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Chappell Roan, who has recently taken the world of pop music by storm, actually had an early start in the industry. While Roan found fame as a musician in her mid-twenties, the singer had signed her first record deal at 16, which also impacted her education.
Born and brought up in Willard, Missouri, Chappell Roan was a student at Willard High School. However, after she was signed by Atlantic Records at the age of 16, Roan could no longer balance between attending school and making music. She then dropped out and started taking online classes at BYU to graduate high school.
Through BYU, Chappell Roan finished high school a year early and moved to LA to pursue music full-time soon afterward.
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Roan felt "disconnected and emotional" in high school
While Chappell Roan has seen her fair share of challenges while trying to make it big as a singer, her schooling days weren't easy on her either.
In 2024, the Casual singer opened up about her schooling experience with River Front Times, confessing that she felt "disconnected and emotional" as she made her way through Willard High School.
Roan further elaborated on her school experience saying:
"I didn't have a good time. I was really struggling with bipolar and being a teenager was the hardest thing I've ever been through. I just felt really out of place and I couldn't really understand myself. I always longed for an artist community like the one I have now."
However, despite it all, Roan would still have preferred to finish high school the traditional way. While talking to Rolling Stone in October 2022, Chappell Roan admitted she had no idea how much she would have to sacrifice after leaving school early, adding:
"I had no idea what was going on and neither did my parents or my parents’ friends. It was so messy.I felt very unprepared... I didn’t do my senior year. I didn’t go to prom. I didn’t go to graduation. I missed a lot of what would have been the end of my childhood to do this job."
Despite her bittersweet emotions about school, Roan did gain one thing as a student—exposure to music. In a 2020 Bringin' It Backwards podcast, Chappell confessed about getting into music in her early teen years, saying:
"My parents played a lot of Christian rock growing up, and it wasn't my favorite. Um, I didn't really start getting into music until I was like 14, and made a secret Pandora account."
Talking about her earliest musical influences, Roan added:
"I started off with Drake, and I found, like, Lana Del Rey and Ellie Goulding, when I was, like, in eighth grade. And that's kind of like what inspired this whole world of pop for me."
The first experience that helped Chappell Roan gain confidence in her music was, in fact, a Christmas talent show, in which she not only participated but also won. It was also after this show that Roan's parents first came to know about her musical prowess.
Chappell Roan called her stage name a character
The 26-year-old was signed by Atlantic Records when she was just 16 and adopted her stage name a year later. The name, although inspired by her late grandfather, Dennis Chappell, helped Roan become a character, according to River Front Times.
The Femininomenon singer told the media outlet:
"The character is like me, of course, but the dressing, the confidence, the makeup, like that is all kind of like a showgirl version of myself — or drag, if you will."
Roan further compared her character to her real self, saying:
"I dress pretty differently, more tomboy, I guess. I don't wear bright colors anymore. I only wear black, white and gray. I like wearing crazy outfits, obviously but I like being alone and reading. I just love quiet because I feel like my life is so chaotic in every way, which I also love."
It has been over nine years since Chappell Roan adopted her stage name.
The singer-songwriter has since released several independent sleeper hits and a Billboard-charting debut studio album - The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess. Roan has headlined two tours, one of which is currently ongoing, and will conclude in October 2024.
