By: Anna Sullivan
When listening to music today there is a cycle of artists who have stayed at the top of the charts. This summer specifically some of the breakout stars were Sabrina Carpenter, Charli XCX, and a newer artist, Chappell Roan. Chappell released her debut album, “The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess”, in September of 2023 but only recently has her music been rising in the charts.
With this, people are continuing to wonder where this artist came from and how she has suddenly risen to fame. However, Chappell has been in the music industry longer than most of us realize.
Chappell, born in Willard, Missouri, as Kayleigh Rose Amstutz began singing as a teenager, uploading covers to YouTube. Under her real name, she released a self-titled EP that her mother sold at their local record store. She signed her first record deal under a stage name, Chappell Roan, a name meant to honor her grandpa, Chappell, with Atlantic Records at 17 and ended up releasing an EP called School Nights in 2017. However, after Chappell released “Pink Pony Club,” a song she wrote after visiting Abbey, a famous gay bar in LA, in 2020, Atlantic dropped Roan as an artist. The pandemic ensued, and Chappell took to social media to tease pieces of music and eventually signed a deal with Sony to release new music. She released three singles that will be featured in her upcoming album and began touring with artists like Olivia Rodrigo and Fletcher. In February 2023, she began her first headline tour, “Naked in North America,” where Chappell Roan began to show her authentic self, doing over-the-top makeup similar to drag.
Her First Album Release
Chappell releases her debut album, The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess, in September 2023, with upbeat, unique, and unapologetically queer music. The album does well, but it wasn’t until 2024 that her performances began to gain notice with one of her most well-known songs, “HOT TO GO!”. As Chappell tours and plays festivals, she continues to gain more and more audience members, causing her rapid rise to fame. Her performances include eccentric costumes and extravagant dancing, accrediting her as a wonderful entertainer. With this, Chappell gains more publicity and creates a tagline, stating, ‘I’m Chappell Roan, I’m your favorite artist’s favorite artist.’ Here, she pays homage to one of her favorite drag queens, Sasha Colby, who is known for her quote, ‘I’m your favorite drag queen’s favorite drag queen.’ Even with this small mention, Chappell is giving the spotlight to the drag community and has given drag performers like Sasha Colby increased media attention that they rightfully deserve.
With her new-found stardom, Chappell begins the summer playing multiple music festivals including “Governors Ball” and “Lollapalooza”. Chappell commanded every stage she graced with a big personality, beautiful singing voice, and unbelievable costumes. In August, Chappell Roan had one of the largest sets ever at Lollapalooza with almost 110,000 people screaming her lyrics. As Chappell continues through the summer and performs all around the country, her album begins to climb the Billboard chart, having songs like “Red Wine Supernova” and “HOT TO GO!” becoming the songs of the summer.
What’s Next For Chappell?
Fans continue to love Chappell’s music and hope for more releases soon, but people have begun to question if she can handle this fast-tracked fame. Chappell is very true to herself and is not afraid to speak her mind. After being invited to attend and perform at the VMA’s, her fanbase was incredibly excited to see Chappell perform at a highly-coveted award show.
Chappell however, yelled at a photographer on the VMA’s carpet which brought media attention. This overshadowed her outstanding performance of her new single “Good Luck Babe” on the VMAs stage. She is also known to not take photos or interact with fans when she is spotted out and about. Chappell expects her fans to adhere to drag rules that you never approach a queen when they are out of their costume. Which has created a sporadic conversation in the media over Chappell’s ability to handle fame. In addition to her interaction at the VMA Chappell recently canceled her spot in the All Things Go concert to “prioritize her health”. This has created a question on social media if she can outlast the trappings of fame or will our media once again pressure an artist into ending her career.