By Kaya Perales and Malia Wilson,
Staff Writers.
In April 2024, music artist Chappell Roan released the single “Good Luck, Babe!” and while Roan has experience in the music industry, even touring alongside famous artist Olivia Rodrigo, this single abruptly launched her into both the charts and the hearts of thousands. Chappell Roan has something for everyone: the glamor and excitement of an ‘80s pop star, addictive love ballads that cover several genres of pop and her constant message of positive femininity and queer joy.
The artist’s real name is Kayleigh Rose Amstutz, and she was born in Willard, Missouri to a working-class family. Roan starkly contrasts in her current life, having been raised in a trailer park with a profoundly conservative family who went to church three times a week. It’s truly no wonder her art is so lively. Senior Lilyanna Passalacqua named some of Roan’s unique qualities: “I think of her distinct aesthetic but also her elements of ‘80s pop, and there are still honestly not that many openly gay artists.”
Queerness cannot be ignored when discussing Roan. “That overdramatic and sassy attitude in her music and how she talks a lot into it: that’s what I feel like gay pop is,” said senior Dean Jahnsen. “I think the fact that she and her audience are very queer allows her to really be inspiring and be a mentor but also be relatable.” Roan will often take on hyper-feminine drag, as seen on the cover of her 2023 album The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess and most of her music videos. The effort Roan puts into her music as well as her entire persona makes her messages of empowerment resonate further.
Roan has been releasing music since she was 15, mostly singles as well as an EP, until her debut album The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess, featuring 14 songs including nine singles she’s released since 2020. Her most popular song off the album is “Good Luck, Babe!” but other honorable mentions include “Red Wine Supernova,” “Pink Pony Club” and “HOT TO GO!” which Jahnsen mentions is “basically our generation’s ‘Y.M.C.A.’”
Jahnsen attended the Outside Lands Music Festival and expressed that his experience with Roan was more enjoyable than his experience at the festival the previous year. “People were rude; people only cared for themselves,” said Jahnsen. “At Chappell, people were really aware. I made friends with everyone around me, and they were all so supportive. It was like its own community [be]cause we were all there for Chappell.” Roan gave Jahnsen community, an essential principle here at Santa Rosa High School.
