I am firmly convinced that there isn’t a video on this platform with a more perfect intro than this one. Because yes, Zach is our favorite gay’s favorite gay
She is my favorite new pop girlie to come out in years. I truly want The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess to be in AOTY. Like she feels like a breath of fresh air I didn’t know I needed.
I love the DIY vibe Cappel has around her. How she gets her costumes from small businesses and invites less known artists on stage, makes sure they get tips and recognition. It's a breath of fresh air after seeing so many pop stars only work with huge established brands and collaborators. It also is one of the reasons her looks and stage presence are so unique
she also thrifts a lot of stuff she wears during shows and even mends/adjusts it herself, used to do her own over the top makeup and learned to do it herself, etc. her outfits are out there but still feel like you could make them yourself if that makes sense. her being independent forced her to become resourceful
What made me realise Chappell Roan is becoming “mainstream” was hearing Good Luck Babe in a shopping centre in a tiny Norwegian town this summer. I’m so here for her music!
When I heard her at a job interview in a small town in Poland, good luck babe was on the radio. I was more excited for chapel than for myself lol. I thought to myself "oh she made it made it"
I'm so glad that you pointed out the connective tissue between Lady Gaga and Chappell Roan. Chappell Roan really feels like she's channeling Gaga, but with a lot more down to earth approach to things. Even with all the campy costumes and the makeup, the indie vibe makes her feel like she's someone we know or wish we could be friends with.
I get that younger people think Gaga, but she grew up in Manhattan with rich parents. The closest parallel to rebelling from poor Non-Coastal conservative parents and creating a wild stage persona that makes genre hopping music that intentionally shocks IS Alice Cooper.
What is truly remarkable about Chappel is how her visuals and vibe in general appear non-sensical, genuine and outlandish all at the same second. This kind of normalizes her unconventional ‘look’ but also makes you feel like it’s her planet and we’ve all been dropped on it (ignorant of all her set norms). I love how she makes me question the whole entire universe, like maybe we are all wrong and she’s the only enlightened one.
To quote you in another video, “No one is doing it like Chappell Roan” and I couldn’t agree more. She’s got me excited about this new wave of pop waaaay more than any other pop girlie right now. I’m also really glad you mentioned Hole’s Live Through This because I immediately got that reference from the album cover and I haven’t seen or heard anyone mention that.
I feel insanely lucky and blessed to have seen chapel open for Olivia at the first part of this year during the guts tour. While we were getting ready in the hotel room I kept playing her music on repeat and my best friend said she needed me to send me this artist immediately because she was more excited to hear her over Olivia. We are both millennials in our 30s and we were taking her two young tween nieces to see Olivia. At the show it was about 50-50 pink pony club outfits and purple Olivia outfits. The support for her is so amazing and I am so happy to see her blow up this summer at Coachella/bonnaroo and so on…
I was the same. Listened to Chappell while prepping for the guts tour and within 24 hours I was more excited to see Chappell than Olivia. It's a shame more people weren't proactive like us and now regret being dismissive of "the opener".
I BLASTED pink pony club that first summer when it came out and I always wondered what happened to her. It’s been so rewarding to watch her get her flowers, she’s been special from the beginning
It's the Swiftologist. I would be disappointed if the content wasn't chronically online (and I say that in a loving way, as someone who is chronically online)
It’s crazy to me how I went from talking about her with my sapphic besties for ages and now I’m teaching all of my straight girlies how to do the Hot to Go dance when they ask me if I’ve heard of her. It lowkey feels like whiplash
what a great deep dive. I have to say kaleidoscope makes me CRY. it really speaks to me as it describes a love I've had better than any song I've ever heard. I can't even describe how seen and crushed it makes me feel
literally said to my best friend last week "not since Gaga have I been this floored by a pop singer." But I think there's even more substance with Chappell. Great video and analysis!
Chappell Roan is the absolute best musical rabbit hole i have fallen down since I was introduced to I Knew You Were Trouble in 2013. So glad I that we are getting a video about her!
Chappell deserves awards!! The people saying that she’s an industry plant need a reality check! I really hope she continues to make music even though the crazy stalkers
I am not joking when I say this album saved my life! I'd been seeing some random posts about her online, but when I saw that clip about the 'some random twink at Google' shtick, I was like, fine I'll give the record a spin. The rest is history. Been a believer since❤
Im a straight woman but something about her music resonates. And her voice and the sound of her music is so good. I love it and am excited to see what else she does.
Was part of her Lolla crowd. She is not underhyped. She is sincerely one of the best performers of her generation. I love her so much and I hope she continues to do well in all ways.
you are 1000% percent my favorite ologists favorite ologist. i've been waiting for a chappellologist video from the second i heard about her because you're the only one who can do it so articulately.
hi swiftologist, i just want to say that your videos really get me through the day. they are so well thought out and well put together. i can’t wait to keep watching them!
You and Madeline were discussing her in a Kiki or something last August and I was like "i gotta check this girl out..." and i did! life changed! thank u swiftologist and lizard
It's so unfortunate that some people think they are entitled to access information about her family and personal life, I hope this doesn't effect her career. (She recently made some remarks about "pumping the breaks" on fame due to stalkers. She said she promised herself at the beginning of her career that if her fame caused herself or her family to be in danger she would quit music. And she said "we're there" 😢)
this is a fantastic video about chappell and how the industry treats young women in general! as someone who makes music and is a long time fan of chappell’s, her rise has been something aspirational. you put all of the thoughts i’d been having for a while so eloquently! thank you!!!
