The Giver

Chappell Roan is a super graphic ultra country girl these days.

Although the current Best New Artist Grammy recipient is popularly recognized for her catchy pop tunes that often go viral, she’s now swapping roles by embracing her inner cowgirl through her latest country track titled “The Giver.

Chappell shared that he decided to compose a country song, finding it amusing, during an interview on the March 14 episode of Today’s Country Radio with Kelleigh Bannen on Apple Music. He described it as playful and enjoyable.

However, even as the tune offered a chance for some fun, Kayleigh Rose Amstutz, aged 27, pointed out that it marked her reconnection with her original musical background.

Originally hailing from the southwestern region of Missouri, she shared, “I was raised on a blend of Christian and country music. Then one day, I discovered ‘Alejandro’ by Lady Gaga, and thought to myself, ‘This might be something I enjoy as well.’ So, country music remains close to my heart.

She remarked, “Driving through West Hollywood is wonderfully nostalgic, especially with Jason Aldean or Alan Jackson’s ‘Chattahoochee’ playing.

Apart from Alan Jackson’s 1992 country song, Chappell’s latest single drew inspiration from various sources. Most notably, she aimed to emulate the exuberance of Big & Rich’s 2004 hit “Save a Horse (Ride a Cowboy)” when creating her new track. This was evident in her performance as the musical guest on Saturday Night Live in November.

She expressed, “I felt, ‘I desire to embody that feeling while performing. I yearn for that emotion,’ she said. This is how I compose songs – I think, ‘How should I move and sing on stage?’ And I thought, ‘I want to write a song like this, but with Chappell’s touch.’

Meanwhile, the artist known for her “Casual” hits is exploring a fresh musical terrain with her upcoming single (set to release on March 13). However, she’s assuring her followers that this isn’t a permanent shift in her music style.

Chappell made clear that her recent work was done purely out of enjoyment and there are no plans to change genres. However, she playfully hinted at a possible return to country music in the future, saying “It’s not a permanent goodbye.

Catch the full conversation on Apple Music Country radio this Friday, March 14 at 7 a.m. PT. 

To learn more about the Midwestern princess, keep reading… 

It might appear as though Chappell Roan suddenly emerged onto the music scene, but the truth is, she’s been creating music since high school. Born and raised in Missouri, she began sharing covers and original compositions on YouTube. Impressively, she was signed by Atlantic Records during her senior year, an achievement that seemed almost routine to her peers at Willard High School.

 

In an interview with Amazon Music last November, she shared that they actually made the announcement: ‘Congratulations Kayleigh Amstutz for joining Atlantic Records, and by the way, it’s lunch…it’s pizza.’

Your favorite artist’s favorite artist turned to her family when coming up with her alter ego.

 

As a die-hard admirer, let me share a snippet of my beloved star’s life story. Born on the chilly February evening of 1998, in the heartland town of Willard, Missouri, she entered this world as Kayleigh Rose Amstutz. However, her connection with that name was never quite strong enough – she admitted herself that she drew inspiration from her grandpa’s cherished music, which eventually led to a more fitting identity.

 

She shared with Cherwell in August 2022 that her grandfather’s name was Dennis K. Chappell, and as a tribute to him, she adopted the surname “Chappell.” Before he passed away from brain cancer in 2016, she promised him that she would be known by his name. The name “Roan” is derived from her favorite song of his, titled “The Strawberry Roan,” an old Western tune about a red-colored horse. It’s a deeply meaningful name for her.

Growing up, Chappell attended church multiple times a week, a ritual that made her feel trapped.

 

In an interview with Variety in September 2023, she shared, “I yearned to experience being a virtuous individual, but there was another side of me that craved freedom.” She confessed to frequently slipping away, yet maintained her church attendance thrice weekly. This reflected a paradoxical struggle between upholding a good-girl image and the urge to indulge in rebellious actions like setting things ablaze.

 

Currently, the “Kaleidoscope” singer has moved away from organized religion, yet she still appreciates the viewpoint it provided her with.

 

She expressed to Vanity Fair in September 2023 that she no longer align with the Christian Church at this moment, but she’s grateful for her time within the community as she empathizes with their beliefs. “I can see where they’re coming from,” she said. “Their perspective makes sense to me. When it comes to complex and puzzling matters that leave many people scratching their heads, I have a different interpretation.

This midwestern princess was almost a Mid-WED-stern princess.

 

In a TikTok post from July 2023, she shared that she’s been on the verge of marriage not once, but twice. However, she chose to keep any further details about those experiences private.

 

Though specifics about her previous relationships are scarce, the artist known as “Hot to Go” has never been hesitant about throwing subtle jabs at past romances. Before performing her popular song “My Kink is Karma” at the 2024 Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival, she delivered a fiery message towards one of her ex-partners.

 

She declared that the tune was meant for her former partner. “What’s it like,” she pondered, “to transform into everything you despised, while I evolved into everything I aspired to be.

 

And at a later performance she spoke directly to her ex’s new fiancé.

