Backing vocals enter, a spotlight shines down, and a camera zooms in on Chappell Roan clad in a suit of armor holding a flaming crossbow; she shoots an arrow into the background and her performance at the 2024 VMAs begins.
Despite being in the music industry for nearly 10 years, Roan became well known in 2024 with her streams on Spotify skyrocketing from 3 million to more than 20 million practically overnight. Her fame came in 2024, less than a year after her first album, “The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess,” under Island Records label company. Her number one hit is “Good Luck, Babe!” released on April 5 with a staggering 655 million streams. After opening for Olivia Rodrigo’s Guts Tour, she became a hit on TikTok. Many people started to hear of her music during the spring and summer of 2024, including Milford High school senior Piper Girardi. “I first heard of Chappell Roan in mid June when I was riding in my car and ‘Good Luck, Babe!’ popped up on my sister’s playlist,” Girardi said. “It actually caught my attention… I fell in love with Chappell’s music, the smooth voice and beautiful notes.”
(CNN https://www.cnn.com/2024/08/05/entertainment/chappell-roan-lollapalooza/index.html)
Roan’s success came when pop music was thriving, other musicians such as Olivia Rodrigo, Charlie XCX, and Sabrina Carpenter also riding the wave of popularity. At crowded festivals, she opened for widely recognized artists, exposing more people to her music. Since hitting mass fame, she has performed at the VMAs, the Tonight Show, Coachella, Governors Ball, Boston Calling, and Lollapalooza. Even when Roan was not a headliner, she still drew in massive amounts of people to see her perform. Sadie Rose, a senior at Milford High School, saw Roan live at the Hangout Music Festival in Gulf Shores, Ala. in May of 2024 and noted, “The participation was scattered throughout the crowd… almost everyone was singing ‘Casual’ though.” Previously Roan performed in small venues in New York, only drawing miniscule groups which contrasts with her performance at Lollapalooza, which was described as the largest crowd in the festival’s history by Teen Vogue with 110,00 attendees.
Roan writes pop music, but her eclectic style, involving aspects of drag, midwestern culture, and 80s fashion helps her stand out. Her campy aesthetic has contributed to her fame and drawn many people to her, including Milford High School senior Alana Banier. “I think having a unique character contributes to your fame because it helps you be instantly recognized.” Her distinctive fashion has drawn an eclectic mix of followers, with roughly the same amount in every major U.S. city and in London, according to SpaceMediaUK. Her personality also made her more popular, especially her strict separation between her as an artist and her personal life. For example, she doesn’t use her real name, Kayleigh Rose, on stage and has asked fans to only refer to her as Chappell Roan, which helps her fans focus on her art instead of her as a person.
After years of struggling in the music industry, Roan has finally found her fame. Her unique style combined with the resurgence of pop stars has let her flourish in an industry where success is often fleeting and musical ingenuity often ignored.