March and April have truly been amazing months for music.
From Ariana Grande to Beyoncé and Taylor Swift, lovers of pop (and country!) music have been fed. All three artists have a strong queer following, but it’s undoubtedly different when the artist themselves shares in that identity. Queer artists like Tegan & Sara and Boy Genius can connect with their listeners in a way their straight counterparts simply can’t.
I immediately felt that connection when I listened to Midwest-born Chappell Roan, 26, for the first time. My roommate encouraged me to check out her recent single “Good Luck, Babe!” and I was hooked.
Chappell Roan, 26, is a Missouri native whose first EP is shooting up the charts. She’s shown here and in the cover photo performing in Vancouver in 2022. (photos by Jason Martin and courtesy Wikimedia Commons)
The lyrics are to a former lover who was unable to accept her sexuality, ending the relationship. Roan sings with a sort of confidence that can only be acquired by truly knowing oneself while simultaneously expressing her own need to be loved.
Cheekily, she somewhat taunts her ex, tossing a dismissive “Good luck, babe” as her former love continues to hide her sexuality by getting drunk and kissing men in bars.
The line in this song that truly got me speaks to the shared experience of queerness—that it is so impossibly real and inescapable. As she addresses her scorned lover again, she acknowledges the rainbow elephant in the room:
You can kiss a hundred boys in bars Shoot another shot, try to stop the feeling You can say it’s just the way you are Make a new excuse, another stupid reason Good luck, babe (Well, good luck) Well, good luck, babe (Well, good luck) You’d have to stop the world just to stop the feeling.”
That premise — of wanting the world to stop because you cannot accept who you are — is an unfortunate, but central, part of the queer experience for so many of us. It is also a sentiment that mostly anyone can relate to, gay or straight, as we have all struggled for self-acceptance at one moment or another.
Roan’s sympathy for her ex is limited, and that becomes even more clear once she reaches the bridge of the song. This is my absolute favorite part of this song, especially as she paints a vivid picture of the life she imagines for her scorned lover:
When you wake up next to him
in the middle of the night
With your head in your hands,
you’re nothing more than his wife
And when you think about me,
all of those years ago
You’re standing face to face
with ‘I told you so’ ”
I must admit, a fear I had as a closeted kid was that one day I would marry someone I didn’t love and end up living a lie. I could see myself there, sitting on the edge of that bed with a wedding band around my finger, my head in my hands as I recall what could have been.
It’s a truly suffocating image Roan gives us in this bridge — and one that will stick with listeners.
Chappell Roan and her band are featured above in NPR’s Tiny Desk Concert.
The ‘Midwest Princess’ Is Having Her Moment
Roan has slowly but steadily penetrated mainstream music.
“Good Luck, Babe!” debuted at No. 77 on Billboard’s Hot 100 chart, and her monthly Spotify listeners are surging.
According to Chartmetric, Roan had around a million monthly listeners at the beginning of the year. For comparison, she sits at 10.6 million as of April.
Frankly, this level of success is long overdue for an artist who’s been in and out of the major label system for years. And her amazing 2023 album “The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess” continues to feed that success.
But before we discuss a few tracks, the album cover itself is worth noting. Roan distinguishes herself as a performer by dressing in drag and is even recruiting drag artists for her upcoming tour. Her recent NPR Tiny Desk Concert is a perfect example of her art of drag on display: she wears a fully painted face, sparkling crown, and lipstick smudged on her teeth.
She sported similarly amazing outfits at Coachella including an “Eat Me” tank top and later a butterfly costume.
It is simply iconic. And so, so gay.
Chappell Roan attends a Grammy after-party in October 2023. (photo courtesy Universal Music Group-Dreamstime).
Gay bops sprinkled with ballads in Chappell Roan’s debut
Roan’s first LP is truly remarkable.
I suspect many queer people living in the Midwest will find themselves connecting with the track “Pink Pony Club” and the focus it puts on queer safe spaces.
Personally, I’m obsessed with “My Kink Is Karma” and “Casual,” two songs that examine the complexities of queer dating. There is also “Red Wine Supernova,” which I can guarantee will be stuck in your head.
“California” shows Roan’s vulnerability as she sings of returning home to Missouri after failing to make it big. Given her recent success, though, I doubt she will be going home anytime soon.
In summary, the LP is filled to the brim with gay bops, sprinkled with a few ballads. It is a well-balanced track list, and I prefer to listen in order. But you can get away with shuffling this album without losing too much of the listening experience.
Perhaps 2024 will be Roan’s year, as she plans a tour and her next album. Maybe she’ll fade into the background as some artists do.
I write this with unfettered optimism: Chappell Roan is a force to be reckoned with. She might climb the charts and win awards, but her music will always be for us.
Explore Chappell Roan’s music on Spotify, Pandora or Apple Music. Learn more about her at her IAmChappellRoan.com website, her Instagram page, or her Facebook page.
This review originally appeared in the May 2024 print edition of The Real Mainstream. Read more of Tyler Mitchell’s arts and culture reviews here.