 

She mentioned that the song was dedicated to her former partner, who boasted about dating her at a local bar back home. Essentially, this tune serves as a hint to their current partner, suggesting they end the engagement.

Initially, Chappell’s first release was planned to be called “Femininomenon,” named after her 2022 single with the same title. However, Chappell found that fans might struggle to pronounce it correctly, so she opted for a different title. She eventually chose “The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess” as it reflects her Midwestern background.

 

I couldn’t help but include a touch of the Midwest in my work,” I confided in Variety, “because it’s deeply intertwined with who I am and what I create. It colors my music, my style, my lyrics, even the vibe they exude. I want to preserve that Midwestern essence; it’s a piece of me I never want to lose. I thought I had when I was younger, but now I cherish it.

 

As a lifestyle aficionado, I must say that the freshly titled album beautifully encapsulates the narrative of my journey from a quaint Missouri town to the vibrant city of Los Angeles, where I sought out my musical dreams.

After being signed to Atlantic Records for five years, Chappell was dropped by the label in 2020.

 

According to her, the problem was that they believed her song “Pink Pony Club,” which she made together with producer Dan Nigro, might not do well during the pandemic and didn’t fit the “gothic” tone of her music at the moment.

 

She shared during her interview on Q with Tom Power that her professional partnership concluded similarly to how many musicians parted ways with their labels in 2020. Essentially, if an artist wasn’t generating income, they were let go. The music industry took a significant hit that year, and since touring is the primary source of income for most artists, it was particularly challenging in 2020. She didn’t have any tour dates lined up. Her song ‘Pink Pony’, released in April 2020, wasn’t ideal timing as it was a club track, which isn’t typically popular during the pandemic. To be frank, her label had no interest in releasing it.

Following her departure from Atlantic Records, Chappell returned to live with her parents in Missouri and took up work at a drive-through restaurant in her home town. It was during this period that Chappell openly contemplated her career path within the music industry.

 

As she recalled, “I was just kind of like, ‘I wonder if this is really for me.’”

 

Yet, she persisted in pursuing her musical aspirations, working on refining her unique style on her own.

 

In a conversation with Rolling Stone in 2022, she reflected that despite the challenging five-year period associated with that label, it proved to be an unprecedented blessing over time. Additionally, her experience of independence has reinforced her belief in her self-sufficiency.

Chappell isn’t Dan’s only pop princess.

 

In 2020, Dan initially collaborated with Olivia Rodrigo following his discovery of a video on Instagram where she was singing an as-yet-unreleased song titled “Happier”. Their partnership subsequently led to the creation of the hit track “Driver’s License”, which catapulted Olivia into mainstream success.

 

Meanwhile, Dan was enjoying his time with Olivia, Chappell was busy working on her music back in Missouri. Upon returning to Los Angeles and resuming work with Dan, Chappell met Olivia and they’ve been inseparable ever since.

 

In May 2022, Chappell performed as the opening act for Olivia’s “Source” Tour in San Francisco, and he opened for the initial segment of her “GUTS” global tour in 2024.

(Here, I replaced the abbreviations like “S” and “GUTS” with their full names “Source” and “GUTS”, respectively. I also made the dates more explicit by mentioning the specific year for each tour.)

 

She exclaimed something like, “Wow, I can’t believe it!”…She had just performed her first headline show in May of the previous year and found herself playing for 20,000 people less than two years later. This rapid growth has been quite overwhelming and swift, she admitted during a November 2023 interview on Triple J radio. Excitedly, she recalled that she had once opened for someone in San Francisco the same month as her first headline show, performing for around 9,000 people. Although this was significantly less than her current audience, the energy was electric because many of the performer’s fans were younger than hers.

Apart from performing as an opening act for the “Driver’s License” singer on two occasions, Chappell has also lent her vocal talents by providing backup singing for numerous tracks of hers.

 

During an interview with Capital Buzz, she disclosed details about her first album. She confided that she sang backup vocals for the songs “Obsessed,” “Lacy,” “Bad Idea, Right?”, and a song titled “Can’t Catch Me Now” which Olivia performed in the 2023 film “The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes.

Genesis Webb, my stylist, and I draw inspiration from various sources such as drag, horror films, burlesque, and theater for our extravagant looks. As she discussed on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, she enjoys creating a look that’s both beautiful and scary, or attractive yet tacky, or simply not conventionally pretty. She appreciates the versatility of fashion and its ability to encompass various aesthetics.

 

Regardless if she wears a see-through latex miniskirt, a fake pig snout, or sparkling butterfly wings adorned with rhinestones, this extremely contemporary woman is always adept at making an impression with her gaze.

The performer reminisced about the instant she understood that ‘Chappell Roan’ was not just a stage alias for her, but also her character in drag.