I dont like "quirky" artists for i feel lika a lot of artists going for a loud over-the-top vibe are doing it more for shock value than for the genuine self expression To me Chappell's artistry feels very real and true to the person performing, which makes me so much more hooked I've spent a year or too off of Spotify (dont have it in my country), so when i finally COULD use it, i was shocked by how dreadfully sad and dull a lot of new music is and how way too many artists decided to go for the 80's vibe Chappell's songs felt like a breath of fresh air and a much needed trully unique, interesting and fun pieces to add to my collection
thank you for such a thoughtful video, Zachary! I drove to Tulsa to try and buy resale tickets to Chappell and we in fact, did not get in 🥲 but Chappell and Taylor are the two pop girlies my sons can recognize from voice alone - we play them both so much! It’s a wild experience hearing a 6 year old perfectly pronounce “femininomenon” but we rock.
Only thing to add to this: Chappell is signed to Dan Nigro's Amusement Records, which is an imprint of Interscope. Not sure if you mentioned that and obviously the specifics are complicated but she's not really an independent artist now or at the time of Midwest Princess's release. I think it's an interesting tidbit to the story because she's one of the few artists on Amusement and shows the support that the people closest to her had for her!
I am obsessed with chappell roan. I kept seeing the npr tiny desk recommended to me on youtube and one day i finally gave in. It was perfection. I then proceeded to listen to all the songs, then the music videos, then reaction videos, then finally got the cd and haven’t stopped listening to it. It’s a perfect record.
I saw Chappell at the Guts tour and she was so amazing…I found her when Olivia said she had her opening for the Guts tour (march 30th) and I listened to red wine supernova and that was about it 😂 I went absolutely feral for it when I heard it live
A Chappell and Gaga collab would be FIREEE, It's funny I didn't see the parallel until you pointed it out but I think that's why I got so excited once I discovered Chappel Roan because I was a HUGE early Gaga fan as well
As someone who just started listening last week, all of this makes so much sense. You dive in and it’s SO GOOD and there’s already so much to listen to. Fully formed.
36:24 "When was the last time you heard a cowbell on a pop song?" Not to answer your rhetorical question, but pretty recently! There was a track on Dua Lipa's Future Nostalgia called "Pretty Please". One of the weirder cuts on that record. Before that, all the way back in 2007, there was an album track on Jordin Sparks' self-titled debut album called "Freeze" - which was this midtempo ballad with really ethereal, icy sounding synths led by a percussive cowbell beat. I only know this because I owned that album on CD in sixth grade.
actually super graphic ultra modern girl has agogo bells, not cowbell 😂😭 it’s ok zach isn’t a percussionist so he wouldn’t know the difference but as a percussionist myself, those are unmistakable. anyways, when was the last time you heard fucking agogo bells in a pop song?
Yessss, I've been waiting for this oneee But also, a suggestion... Jade's debut just dropped, and with this, all the Little Mix girlies have released solo stuff So could now be a good moment for that LM video to drop, along with an analysis of each girl's debut? I would be seated, that's for sure
After seeing that intsagram update about how the stakers invaded her life i think she needs to slow down and find someone who can answear questions on how to keep her family safe. Apparently a staker showed up at her sister’s work and at relatives houses.
I have never clicked a video so fast! I love that you compare Chappell and Gaga. I haven’t loved a pop star so much since Gaga in 2008, so hearing your thoughts is validating!
I will be out here sitting through the ENTIRETY of your sponsor message because you serve us tremendous quality content on every. single. one. of. your. videos. Intellectual honesty is your brand honey. Love ya
You described the feeling I had the other day when I finally just listened to Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess after hearing about her all summer, and I'm so mad that this is the first time I have really listened to her.
I feel this weird protective instinct for Chappell, I was following her before her viral moment with good luck babe/coachella (thanks to the swiftologist when u were on Twitter) but you can tell she’s extremely genuine with her art and what she is creating I fear that rising this quick could be a lot on her. Nevertheless I’m really rooting for her and I love to see that the world is too. Thanks for the great video!
chappell’s tiny desk concert was my first introduction to her and it is by far my favorite tiny desk concert EVER! it’s sm better than the actual record IMO. the stripped down versions of her songs with a stringed instrument accompaniment fits her voice and overall vibe so well, i want them to release it on spotify
This SERVED, Zach. GREAT job! Chappell is my muse. She literally and figuratively shook my voice free. I think Casual is the best song on the album. The opera. The strings. The betrayal. It kills.
The way I just finished listening to The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess and THIS shows up on my recommended. I've been so looking forward to this!
Fascinating! I'd never heard of Chappell Roan until this video. So inspired by her story and your enthusiastic telling of it :) Will be doing a deeper dive now on this newly discovered artist. Thank you!
I’ve been a fan of Chappell since early 2022 and seeing her blow up like this has been so insane. I remember her opening at my show for the sour tour and nobody having a clue who she was. went home and listened to her music and fell in love. Been riding for her ever since and it’s so exciting to see her finally getting the appreciation she deserves!
I was waiting for this! Amazing! Living for Chappell's existence this whole period. She and her music has gotten me excited like no other album in recent memory! Totally here for thisss
What an eloquent breakdown of Chappel's rise to stardom! I especially appreciated the bit on her earlier singles like Naked in Manhattan (which is my favorite single), that have been skipped over in other reviews I've seen! My Kink is Karma was also my first brush with her music, so it's cool to hear we've had a similar journey listening to her blow up! I was sad to hear in an article recently that some of the fan attention/stalkery behavior has been really overwhelming for her and she's actively taking a step back from promoting anything right now. I hope she is able to get more support and feel safe so she can keep releasing iconic hits for the gays who need to hear it! :)
Once a girl was telling me she loves Hot to Go and that she loves Chappell Roan and says Chappell's name wrong. And then I made some comment about Chappell being a lesbian and this girl had no clue and real asked me "Chappell's a lesbian?"🤦🏼♀️
