We may all know the artist Chappell Roan, but do we really know her? Well, some people may be huge fans, knowing her songs lyric to lyric, while others have only seen the HOT TO GO dance on their TikTok feed. Many people don’t know about her difficult path to get where she is right now.
Even though Roan mentions “leaving Tennessee” in one of her popular songs “Pink Pony Club,” Roan is actually from the small town of Willard, Missouri, which has a population of around 6,000 people.
Some may know that Chappell Roan is a stage name, and that the name she was born with is Kayleigh Amstutz. Chappell Roan is a contribution to her grandfather Dennis Chappell and one of her favorite songs “The Strawberry Roan.”
Roan first started making music when she was just 14 by uploading videos to YouTube. By 2017, she was signed to a label and moved all the way from Missouri to Los Angeles in pursuit of her dreams of being an artist.
After she released her first musical recording, she was dropped by her record label. For a while, Roan had to make ends meet by being a barista or babysitter. Eventually she worked with the producer Dan Nigro in 2020, but later that same producer also worked on premier album SOUR with Oliva Rodrigo, which later became one the most successful debut albums ever. Nigro was very focused on his work with Rodrigo, but eventually allowed Roan to start opening for Rodrigo’s SOUR tours which helped Roan get better publicity and evidently grow her career.
In 2022, Chappell Roan was able to work with Nigro again, and made an album called “The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess.”
By 2023, Roan released that album. Then in 2024 she was opening for Olivia Rodrigo’s GUTS tour. Soon she released the hit single “Good Luck Babe!” which was her first song to make the Hot 100. This is when her monthly listeners started to double.
“I love the overall aesthetic of her music and her lyrics are so relatable. All of her songs are really catchy, too,” said senior Lauren Colton. “I love how she incorporates drag into her performances as well. Her outfits and makeup are always on point.”
“She really put in the work and has a very humble upbringing and I feel like you can really see that in the way she interacts with the media, and she is new to the fame,” junior Audrey Turner said, “but she built up this huge community of people who resonate with her.”
At this years 2024 VMAs Roan performed her most popular song “Good Luck, Babe!”
She also won the award for Best New Artist. In Roan’s acceptance speech she said “Thank you to the people who are fans, who listen to me and hear me when I share my joy and my fears and thank you.”