The rise in pop music this past year has caused a drastic cultural shift, particularly in Generation Z individuals. This sudden rise has left many surprised and excited for the future of the music due to the downward trend of music being produced from 2020 to 2023, largely due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Although there were successful artists who released music during these years, we haven’t seen an entire cultural shift of this genre since the 2010s. The 2000s and 2010s were an incredibly iconic time for pop, and artists like Kesha, Lady Gaga and Rihanna all set the expectation for energetic, anthemic, empowering pop. With the shift of pop music being produced and discovered this year, fans claim on social media that pop stars have returned.
With that being said, The first artist I’ll be looking into is Chappell Roan and her hit album The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess. The album was released in September 2023, but it gained widespread popularity in April 2024 when she opened for Olivia Rodrigo’s GUTS world tour from February to April of that year.
Roan's career journey has been nothing short of transformative, as she started her project of making songs as Chappell Roan over ten years ago and has since become a widespread, cultural sensation in queer pop. Born Kayleigh Rose Amstutz, she first got signed to Atlantic Records at nineteen when she was noticed singing various covers on her YouTube channel. She released her first EP School Nights in 2017, and was later able to move from Missouri to Los Angeles and earn opening concert gigs for Vance Joy and Declan McKenna. With the spread of the pandemic in 2020, she was unfortunately terminated by Atlantic Records and was forced to move back home. Due to these unprecedented times, Roan was close to leaving music altogether and went back to having a part time job. She decided to still pursue music on the side, though, and was able to land a major publishing deal with Sony in 2022 when she also began working with critically acclaimed producer Dan Nigro, who also collaborates with Olivia Rodrigo. As Roan began receiving more traction and recognition while on tour with Rodrigo, her album did as well and she started performing at large music festivals like Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival in Tennessee.
As Roan has gained global fame, fans and musicians are reminded how tedious and difficult the process of marketing your artistry is, which is reflected through social media trends. For instance, there is a current TikTok trend where young musicians just starting out attempt to introduce an audience to their work by saying that their future fans will be able to "gatekeep" their songs since they were their first listeners before they received widespread popularity online like Chappell Roan. Cliques of fans who claim that artists' music is only for them often create a harmful and unwelcoming space for others, but this trend has been an effective way for musicians to showcase their work in spite of its exclusive nature. Chappell Roan's success in the music industry after ten long, hardworking years allows fans to perceive fame differently as well as their identity as musicians. Because of this, many young musicians believe that they have more chances to receive virality online. Some musicians on the app have received some recognition and praise due to their work, as young musician Sorana participated in this trend by performing one of her songs and received hundreds of thousands of views on her account shortly after.
Preview of musician Sorana's single on TikTok.
She has since gone viral and now has 276,000
followers on the platform.
In an interview with People Magazine, Chappell Roan described her project as a party where people can “reflect, sing, dress up, and feel free.” But not only Roan's sound contributed to her rise to fame, the lyricism and themes she spread throughout her songs drew a younger audience in and made a difference with her anthemic pop. From "Naked in Manhattan," a euphoric anthem about experiencing a teenage queer crush to the empowering, confident anthem "HOT TO GO!" inspired by the cult classic queer film But I'm a Cheerleader, and reflective ballads on the hardships of queer love like "Kaleidoscope," there is truly so much versatility on the numerous emotions and ideas of identity that come with queer identity.
This has caused many of Roan's songs to go mainstream on the Billboard Hot 100 as well as on social media platforms like TikTok and Instagram. Roan is known for her theatrical, upbeat performance style, incorporating choreography that she teaches and fans follow while she is on stage, like the HOT TO GO! dance which was inspired by Y.M.C.A by Village People. Her unique and expressive performances gained her a myriad of fans, with her performance at the Lollapalooza Music Festival being the largest crowd the festival has ever seen with about 110,000 people in the audience.
With references to Mean Girls' teen antagonist Regina George and referencing the 2006 mermaid romcom Aquamarine, Roan is "fixated on youthful femininity" in this album and reflects on sexuality uncertainty and exploration in your 20's. At 26 years old, Chappell Roan is very familiar and personal about this concept. This causes fans to share their emotions on social media regarding the elevated rise of her anthems and the mourning fall of her ballads.
TikTok video of user @glutenfreecrocs relating to the
lyricism of one of Chappell Roan's ballads, "California,"
while visiting the state and also being from Missouri.
