good; and what I know is right, and what my gut is telling me. And that’s what guides my creative partners, the outfits, the color palettes, because I am free to do that, even just with being signed to Island.I was very up front before I signed, just saying, I will be doing what I want, so, just know that. *laughsI don’t really have to answer to anyone because it works, and it has proven to work the past two years. So I’m all for artists’ creative control, but you definitely have to know what you want, that’s the number one thing.Roan’s synth pop gives each of us the space to write our own narrative. She described in our chat with fellow independent publications how there are a lot of heavy topics relating to queerness.
Bell Music Magazine: After tapping into a feeling of poignancy that so many people relate to, how has that further pushed your lyrical and professional excursions?
Chappell: I don’t know a lot of people who don’t have any trauma connected to… either coming out, or being queer, or just like being, you know, dealing with homophobia or whatever, so I think that..I simply just write what I feel or what I wish would happen.I think that a lot of people really daydream and wish for things. At the end of the day people just wanna feel something sometimes that pulls them out of the pits of despair. (laughs) Whether that is a party song, or something like Kaleidoscope where it just was really.. kind of blunt, like: I am sad, but I am in love (laughs) you know?.. That kind of vibe.
A standout hit takes shape within the record’s opener, Femininomenon, bold and striking. The track’s production makes us feel like we’re seeing her live, as she exclaims “Well, what we really need is a femininomenon!” Femininity at its finest is celebrated, for anyone who desires it.And by creating a world of mystical fantasy that harnesses reality through love, songs Red Wine Supernova and After Midnight showcase hope in an unprecedented way. Even the breakup ballads Coffee and Casual paint bittersweet mystical ambiences in a hopeful light, especially through Casual’s music video.Chappell would tell her younger self, You are enough, exactly how you are, in every aspect. Amongst a sea of queer melancholia in the singer/songwriter world, she helps us take a breath of fresh air with the song Super Graphic Ultra Modern Girl. Throughout HOT TO GO!, My Kink is Karma, and Picture You, escapist stories push and pull, allowing the listener to become peacefully lost, or to find themselves at their core.Within her HOT TO GO! music video, Roan is seen returning to the midwest and teaching her dance/cheer for the song to a series of people of different backgrounds and identities. We see her teaching it to her grandparents, drag queens, Tina HC, Ether, Preston Schaeffer, Dalton Stockton, and a diner crowd. Rather than denouncing the place that raised her, Roan chooses to return as her authentic queer self, unfiltered. There is a power queer joy can bring as a weapon against prejudice and hate. This project calls for the unspoken defiance of returning to a place that brought you a lot of pain and shame around your identity, but choosing to persist; choosing to exist and transforming the place you grew up in through being your out queer self. We call you to carve out a space of joy and acceptance for yourself, in ways big, or small.
photo: Ryan Clemens
When asked about the best parts of drag influences on her music by Off the Record Press, Roan mentioned: I think that drag has really inspired the project with styling, makeup, performance, the music videos. Kind of the energy around the entire show… Campiness is just kind of at the forefront of the project and the identity.. and I think that’s also the forefront of drag: is just campiness, over-the-top, supposed to be fun, and dramatic.Four integral songs compose the album’s sendaway.In her hit single, Pink Pony Club, Roan dreams of moving to LA, a place where she can freely express her queer identity while also pursuing her passion for music. Roan begins this upbeat pop song by singing in 2nd person to her mom who worries about her moving so far away from home. “I know you wanted me to stay, But I can’t ignore the crazy visions of me in LA, And I heard that there’s a special place, Where boys and girls can all be queens every single day.” At this point, Roan references a gay bar called the Abbey, a place that features gogo dancers of all genders, something she could only imagine coming from a small midwestern town.
Growing up in the midwest with gender roles and religion restricting her identity, Roan longs to be a part of a vibrant queer community. With a passion for music, Roan envisions herself pursuing her career in LA, but that does not mean she will abandon her upbringing entirely. The lyrics, “You’re a pink pony girl, And you dance at the club,” pay homage to her roots.
The Luna Collective: How has your sound and lyricism evolved since your early career singles up to your debut album, and what has inspired your progression of change?
