Chappell Roan Takes the Crown as 2023’s Beautifully Unserious Pop Princess
Written by Mia Andrea
Graphic by Rebekah Witt
There’s enough going on in the world to keep track of. Chappell Roan knows this.
Her solution: “Prepare to be silly.”
With shaved eyebrows, she answers press conference questions from her bedroom, walls covered in dainty butterflies, and stuffed animals in the periphery. Later, she mentions that she recently wrapped filming on a music video in which she portrays a vibrant, glittery alien. She’s shamelessly unserious, but this doesn’t keep her from reflecting on her poignant lyrics that touch on issues queer communities face.
“I don’t know a lot of people who don’t have any trauma connected to their coming out, being queer, or (homophobia),” she says. “I think a lot of people really daydream … At the end of the day, people want to feel something sometimes that pulls them out of the pits of despair.”
Roan writes of the worlds she wants to live in —and the ones she’s encountered in the past. She notes that her sound has taken a 180 in recent years, shifting from moody ballads on moving to Los Angeles to flashy pop that celebrates her desires and newfound self-confidence. Over time, she learned to steer the ship of creative freedom; Roan knows what she wants to make and is unabashedly herself in the process. 80’s synth and cheerleading-inspired “HOT TO GO!”—the latest single from her upcoming debut album, The Rise and Fall of a Midwestern Princess—is a perfect portrait of the extravagant persona she’s come to admire.
“Campiness is kind of just at the forefront of the (album) and the identity,” she says, but she’s still learning how to balance the divide between her personal life and the over-the-top art she performs. It’s taken nearly a decade for Kayleigh Amstutz to reach the level of nearly instant success she’s achieved with her drag-adjacent alter ego, Chappell Roan. She’ll be opening for Olivia Rodrigo’s “GUTS” tour, she’s been featured in Vanity Fair and Billboard, and was recognized by Amazon Music as one of 2023’s “Best Breakthrough Artists.” She’s come a long way from her insecure teenage days; now, her goal is to deal with her success’s subsequent imposter syndrome.
“I need to figure out how to calm down,” Roan says. The line between her art and the outside world has blurred and performing as the character of Chappell can become exhausting. She acknowledges that lots of pressure and an “unsustainable energy” have trailed her accomplishments, and that’ll take some adjusting.
A selfless star, Roan prioritizes the people around her as she continues growing into the internet’s latest pop princess. From bringing LGBTQ+ crews on tour to writing about navigating her own sexuality in a close-minded hometown, she aims to amplify the voices of her fans, saying “queer people have each other’s back.”
Inspired by country singer Orville Peck’s 2018 show at The Troubadour in Hollywood, Roan invites local drag queens to open for her live shows. She tells the story of witnessing the performance that made her want to showcase drag queens in awe, replicating her jaw-dropping as it did when she saw L.A. drag queen Meatball open for Peck. Roan even mentions that queens Crystal Methyd and Katya are bucket-list performers she’d love to collaborate with one day.
If you’re attending her fall tour, be prepared to go all out and dress up yourself, too. On Instagram, Roan shared her dress-up themes for each tour date and collages of photo inspiration for each one, ranging from metallic and intergalactic “space” attire to exclusively pink cowgirl costumes. In creating this interactive, welcoming atmosphere, she says she always performs with audience participation in mind.
“I love dressing up and having a reason,” Roan says. “There are so many places in the country where the only day (LGBTQ+) people get to wear rainbows is Pride … I encourage people to wear what makes them feel hot, what makes them feel sexy … The themes are an opportunity for everyone to dress up. The show is not only on stage, it’s also in line, at the merch table, next to you, (in the) front row. It just builds such community. I love it so much.”
The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess, releasing Sept. 22, will bring each theme to life; Roan says her ideal setting for listening to the album best suits one of her tour’s dress-up themes of “slumber party.” With glistening pop songs like “Femininomenon” and “My Kink is Karma,” she’s fully aware the album is reminiscent of nights getting ready to go out. The Rise and Fall is set to be the homebody girl’s soundtrack to taking shots of pink drinks with friends, dancing barefoot around the bedroom to 2010s pop hits, and gossiping all night about the latest crushes.
Roan says she’s healing her inner child through the creation, promotion, and performances of the album. As her headlining Midwest Princess tour approaches, she notes that the running theme of her projects is to not be afraid of boldness and have fun.
“I still feel like a teenager at 25,” she says.