Chappell Roan is Taking Lesbian Pop to a New Dimension

For fans, her music is as empowering as it is entertaining

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The lesbian pop star is a relatively new concept, though we’re now living in an era where the phrase is no longer an anomaly. Musicians like Hayley Kiyoko, King Princess, FLETCHER, Reneé Rapp, and MUNA have ushered in a new wave of lesbian pop music, the likes of which we’ve never seen before. But this spring is the season of Chappell Roan, and she’s in a league of her own. 

Born Kayleigh Rose Amstutz, Chappell Roan hails from Willard, Missouri. Her stage name honors her beloved grandfather, and the title of her 2023 debut album, The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess, is inspired by her “Midwest Princess” tramp stamp. She calls Chappell Roan her drag persona, one that allows her to express herself with total abandon while paying homage to the queer community she holds dear. Her dazzling debut is filled with irresistible pop jams like “Femininomenon” and “Red Wine Supernova,” the kind that inspire sing-alongs and hair-flipping, paired with several more somber tracks about heartbreak and belonging.

This last month has been the biggest of Roan’s career. In March, her show-stopping Tiny Desk Concert exploded online. She’s been opening for Gen Z superstar Olivia Rodrigo on her Guts tour, and her Coachella sets blew fans old and new out of the water. Her most recent single, “Good Luck Babe,” which features a searing bridge that rivals the likes of Taylor Swift, put Roan on the Billboard Hot 100 for the first time, and she’s gone from 4 million monthly users on Spotify to over 10 million in under a month. She’s conquered TikTok too, where indie darling Rachel Sennott posted a video singing the song. 

As fans will tell you, her recent rise in popularity is well-deserved, and the mood within the fandom has been celebratory. To get a better sense of why Roan’s struck a nerve, I chatted with some of these fans about their relationship with the pop star and her musical universe. Many told me that what first drew them to Roan was her catchy sound, colorful visuals, striking vocals, and engaging live performances. Upon further inspection, they found that there was more to Roan than meets the eye.

Chappell Roan during her Tiny Desk Concert.

Most fans revealed that one of the things they appreciate about Roan is how she describes her experience of coming into her queer identity, and in particular her struggles with compulsory heterosexuality. Though the concept was first coined by Adrienne Rich in 1980, it’s gained prominence in recent years due to the viral “Am I A Lesbian?” masterdoc and discussions about the term – shortened to “comphet” – on TikTok. Roan’s music and attendant discussions about it illustrate how common these ideas have become in popular culture.

“I came out in my late 20s, and I feel like she does such a good job capturing that comphet mindset I was in for so many years, but she writes about it with care and curiosity,” Katie shared with me. She described the experience of listening to Roan’s music as “validating.” Sam, who grew up around Mormons in Utah and relates to Roan’s story, told me, “She’s set an incredible example of breaking past those barriers and enjoying her authentic self.”

What makes Roan so compelling is not just her portrayal of lesbian desire and coming out, but that she tackles these issues with so much joy and playfulness. Her fans reiterated that one of the things they love about Roan is that she makes being gay look fun. “I never realized that sexuality is something that should be celebrated before I started listening to her,” @freckledbimbo explained. On Reddit, a fan of Roan’s who is trans wrote that they started listening to her because of a tweet that said “the rise and fall of a midwest princess is kinda like preacher’s daughter for happy people,” and they were not disappointed. “I’m so used to listening to happy music by straight artists, or sad music by queer artists,” they wrote, noting how wonderful it is to feel celebrated and included by Roan’s music. “she brings out the pride i have of being lesbian,” Amby told me. 

Roan’s ability to express the growing pains of coming out as a lesbian while putting on a campy, confident performance has inspired her fans to come into their own. “i’ve definitely come out of my shell so much more since listening to chappell,” Freya pointed out. Sam echoed this sentiment, explaining that “In the year that I’ve followed her I’ve watched myself blossom into a braver, more expressive, and proudly queer woman.” Her over-the-top drag persona gives fans permission to explore the sides of themselves they might have otherwise considered too flamboyant or flashy.

