Chappell Roan’s fast rise to fame landed her “Best New Artist of 2024” at the Video Music Awards, but this climb to the top has leveled off as fast as it began.
Roan started her career young, and at just 17, she was signed to Atlantic Records. Through this label, she released singles like “Good Hurt” and her EP “School Nights” in 2017.
As Roan established herself under Atlantic Records, she moved to Los Angeles, California, leaving the small trailer park in Willard, Missouri that she had longed to “escape.” In L.A., she finally felt accepted as an openly queer woman and started associating herself heavily in the drag community.
This new identity made her music take a “hard left turn,” as she described it, from her first EP and singles. With this new, more flamboyant era, she released her debut album, “The Rise and Fall of the Midwest Princess.”
However, Roan’s true career breakthrough didn’t come until early 2024 when her song “Casual” went viral on TikTok. People made videos to the song, talking about romantic things they experienced that were brushed off by the other person as just friendly or “casual.” This, along with her opening for Olivia Rodrigo’s “GUTS” tour, led to a major boost in streams. However, what solidified the rise of Roan was NPR Music releasing her “Tiny Desk Concert.”
This release placed Roan further into the public eye. She was nothing like anyone had seen in modern day artists. She continued to perform and go on talk shows like “The Tonight Show starring Jimmy Fallon.”
In April 2024, Roan released her single “Good Luck, Babe!,” which received positive reviews from fans.
X users, @writerintheday posted “This changed my brain chemistry,” and @nalachurl said “Good Luck, Babe! is the ‘All to Well’ to sapphics.”
The song further pushed Roan into fame and boosted her popularity in the queer community.
Roan’s career exploded overnight, but she soon expressed discomfort around the sudden fame. In Aug., Roan released a multiple slide statement on her platforms saying how uncomfortable she is with the culture surrounding fame.
“What I do not accept are creepy people, being touched, and being followed,” Roan posted.
Roan made it clear that she did not want any photos to be taken of her or with her in public. This was received with a mixture of support and hate. Fans said she wasn’t ready or made for fame, and that her feelings were part of the job.
“I love Chappell Roan and all the hate is undeserved,” junior Azra Cotte said.
In the last few months, Roan has made a point to prioritize her mental health. She expressed to her fans her struggle with it, such as a her recent diagnosis of severe depression. In efforts to continue focusing and healing herself, Roan cancelled two shows at the All Things Go music festival.
This announcement came less than 24 hours before the scheduled performance, and people were outraged due to the short notice. Fans agreed that mental health is important, but her cancelling shows less than a day in advance left many feeling as though they had “wasted” money.
On the other hand, many die-hard fans defended her, saying that mental health trumps performing. They also said her dropping out was the right thing to do, since she wouldn’t be able to give her best show.
As more and more people began criticizing her actions, Roan’s career took a downward turn. Many believed Roan was destroying her career by repeatedly using mental health as an excuse for why she can’t handle her fame.
As the presidential election nears, this criticism continued to rise. With many celebrities, such as Taylor Swift and Billie Eilish, endorsing Kamala Harris for the 2024 election, fans waited for Roan to do the same. However, Roan made it clear she was not endorsing Harris. This was skewed online to mean Roan was voting for Donald Trump. She made the correction soon after in a short TikTok video where she explained she is voting for Harris but still is not endorsing her.
This outraged fans, especially those in the LGBTQ+ community. Roan has always spoken out for queer and transgender rights, yet she isn’t endorsing the candidate who is supporting those rights. This confused and angered many people, not just fans.
“Her not endorsing Kamala felt unauthentic to her previous statements,” junior Grayson Basile said.
Roan has made many mistakes when addressing her audience, which has led to a decrease in support for her career. Many are questioning her PR training and have posted about their opinions on Roan.
The amount rooting for Roan and her career has severely decreased, and the fall of the internet’s “Midwest Princess” has come faster than her rise.