Chappell: I mean it’s drastically changed. I feel like we did a 180. I used to be very kind of dark piano ballad pop. You know, very Lorde Lana-esque, Tumblr days… laughs I was just a teenager and really depressed and sad so I just think it really reflected that and.. what really changed was when I moved to LA.. and my eyes were open to so many new things and so many fun people. I started doing things that I never thought I would be able to do, and I think that the “new sound” just reflected what was genuinely going on in my life.Naked in Manhattan chronicles the experiences of the freedom that comes with moving to a city that is accepting of queerness and being confronted with the newness and excitement that is your first time with a woman. It is the beauty of rediscovering yourself in a new place, naked and vulnerable. It re-immerses us in the homo-eroticm of adolescent female friendship and the transformation of feelings of casual affection into something more.The chorus features Touch me baby, put your lips on mine, while, Touch me! Touch me Touch me! echoes over these words in a joyful and cutesy tone. It is catchy and feels playful and silly. These lyrics hold a semblance to the popular song “Touch-A-Touch-A-Touch-A-Touch Me” from musical comedy horror film “Rocky Horror,” one accepted as iconic in the queer community for its campy, ridiculous story centered around queer characters as well as iconic outfits.Like “Rocky Horror,” Chappell Roan takes a lot of inspiration from the drag community in her lyrical direction, costuming, and creative direction for her music videos. Like drag, Chappell’s music is bright, colorful and other-wordly, showing the creative excellence that comes from queer resilience in the face of prejudice, as well as the ability to put on a good show.
Even as Roan steps into a new world of queer joy, she reflects on her background growing up in the midwest, longing for the familiarity of home. In California, her second to last track on the album, Roan sings Come get me out of California, No leaves are brown, I miss the seasons in Missouri, My dying town. Despite her high hopes of moving to the big city, Roan struggles with a lack of success during the early stages of her career, as she realizes that moving to California did not solve all of her problems.While reflecting on her move, Roan sings in 2nd person to someone who she worries is disappointed in her, likely her mom who she references throughout the album: To think I almost had it going, But I let you down. These lyrics refer back to her hit single, Pink Pony Club, a song where Roan dreams of going to California despite her mom’s worries. By referencing letting her mom down by her lack of success, Roan underpins her yearning for the familiarity of Missouri.Pink Pony Club almost acts as a prequel sister song to California, as one reflects her emotions before the big move and one reflects her feelings after, respectively. Roan released these songs chronologically out of order, with California released in 2020 and Pink Pony Club in 2022, likely because of her perceived lack of grand success within the first two years living in LA. In 2022, as Roan begins to creatively experiment with her sound, she releases Pink Pony Club, a reflection of her gratitude for taking a leap of faith and moving to LA despite her initial anxiety.Chappell: I never would’ve accepted that I liked women as a teenager…I was just so scared to be myself because I felt so restricted where I was from, with the religious aspect, with the gender roles aspect. With the really, I mean, small queer community that was not amplified. I didn’t know a single gay girl in my school, like at all... There’s just so many things in the Midwest that you are told you can and can’t be.
photo: Ryan Clemens
But rather than denouncing the place that raised her, she chooses to return in her HOT TO GO! music video as her authentic queer self, unfiltered. There is a power queer joy as a weapon against prejudice and hate; the act of choosing to exist and carve out a space of joy and acceptance for yourself.While upbeat and catchy, Roan’s music is anything but hollow. It is easy to become used to expecting generic or uninspired lyricisms in catchy pop music. It often feels like we can’t get something that is happy, sincere, catchy, and vulnerable all at once; we have to choose between joy and authenticity. Chappell reminds us that it isn’t shallow to listen to things that make you happy and something doesn’t need to make you cry to be deep.No matter how big she gets, Roan will always remember the girl she once was. There is something endlessly magical we don’t all realize. Being attracted to sad music is normal when we’re coming out. Everything about us is changing. But what would happen if instead we surround ourselves with unbridled happiness?“I know you want it, baby, you can have it.” We don’t have to do the mental gymnastics of queering our stories. We can have it! Our unfulfilled stories can become a slumber party with all of the people we love in the same room. Fantasy, community and creating are one and the same when it comes to letting joy ring out around a drag stage. And yes, the Midwest Princess character has her fall, but we cannot hold on to what we know forever.In painting our own pictures, we can start to feel new again. In waltzes Chappell, on the stage in her heels, humbly adopting the exuberant charisma to send our fears away. She shows us the act of choosing to exist and carve out a space of joy and acceptance for yourself.All we can do is use what we have and who we love to grow. What’s a kaleidoscope without each sparkling glass pane, shimmering as one?
✰ Thanks to °1824 & Chappell Roan ✰
SOB STORY MAGAZINE. MUSIC MAKES US.
414.982.8390
Creative Director: Kathryn Keller
Editor-in-Chief: Francesca Catena
based in new york, ny / with midwestern roots