Some of the empowerment fans feel through Roan’s music comes from the environment she creates at her live shows. “If I would’ve never gone to that concert and felt that amount of love and queerness in one space, I probably would’ve never come out,” @freckledbimbo shared. Roan makes every effort to create shows that are interactive for the audience. She’s said many of her songs were written with audience participation in mind. She assigns each city on The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess tour a style theme based on her songs and encourages fans to go all-in with their outfits. “I love going to her shows because I’m able to dress up in pink and glitter because she’s created a safe space for feminine queer people,” Sam noted. 

Roan has been making and sharing music since she was seventeen, which means she’s matured in front of the public eye. Fans love to compare photos of a teenaged Kayleigh to out and proud Chappell Roan as an illustration of how much she’s grown. Over the last year, Roan has become more vocal in discussing her love of women and total disinterest in men. A favorite interview among fans is the one she did with Pitchfork where she proclaimed “I’m never dating a man again. I’m not attracted to them, I don’t like having sex with them, I don’t think they understand me, I don’t think they make good art.” 

Chappell Roan in the music video for “Casual.”

Indeed, The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess has been an empowering project for Roan as much as it has been for her fans. She wrote her songs about lesbian desire – “Red Wine Supernova,” “Naked in Manhattan” – before she had ever kissed a girl. “I was just yearning and longing for this feeling, and it was so close I could taste it, but I hadn’t experienced it yet,” she told NME. “I had to catch up to the music,” she explained in Vanity Fair. This idea of lesbianism as a fantasy with the potential to be realized resonates with fans. As Katie shared, “I literally cry sometimes listening to her music because I remember feeling like the life I have now as an out lesbian could only be a fantasy and I feel so grateful that it’s not.”

Roan’s candor about her feelings and lesbian experiences generates a sense of connection among listeners. Despite her campy drag persona, fans feel that she’s authentic and that they can relate to her. “It’s awesome having someone who I feel like finally represents me,” Alexa shared. “I really appreciate the openness of her lyrics, they’re so explicit about her journey of coming into her queer identity which is relatable to so many people including myself,” @idreamaboutit told me. It’s this combination of flamboyance and vulnerability that makes Roan such a captivating pop star. Her lyrics can be quite earnest, but she never ventures into cringy ‘tenderqueer’ territory. While her friend Olivia Rodrigo laces her earnest self-expression with an appealing brattiness, Roan undercuts earnestness with camp and queer humor. It’s a mouth-watering mix of salty and sweet. 

Roan describes the process of doing drag as almost therapeutic, which some fans have experienced through their own fashion experiments. She refers to her Chappell Roan persona as “inner child work,” as it lets her recreate a time in her life when dressing up in sparkly outfits was all she needed to be happy. Kayleigh may be shy, but Chappell can be brave. That’s the kind of freedom drag allows. But, as her fans discussed with me, Chappell Roan being a drag character doesn’t in any way distance her from the audience. While drag may be associated with artifice, that doesn’t mean it’s equivalent to falsity. 

Chappel Roan’s fans know how important drag is to her music, and many of them told me they appreciate how much she uplifts and gives back to the community. Local drag queens opened for every show on The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess fall tour, and she gave a percentage of ticket sales to the black trans organization For The Gworls. Grounding her project in the real lives of queer and trans folks, Roan also embodies the idea of lesbian camp, a form of artistic creation that’s often overlooked. Though she pays homage to drag queens, a performance style associated with gay men, her raunchy lyrics and high femme aesthetic express a decisively lesbian point of view. 

Whether you’re a pink pony princess or not, it’s heartening to see Roan’s star on the rise. Every era is filled with contradictions, and that’s true now more than ever. While lesbian and queer pop music has entered the mainstream, legislators from several states continue working to ban drag, and LGBTQ rights are still on the chopping block. Sure, Roan’s music isn’t overtly political, but it’s clearly fulfilling the emotional needs of listeners, and that’s not nothing. If her goal is to bring fans with her on this musical journey, then no doubt she’s succeeded. Whether they’re crying glitter tears at her concerts or mirroring her bouncy dance moves, Chappell Roan fans want you to know they’ve found queer joy.