As large crowds varying from new to old sync together to a globally well-known song, Hot To Go, Chappell Roan’s iconic voice outshines and bleeds into the hearts of many. With her famous title of “your favorite artist’s favorite artist” Roan is known for embodying the struggles of womankind along with issues most queer people experience.
From living a normal life in Missouri to being on numerous stages across the globe, Roan has left crowds, such as Chicago’s 2024 Lollapalooza, overflowing with people. Not only has she grown her own fanbase, but her opening at Olivia Rodrigo’s concerts in August of 2024 left Rodrigo’s audience shocked; “H-O-T T-O G-O” chanted the crowd. With her recent hit single, Good Luck, Babe, Roan has gained popularity skyrocketing to 45.1 Million monthly listeners, ongoingly releasing new music since 2017 through Atlantic Records. As a result of her rapid growth, Roan won “Best New Artist” at the 2024 MTV VMA’s showcasing her rapid growth and ubiquity on social media.
With her aesthetic derived from many backgrounds, Roan attracts a spectrum of communities to embrace her work. Taking inspiration from The Muppets’ iconic character, Miss Piggy, Roan has recreated many of her looks for her performances such as The Statue of Liberty at Governors Ball in New York City, on June 9th, 2024. Traditionally performed by LGBTQIA+ men, Roan describes herself and her art in terms of drag: drag is a performance of exaggerated femininity, masculinity, or other forms of gender expression, usually for entertainment purposes (Wikipedia) and embraced hyper femininity through her many looks. Roan’s performance persona seems to take inspiration from Ru Paul’s famous quote “A drag queen? I am the queen of drag” from The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon. In her own unique way, Chappell Roan considers herself a drag queen.
“Right now, we’re in a time where drag is being examined and it’s becoming more popular, especially with RuPaul’s Drag Race. When things become televised or become a show, the audience becomes much larger… I would say Chappell Roan is honoring the long tradition of drag as a performance art by making it more accessible for people to understand,.” English teacher Joy Raithel said.
Along with the representation of the drag community, Roan embodies love and the many forms it comes in. Despite Roan’s music being mainly centered around queer love, people across social media see themselves within her lyrics. One of her singles from 2023, Casual, has resurfaced as a trend on Tiktok. Over 128 thousand people used her song and shared their experience with being led on by individuals who sought the benefits of a relationship, but not the commitment.
“I’ve also seen a lot of non queer people relate to Roan’s music as well. She uses a lot of nice metaphors too. Overall, it’s really relatable for everyone.” sophomore Alana Buller said.
