by Annie Gregg, JRN 101 Student
Chappel Roan’s 2023 album is unabashedly queer, unforgivingly honest, and decidedly, 2024’s favorite songs to dance to.
The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess took the summer by storm, reaching no. 2 on the Billboard 200 this August, second only to Taylor Swift’s The Tortured Poets Department. In many ways, Chappell Roan, whose real name is Kaleigh Amstutz, has been inescapable.
Her earworm pop anthems and brutally introspective lyrics have invaded the airwaves and blown up on TikTok. Her crowd at Chicago’s Lollapalooza this year, a 110,000-person dance party, was one of the biggest the organizers have ever seen. It may have taken a year for this album to reach the mainstream, but Roan is just getting started.
Roan’s ability to channel her innermost feelings into bursts of stadium pop and well-tuned melodies and bridges is reminiscent of the greats before her, such as Lady Gaga, Katy Perry, and even Madonna. But Chappell’s insistence that her alter ego is a “drag project” sets her apart from all those before.
This album, although easily relatable regardless of orientation, is decidedly queer. In “Pink Pony Club,” our narrator takes us to a disco ball-filled gay club in West Hollywood where “boys and girls can all be queens every single day.” Roan herself is fully engaged in this identity as she wears elaborate costumes and drag makeup to each show she performs.
She entered New York City’s Gov Ball Festival in a giant apple, only to be revealed as painted green and smoking a blunt as she was dressed as the Statue of Liberty.
Beneath this more obvious joyful embrace of queer culture, Roan clearly faced some battles regarding her own sexuality, apparent on tracks such as “Naked In Manhattan” and “Red Wine Supernova,” where she fantasizes about being with women while dating men. “Red Wine Supernova” has been one of the most successful tracks off this album, accompanied by stadium-size drumbeats, gang vocals, and downright hilarious lines such as, “I heard you like magic/I’ve got a wand and a rabbit!”
In the wake of the 2020’s distaste for hooks and overwhelming synthesizing in favor of something rawer and more analog, Roan wants you to know she doesn’t care what you think you want to hear. In songs like “Feminomenon” and “Hot To Go,” she asks her audience to spell-sing the choruses and belt out the bridges.
The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess took the summer by storm, reaching no. 2 on the Billboard 200 this August, second only to Taylor Swift’s The Tortured Poets Department.
Yet, this doesn’t mean she can’t take it softer. In her track “Picture You” Roan evokes a sheepish version of Patsy Cline who’s scared to look in the mirror whilst wondering if their love interest is thinking of them.
As we listen to these tales, and for some of us, scream along to them in our cars, we are transported to the world as Roan sees it. One where a Midwestern girl has finally stepped into the light and is experiencing love, queerness, fame, and all that comes with them, for the very first time.
This album is vulnerable and fun in a music scene that often claims you have to choose one at a time. This album is fresh in a time where originality is scarce, making it more than worth a listen.
And, if her newest post-album track “Good Luck Babe!” and its meteoric rise in the charts is any indicator, Chappell Roan is shooting straight to the top, and you’re not going to want to miss what comes next.
Velocity 
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