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Chappell Roan, arguably the most talked about artist of 2024, appears to have found success overnight. However, those who know Roan's true story would claim her success was long pending. The singer-songwriter, who hails from Missouri's small town called Willard, has found success after years of struggling in the music industry.
Chappell Roan's musical talents were first discovered when she was a teenager. In 2014, she uploaded her debut song, Die Young, on YouTube under the name "Kayleigh Rose". This track led to her discovery by Atlantic Records. A year later, the record label signed the 17-year-old for a five-year contract.
From being signed by a major record label at 17 to releasing her debut studio album, The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess, at 25, Chappell Roan has come a long way as an artist.
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Chappell Roan wrote Die Young during summer camp in Interlochen
While Die Young wasn't the first song Chappell Roan uploaded on her YouTube channel, as she had uploaded covers of other artists' songs before, it was the first one she'd written herself.
Talking about the story behind the song with QBurgh in 2023, Roan recalled writing it at the Interlochen Center of Arts in Michigan, where she attended a summer camp as a teenager. The singer credited the place for having given her a "pivotal professional breakthrough," and said:
“I’ve never met creative kids before that camp, and it changed my trajectory forever. I’d never been with other songwriters before in my life that were my age. Everyone was a f***ing hippie, and I’m from Trump country."
The Femininomenon singer further added:
"I’m from a heavily church background, and this is not that. There were kids from all over the world there. It was just so inspiring.”
After signing with Atlantic Records in 2015, Chappell Roan released her debut EP, School Nights in 2017. This was followed by singles like Pink Pony Club, Love Me Anyway, and California three years later.
Despite getting critical acclaim for Pink Pony Club, the sleeper hit didn't result in any immediate commercial success, leading Roan's record label to drop her from their roster. Consequently, the Naked in Manhattan singer had to move back to her hometown to make ends meet for a while.
She eventually returned to Los Angeles and in March 2022, began collaborating with record producer Dan Nigro, who eventually signed her to his label, Amusement Records.
In the summer of 2022, Chappell Roan played the opening act for some of Olivia Rodrigo's Guts tour dates. This introduced her to a new audience. Interestingly, Dan Nigro was the producer of Guts.
A year later, Roan's debut album, The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess, released with her second record label, with Dan Nigro as the producer.
Chappell Roan is committed to giving back to the queer and drag communities
In the 2023 QBurgh interview, Chappell Roan opened up about using her influence to give back to the queer community and said:
"I know for my project, I am very adamant about giving back to the queer community, and I think that is what I encourage to other artists, whether they’re queer or not, just giving back to the community that supports them so much, whether that be by lowering ticket prices to what they can, or lowering merch prices to what they can, or donating a portion of every ticket or doing charity events."
The Casual singer further elaborated on the importance of creating a safe space and support system for the queer community.
"I think that’s the most important part, because no one’s going to stand up for queer people. It’s got to be us. We have to support each other. We have to do mutual aid funding and mutual safe spaces," she added.
It isn't just the queer community that Chappell Roan is determined to give back to. In an exclusive interview with People soon after her debut album's release in September 2023, the Red Wine Supernova singer opened up about her 2020 song Pink Pony Club, being a homage to drag culture. The aesthetics of her album were also inspired by drag shows.
When Chappell Roan started her headlining tours, she sought local drag artists to perform the opening acts at every single one of her shows. Explaining the reason behind this move, Roan told People:
"It's just a great way to engage the local queer community to that city...I encourage people to tip the queens, that's redistributing funds within the community there, and also it just gives a platform for the drag queens. Some of these queens have never performed in front of a crowd that big before, and it's just fun."
Roan's sophomore headlining tour, The Midwest Princess Tour, is currently ongoing. It will kick off its European leg on August 31. The tour will conclude on October 11 in Austin, USA.
