‘And I heard that there's a special place/ Where boys and girls can all be queens every single day’

Chappell Roan’s debut album, ‘The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess’, is sweeping Queer communities all over the world with its irresistible upbeat rhythms and raunchy lyrics. Songs like ‘Pink Pony Club’ depict the Queer experience in a way which hasn’t been done since the likes of David Bowie and Elton John. ‘Pink Pony Club’, released in 2020, was Roan’s first single and was set to become the ‘song of the summer’, until its chance was subdued by the pandemic. However, by August 2022, the song had been streamed more than 10 million times on Spotify. Chappell Roan’s success was only to increase, however, as she now has over 11 million monthly listeners on the platform. Whilst she has now become recognised worldwide as a cultural pioneer in Queer music and culture, I wanted to know what she meant to those her music was really calls to: young queer people. 

Max*, an 18 year old transgender man who enjoys drag as an expression of celebration of identity, tells me how ‘She brings back traditional understandings of the word ‘Camp’ in a way that's accessible to a wide, young queer audience’. It has been suggested that Roan participates in the revival of traditional Queer identity, as her flamboyant costumes and makeup have drawn widespread attention for a community which has been confined to the sad, indie genre of music of the likes of Boygenius and Mitski. Roan’s exciting and unafraid music offers an optimistic future that offers a distraction from the increase in anti-LGBT sentiment world wide. On a less profound level, her music offers a beat that young Queer people can both dance and relate to. Indeed, Ellie*, an 18 year old bisexual woman, tells me how 'she is like Taylor swift but if she was inspired by Queer 80s Pop'. 

Chappell Roan's career has only just begun, as she is set to perform in the UK during her world tour in early September 2024. With the quality of what she has produced so far, it seems that her fans are only too excited to watch how she will grow and progress into mainstream music.