Although Chappell Roan has impacted fans through her versatile vocals, lyricism, and performance style, she has also impacted them by various encounters she has discussed on social media. Roan has set the norm for placing personal boundaries as an artist, as she has made multiple public statements online about harassment, stalking, and abuse that she has experienced from fans since her rapid rise to fame. In this TikTok video, she says: "I don't care that abuse and harassment, stalking, whatever, is a normal thing to do to people who are famous. I don't care that it's normal... That does not make it okay. That doesn't mean I want it." As a result of these videos, controversial responses from fans followed, with some praising Roan for setting an example for treating famous women with respect as individuals and others accusing her of being ungrateful for not appreciating her fame and and declining interactions with fans during her free time.
Video on Chappell Roan's TikTok account
of her discussing boundaries.
Being diagnosed with Bipolar II Disorder in 2022, Chappell Roan shared her mental health struggles when it came to her quick rise to fame both online and during performances. At a concert in Raleigh, North Carolina, Chappell Roan expressed her vulnerability to the audience by saying: "I think that my career has just gone kind of gone really fast so it's really hard to keep up." Additionally, Roan cancelled her performance at the All Things Go Music Festival in Maryland and New York due to mental health struggles. She wrote on an Instagram story: "I feel pressured to prioritize a lot of things right now and I need a few days to prioritize my health. I want to be present when I perform and give the best shows possible. Thank you for understanding." While this was disappointing news to thousands of people, many fans were able to empathize with Roan's honesty, but others were more rigid and claimed that she should not have cancelled since people paid thousands of dollars for her concerts.
Another bold circumstance that Roan received criticism for was when she shouted at a photographer at the Video Music Awards after he yelled "shut the f*** up" at her when she did not respond to his direction to pose a certain way. Roan's assertive nature is not the norm when it comes to the treatment of famous women, as many artists like Britney Spears and Kesha were abused for decades and forced to keep quiet. Although Gen Z people can agree that Chappell Roan is changing the music industry as a whole, many do not want to face that this is her way of doing so since boundaries are not always prioritized by other celebrities and she is breaking the silence on what is supposed to be normal. Chappell Roan wants artists to be seen as people while some of her fans and other artists' fans only see them as a musical concept or object.
Overall, Chappell Roan has significantly impacted Gen Z's attitudes, identities, and behaviors surrounding the music industry, despite how conflicting many of their opinions may be. Although she has experienced numerous struggles due to the fast pace of her virality, Roan will bring the pop star back and continue to make a generational and cultural impact that will not go unnoticed.
Citations
“All Things Go Music Festival.” All Things Go Music Festival, allthingsgofestival.com/.
Bonnaroo. “Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival.” Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival, 2020, www.bonnaroo.com/.
Chappell Roan. “Chappell Roan - HOT to GO! (Official Music Video).” YouTube, 11 Aug. 2023, www.youtube.com/watch?v=xaPNR-_Cfn0.
ChappellRoanVEVO. “Chappell Roan - Kaleidoscope (Official Live Performance).” YouTube, 30 Mar. 2023, www.youtube.com/watch?v=imHkz5nD6gs. Accessed 19 June 2024.
Kahn, Andy. “Chappell Roan Wrestles with Massive Crowd at Lollapalooza.” JamBase, 2 Aug. 2024, www.jambase.com/article/chappell-roan-lollapalooza-2024-video-setlist. Accessed 13 Dec. 2024.
Kaplan, Illana. “Chappell Roan on Her Love of Drag Queens and Her Debut Album That “Feels like a Party” (Exclusive).” Peoplemag, 27 Sept. 2023, people.com/chappell-roan-new-album-rise-fall-midwest-princess-exclusive-7974688.
“Lollapalooza – July 29-August 1, 2021 – Grant Park, Chicago.” Www.lollapalooza.com, www.lollapalooza.com/.
Mae, Katy. “TikTok @Glutenfreecrocs.” Tiktok.com, 2024, www.tiktok.com/@glutenfreecrocs/video/7374845599566417194?_r=1&_t=8sAzcXMWHVa.
Roan, Chappell. “TikTok @Chappell Roan.” Tiktok.com, 2024, www.tiktok.com/@chappellroan/video/7404957266853645611?_r=1&_t=8sAzHJfDirW. Accessed 13 Dec. 2024.
Sorana. “TikTok @Sorana.” Tiktok.com, 2023, www.tiktok.com/@sorana/video/7383402080158977313?_r=1&_t=8sAo5zKlvag.
Vivinetto, Gina. “Chappell Roan Cancels Concerts amid Controversy. What’s Going On?” TODAY.com, TODAY, 27 Sept. 2024, www.today.com/popculture/music/chappell-roan-controversy-rcna173051.
Wagmeister, Elizabeth. “Chappell Roan May Have Had the Biggest Lollapalooza Set of All Time.” ABC7 Chicago, 6 Aug. 2024, abc7chicago.com/post/chappell-roan-may-have-had-biggest-daytime-set-time-lollapalooza-2024/15150036/. Accessed 13 Dec. 2024.
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