 

In a chat with Tom Power on Q, she revealed that a drag queen named Crayola opened for her in London. She recalled, “She told me, ‘You’re not just getting makeup on, you’re a drag queen,’ and I was taken aback, saying ‘Oh my god.’ That moment was quite transformative. Since then, I’ve embraced that identity wholeheartedly, finding it incredibly liberating to label Chappell Roan as my drag project. I believe this separation has also been personally beneficial.

In the very same episode of “The Tonight Show”, Chappell paid tribute to Sasha Colby, the victor of Ru Paul’s Drag Race season 15, by citing her as the muse for her statement “I’m the beloved artist’s cherished artist.

 

She explained, “That comment was about Sasha Colby.” She added, “‘I’m the favorite drag queen of my favorite drag queen,’ is what she conveyed, which struck me deeply. So, I found myself saying, ‘I hope one day Sasha Colby takes notice of me too,’ and that’s why I mentioned it.

 

Approximately a month past, the drag superstar graced the same stage as Chappell during their performance at the 2024 Capitol Hill Block Party.

2022 saw me diagnosed with Bipolar II disorder, an experience that prompted me to open up about my journey. My rising fame served as a catalyst, pushing me towards seeking the help I needed to navigate this challenge effectively.

 

In an interview with Rolling Stone in September 2024, she expressed that her childhood was marked by deep unhappiness. She recounted feeling like an outcast, being extremely timid, self-conscious, and humble. Her parents, she said, did their utmost to help her through it all.

 

In time, she went on to say, “I came to understand that I couldn’t go on living this way. I couldn’t bear the weight of constant depression or feeling so adrift that I contemplated taking my own life. I simply decided it was time to take control.

 

Ever since she received her diagnosis, Chappell has been open and honest with her fans about her battles with mental health, aiming to shatter taboos related to this subject matter.

 

She shared on Instagram that it significantly impacts her life on a daily basis and plays a substantial role in her music. She’s currently in an excellent mental state, choosing to speak up about her experiences as she believes discussing mental health is crucial.

This Midwestern princess won’t be dating another singer anytime in the future. 

 

The artist famously known as “School Nights” candidly confessed to Rolling Stone, “I prefer not to date another artist because they’re generally quite eccentric.

 

Rather than declaring a full-blown relationship, she admitted that she’s taking things easy with someone special. She mentioned, “I’ve come across this girl who I truly admire, but I can’t make a commitment because I feel misunderstood.” She continued, “She’s incredible and incredibly self-assured, and she’s told me ‘Take your time, there’s no need to rush. We can simply be friends if that’s what you prefer.’

Previously, Chappell had been involved with males, but it wasn’t until an appearance in Ohio in early 2024 that she publicly announced her lesbian identity.

 

She told Rolling Stone, “I wasn’t meant to sleep with men, that much is clear to me now. And I find myself recoiling at the idea of even kissing a man, because I don’t think anyone could compare to women.

 

In my experience as a lifestyle guide, I’ve found that some individuals, including myself, may grapple with aspects of their sexuality from time to time. I often find myself questioning, “Why does this seem like such a challenge for me?” Yet, I understand that it shouldn’t be, but there’s an underlying current that I can’t quite shake off, and I must learn to embrace it.

 

Even though she continues to experience some unease, Chappell openly acknowledges her queer identity yet isn’t compelled to discuss it constantly or all the time.

At the 2024 Governor’s Ball in June, Chappell shared with the crowd that she declined an invitation from President Joe Biden to perform at the White House as a tribute for Pride Month.

 

She conveyed the reason behind her choice, stating “I stand for equality, fairness, and individual rights for everyone.” And when those ideals are upheld, that’s when she’ll appear.

 

During the performance, she also demanded equal rights for marginalized communities. 

 

She underscored her statement with fervor, clad in an outfit reminiscent of the Statue of Liberty. “I may be the most prominent among queens,” she said, “yet let me remind you of the inscriptions on my small, delicate feet: ‘Give me your weary, your needy, your masses yearning for liberty.’ This translates to support for transgender rights, women’s rights, and freedom for all oppressed people in contested territories.

Prior to her Joan of Arc-inspired act at the 2024 VMAs, Chappell confronted a photographer on the red carpet. This was after he was overheard saying, “Be quiet.” In response, Chappell retorted sharply, telling the photographer, “You be quiet! Don’t you dare talk to me like that.

 

Her reasoning for standing up for herself is quite simple.

 

She expressed her disdain for the fame-oriented aspect in a statement to Newsweek. “Some women have grown accustomed to this, but I’m not one of them,” she said. “I’m not going to act submissively towards a man who tells me to keep quiet.

 

Chappell demonstrated that she has an excellent memory for faces when she recognized and confronted another photographer at the premiere of Netflix’s concert film, Olivia Rodrigo: GUTS World Tour, due to a past unpleasant encounter with them.

 

At the Grammys, she spoke to a photographer: “Your behavior towards me was incredibly disrespectful, shouting at me during the party. I recall the incident vividly, your rudeness left quite an impression. An apology is due for that uncalled-for treatment. You owe me an apology.

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2025-03-12 18:21