Anyone who has listened to “Pink Pony Club” knows that Chappell Roan is the real deal regarding new, engaging, and fun pop music. Not only are Roan’s lyrics passionate and honest, but her pop production is also unique. Her stage name is inspired by her late grandfather, Dennis K. Chappell, and his favorite song, “The Strawberry Roan.” Roan was signed to Atlantic Records when she was only seventeen years old, causing her to miss her senior year, prom, and graduation, so she could release her debut EP School Nights.
In 2020, when the world stopped, Roan was dropped from Atlantic after the release of “Pink Pony Club ” her most successful song to date. After working on finding her sound, working with different writers, and creating pop music, the record company terminated its working relationship with Roan, but that did not stop her from becoming the artist she is today.
Now, with a following of 95 thousand on Tik Tok, fans of the artist wait for new music by Roan every day. “Casal” which was teased on Tik Tok for months before its release, has become Roan’s second most popular song right after “Pink Pony club.” Even though her music is piloted through TikTok, Roan does not consider herself a TikTok artist, just someone who uses the platform to get her music to a wider audience. This worked. Over the course of 2022, Roan toured with both Olivia Rodrigo and Fletcher. This inspired her upcoming headline tour in 2023 where she is playing across the United States with over 20 dates through February and March.
Being an independent artist is difficult, especially with a smaller budget, but Roan recognizes this and recognizes concerts are not as affordable as they should be. With Roan’s queer following among college kids, she hopes to make her shows affordable and safe. She is donating $1 of every ticket sold to For the Gworls! For the Gworls is “a Black, trans-led collective that curates parties to fundraise money to help Black transgender people pay for their rent, gender-affirming surgeries, smaller co-pays for medicines/doctor’s visits, and travel assistance.”
“If I can create a space where people can afford to come into a mostly queer space, and dress up and feel good and meet other queer people in a town where maybe there’s not a lot of other places to meet queer people — aka my hometown — then that is great,” she said to Billboard. “That’s doing the world good.”
Roan also makes her own tour outfits and encourages her audiences to do the same. Roan is very big on shopping sustainably and thrifting over fast fashion trends. In her upcoming tour, she has created themes for each show including “So You Wanna Be a Pop Star,” “Goth Grunge & Glitter,” “Pink Pony Club,” “Slumber Party Kissin’,” and “Rhinestones & Rainbows.” Roan has promised to dress in the theme of the show with her audience to create unity and safety among the crowd.
Even though being an independent artist does have perks, Roan hopes to one day find a label that supports her and her music. But she has learned she can do it without a label, which is empowering in itself.
My Top Five Songs to Check Out:
5) “Femininomenon”
Favorite Lyric: “Get it hot like Papa John”
4) “My Kink is Karma”
Favorite Lyric: “It’s hot when you’re going through hell / And you’re hating yourself, I’m feeling myself”
3) “Naked in Manhattan”
Favorite Lyric: “Mean girls, we watch it every night / And we both have a crush on Regina George”
2) “Casual”
Favorite Lyric: “Dumb love, I love being stupid / Dream of us in a year / Maybe we’d have an apartment / And you’d show me off to your friends at the pier”
1) “Pink Pony Club”
Favorite Lyric: “Black lights and a mirrored disco ball / Every night’s another reason why I left it all”
- All Images were taken from Chappell Roan’s Public Twitter. I do not own these images.
ShoutOut! James Madison University 