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There are few names bigger in the current pop music scene than Chappell Roan. Her popularity built organically before the supernova explosion of her mainstream success heading into the summer of 2024. With credits as the opening act of Olivia Rodrigo’s GUTS World Tour and headlining or subheadlining credits for a slew of music festivals, including Coachella and Chicago’s upcoming Lollapalooza, under her belt, Chappell Roan has wowed audiences with her bold attitude, fierce stage presence, and a setlist chock-full of hits. But the thing about Chappell having a setlist full of those hits? She has one full-length album, her colossally successful debut The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess, released in September of 2023. And the star power of Chappell’s debut is a once-in-a-generation phenomenon - or should I say, femininomenon?
Standout tracks: “Femininomenon” “Red Wine Supernova” “Casual” “HOT TO GO!"
My favorites: “Super Graphic Ultra Modern Girl” “My Kink Is Karma” “Pink Pony Club” “California”
The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess doesn’t waste a single second on false pretenses - opener ‘Feminonmenon’ is everything you need to know about Chappell Roan. An addictive pop beat builds chorus after chorus, Chappell’s cheek oozing from every lyric as she calls to action “What we really need is a/Feminonmenon!” Leaning into her country-influenced beat patterns with a blown-out bass line on ‘Red Wine Supernova,’ Chappell powers through another undeniable hit. She’s as relatable as ever as she belts out “Well, back at my house/I've got California king/Okay, maybe it's a twin bed/And some roommates/Don't worry, we're cool!” Chappell’s smoother vocals carry her through jazzier, darker dance tracks in ‘After Midnight’ and ‘My Kink Is Karma,’ where she proves everything is a little more fun if you treat it so, including the sultriest of sultry-pop and brash bitterness.
While Chappell Roan could easily hide behind her huge personality and colossal pop hits, she has the vocal chops to shine in slower-paced, more emotionally-charged tracks as well, including ‘Coffee,’ ‘Kaleidoscope,’ and ‘California.’ Yet she finds the perfect balance of all her styles in ‘Casual,’ balancing remarkably relatable and sharply shrewd with the sonic atmosphere of a dark gymnasium dappled in disco ball lighting. She guards her heart tightly, impassively yearning for a partner who keeps her at arm's length: “I thought you thought of me better/Someone you couldn’t lose/You said, ‘We’re not together’/So now when we kiss, I have anger issues.”
From ‘Pink Pony Club’ to ‘Naked in Manhattan,’ Chappell injects a pop-tinged desperation and brutal honesty into her rise to fame spanning from West Hollywood to the Big Apple, showing it hasn’t all been glitz and glamour. She references the LA gay bar in ‘Pink Pony Club’ as the place she’s dreamed of and where she finally feels she belongs, much to the chagrin of those left behind in her Midwest roots. She sees New York as a freeing place where “You can try things/An inch away from more than just friends.” Both tracks sonically mirror the glittering cities they’re set in, with ‘Pink Pony Club’ taking a laid-back synth-charged soundscape while ‘Naked in Manhattan’ is sleek, glossy, and ever-pulsing.
With ‘Super Graphic Ultra Modern Girl’ and ‘HOT TO GO!,’ Chappell Roan settles herself into the modern median between Madonna and Hannah Montana, with the former track inadvertently claiming itself as the ultimate feminism anthem, pounding through every second with stadium-powered production. And if you haven’t learned the ‘HOT TO GO!’ dance yet, just do it– it’s out with ‘YMCA’ and in with ‘HOT TO GO!,’ because, you know, this is Chappell Roan’s fantastically feministic world and we’re all just living in it.
Despite all the stratospheric rising highs chased across The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess, humbling, heartwrenching ‘California’ is the fall of the Midwest Princess. It chronicles the long-fought road Chappell has taken to make a name for herself and the heartbreaking defeat of needing to leave the “new lands, west coast, where my dreams lay” in exchange for the “seasons in Missouri, my dying town.” But Chappell would never leave us feeling down; with album closer ‘Guilty Pleasure’ she embraces the freedom of being a little bit of a mess. Because what’s the fun in having it all figured out?
AM I OBSESSED?
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