Do you ever think that modern pop music is dead? Have you been wanting something original? The new and upcoming pop ‘Femininomenon’ Chappell Roan is the now and here to stay.
Born Kayleigh Rose Amstutz in Willard, Missouri, she has openly expressed her distaste for her legal name. Roan received stage name inspiration from her late grandfather, Dennis K. Chappell. His favorite song was “The Strawberry Roan” by Curley Fletcher.
Roan’s music is heavily inspired by early 2000’s pop hits, as well as 80’s synth pop. Her stage presence and aesthetic are full of bright neon colors and heavy makeup.
She soft launched her career in 2017 with a single titled “Good Heart” and then followed with an EP called School Nights through Atlantic Records after they discovered her on YouTube. In 2020, she released “Pink Pony Club,” which was then named “the Song of Summer 2021” and ranked #3 on USA Today’s list of 10 best songs of 2020.
Early in her career, Roan began opening for headlining acts. In 2017, she opened for Vance Joy’s Lay It On Me Tour and Declan McKenna’s What Do You Think About the Car? Tour in 2018. Slowly rising to success, Roan left her hometown and moved to Los Angeles.
Things soon took a turn for the worse for Roan. Atlantic Records dropped her from their label, as “Pink Pony Club” did not profit enough for them. She found herself working three jobs just to support herself. In January of 2021, her producer, Dan Nigro, began to give all his attention to teen pop sensation Olivia Rodrigo after the massive blowup of “Drivers License,” which he produced.
Roan was unsuccessful in finding a producer who worked together the way she and Nigro did, so she briefly moved back to her hometown in Missouri. She moved back to Los Angeles in 2022 and finally gained a publishing deal with Sony and was able to work with Nigro again.
She opened for Fletcher’s Girl of My Dreams Tour in 2022 and opened for Olivia Rodrigo’s rescheduled Sour Tour stop in San Francisco in 2022. After progressively gaining success and playing some shows around, she finally released her debut studio album, The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess, on September 22, 2023. Roan’s birthplace is a very significant aspect to her career, which brought to life her slogan, “Midwest Princess.” It has been displayed over her merchandise, such as on shirts and hats.
Just days before the release of Roan’s debut album, Rodrigo announced her second world tour, this time an arena tour, The Guts World Tour. Chappell Roan was listed as the opener for the first 24 shows. Both Rodrigo and Roan’s music is produced by Nigro, so this was not a shock to many. Likely per Roan’s requests, all of Rodrigo’s shows across the midwest had Chappell as the opener.
Shortly after the album release, she began The Midwest Princess Tour, which is ongoing. Shows in every city are selling out, with resale for hundreds of dollars. She performed here in Pittsburgh on April 5th at Stage AE in a sold-out show. On June 2nd, Roan is headlining Pittsburgh Pride on the Shore, the festival’s biggest year yet.
