Our Midwestern Princess: Chappell Roan

“H-O-T T-O G-O, you can take me hot to go!” Most people now recognize that song, or even know the dance; I'm sure I do. But, do you ever wonder about the artist behind the upbeat pop song? Artist Chappell Roan has recently skyrocketed to fame in the past couple of months, and this is what you need to know.

Originally known as Kayleigh Rose Amstutz, she grew up in a small conservative town in Willard, Missouri. She began to get into music around 16, posting YouTube covers of songs. Soon she started writing music, and after writing her first original “Die Young” at 17, she was signed by Atlantic Records. Around that time, she adopted her stage name Chappell Roan which was inspired by her grandfather's favorite song “The Strawberry Roan.”

Chappell transitioned into her adult years and moved to LA, where she finally felt the freedom to be able to express herself and her identity in a way she hadn't been able to before. Chappell is very open and proud of being queer, and she described her town back in Willard to be a place where queerness and identity weren’t able to be expressed or even fairly talked about. Her moving to LA and finally being able to express herself motivated her to continue writing music. After releasing a couple of songs that did not gain much attraction at the time, she decided to take a break from music and work on her personal and family life. Soon, she decided she felt ready enough to give it another go. Chappell’s releases focused on herself and her identity, being expressive and highlighting her queerness and identity. Her upcoming songs started to gain attention from all over, and she was even chosen as an opener for hit singer Olivia Rodrigo.

As Chappell went on tour, her career only continued to grow. Her unique way of dressing and singing and her relatable lyrics mostly centered around queer relations and hardships drew people in. Soon, she released her hit single “Hot To Go” which gained massive amounts of popularity on social media platforms such as Tiktok for its upbeat pop sound and of course, its own official dance created by Chappell herself.  Her career was skyrocketing, and soon took off even more after she finally released her first hit album The Rise And Fall of a Midwestern Princess which was a nationwide hit. Critics and fans fled to praise the album which only kept pushing Chappell up there. Chappell ended up releasing another hit single “Good Luck, Babe!” which currently has over 700 million streams on Spotify. Chappell was being featured on huge TV talk shows such as The Tonight Show, and she even found herself at the VMA’s where she won the award for “Best New Artist.” 

Chappell's career just keeps growing, and she has become a huge influence and a spokesperson for the LGBTQ+ community and has impacted so many with her music and lyricism. Check out more of her music, “Hot To Go” and “Good Luck, Babe!” are just two of her handful of fun and catchy songs.