For some people, Chappell Roan seemed to come out of nowhere this year. For others who had been following her stop-and-start music career since the beginning, they knew her breakout moment was the result of a lot of hard work in the trenches. Regardless, the world is a better place with Chappell Roan and her music.
Her debut album, The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess, has been the soundtrack of our lives for the past year and change. And it’s not just because it contains banger after banger, but it’s also because Chappell and her collaborator Dan Nigro were able to imbue the album with distinctly modern, unmistakably queer and fantastically cathartic lyrics that have connected deeply with LGBTQ people around the world. This is revolutionary pop packaged for the masses but actually for us.
14. Coffee
Chappell’s voice takes center stage on this one, and she sounds spectacular. She sings about her conflicted feelings about wanting to be over an ex but not quite being there yet. We all know the feeling: You know that if you agree to meet up for coffee, it’ll never be just coffee. The outro to this song is gorgeous and somewhat hopeful, but it’s just a little forgettable in an album full of songs that stick with you.
13. Kaleidoscope
Written solely by Chappell, this is a heartwrenching ballad about unrequited queer love. It’s about falling in love with your best friend who still just sees you as a best friend, which is of course its own kind of love. Hence, love is a kaleidoscope that can take different forms every time you look at it. Again, this is a gorgeous song and provides nice balance to the the bombastic bops that demand your attention on this album, but it still falls into the bottom half of the songs here (for me!).
12. California
This one unpacks Chappell’s insecurity about not being able to make it in the music industry and is inherently the kind of song that we could only get from her before she blew up. There’s a relatability here for anyone who has left home for a big city hoping to find success in whatever field they work in, which makes it occasionally hit really hard. But I do sometimes find myself wanting this song to go even harder at points, and it’s hook isn’t her strongest.
11. Guilty Pleasure
“Guilty Pleasure” is simply FUN! Well, at least the chorus is. The verses are a little forgettable and lack the punch that a lot of the other bigger tunes on this album have, but the chorus perfectly encapsulates the feeling of genuine, requited interest in another person who may or may not be good for you but — fuck it — who really cares? That’s the whole point of a guilty pleasure, after all!
10. Picture You
The lyrics of “Picture You” epitomize that feeling where an artist puts thoughts and feelings into words for you that you didn’t know you needed to be put into words. It’s that feeling of meeting someone online and being excited but nervous about whether they’ll live up to the image you’ve built up of them in your head when you finally meet in person. It’s wondering whether they’re thinking the same way about you, too. It’s asking the hard questions out loud and giving a voice to that anxiety in your head. It’s relatable and beautiful and very queer.
9. After Midnight
One of the things I love about this song is how Chappell flips the first lyrics she sings (“my mama said nothing good happens when it’s late and you’re dancing alone”) and then proceeds to spend the rest of the song singing about how much she loves everything that happens after midnight. While it’s not the deepest song on the album, I like that it has a universality to it — anyone who loves to go out and throw caution to the wind and live their best life out on the town can connect to this song, queer or not.
8. My Kink is Karma
The ultimate revenge anthem. “Karma is a bitch” but it’s Gen Z and lives in New York and has a TikTok account. Chappell expertly encapsulates the feeling of watching someone who wronged you stumble themselves, and the satisfaction that comes from that. Taylor Swift has written a slew of revenge bops over the years, but I’m not sure if any of them hit quite like this one.
7. Super Graphic Ultra Modern Girl
I’m not overdramatic; I know what I want! Gawd, this song is good. From the sassy spoken intro recalling a lame date like one we’ve all been on to the genuinely anthemic chorus you just want to scream sing to with your friends on the dance floor, it’s simply irresistible. This feels like one of the songs that got people to compare Chappell to Gaga, because it’s reminiscent of early Gaga (complimentary), but updated for the 2020s.
6. Naked in Manhattan
There’s something nostalgic and optimistic and exuberant and quintessentially queer about “Naked in Manhattan.” The way it builds and pulsates and name checks everything from Lana del Rey to having a crush on Regina George from “Mean Girls” — superb. Also, Chappell’s vocals are so fucking good here.
5. Casual
Raise your hand if you felt absolutely seen by this song? “Casual” is more than just a beautiful midtempo jam; it’s also a very of-our-generation callout of the cruel contradictions of modern dating culture. Dating apps and hookup culture have made us all confused about what exactly this is we’re doing at any given time. Is it a situationship destined to end in a couple of weeks? Are we just using one another for sex? Or are we fast-tracking it to a long-term relationship? It’s so hard to tell when everyone has different standards and expectations. One minute they’re knee-deep in the passenger seat eating you out and the next they’re introducing you to their parents… but, wait, this is still just a casual thing, right? Chappell really let it fly with this song and once again put essential thoughts into words for the rest of us. None of us know what we’re doing, but at least we’re in this together and not making sense of it alone.
4. HOT TO GO!
The YMCA of the 21st century. This isn’t the deepest song on Chappell’s album, but who cares? She’s proven elsewhere that she has the vocals and the lyric-writing chops, so why not celebrate this certified banger that’s nothing more than a vibrant, fun celebration of your sexiness? To hear this song live is a religious experience and captures the magic that comes with being a fan of this absolute star of a woman. Bliss!
3. Femininomenon
Who needs men, anyway? When someone’s always disappointing you, why not just leave them behind? This chant-y hit is a total call to arms for women around the world to reclaim their power and fuck the patriarchy, and it also has one of the most interesting, forward-thinking structures of any of the songs on this album. It makes you want there to be more music like this out there. What we really need is a femininomenon, indeed.
2. Pink Pony Club
The storytelling, the theatrics, the hope, the vocals… this queer self-love anthem has it all. In many ways, “Pink Pony Club” is the thesis of the entire album. It tells the story of a family rejecting the LGBTQ protagonist’s path and her leaving them behind in Tennessee to go dance down at the Pink Pony Club and take destiny into her own hands. It’s one of those bops that is so buoyant and so irresistible that the casual listener might not even realize the depth of its lyrics. Chappell achieved something truly groundbreaking with this one.
- Red Wine Supernova
“Red Wine Supernova” horny and seductive and clever and catchy as fuck. It feels like the ultimate intro to Chappell for the uninitiated. It’s a thoroughly lesbian love song that you want to blow your speakers out in your car on your way to seeing her perform it live with thousands of other people scream-singing it with you. It’s pop perfection, but it’s also weird and queer and packs a major punch. If Chappell continues to craft songs like this throughout her career, she’ll be topping the charts for years and years to come.
