Camp is making a comeback through Chappell Roan.
Flamboyant daydreams and bold makeups. Infectious groove screaming through the roof with lyrics that fill up an entire room. Roan’s drag-inspired aesthetic is giving the world a dreamy filter, in which those who broke our hearts got bitten by karma and all relationships were mended by joy.
Roan has gone through a creative awakening during the making of The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess. The breakout song “Pink Pony Club” caught her at the beginning of change as she contemplated about leaving home. Knowing that “you wanted me to stay” and the decision “won’t make my mama proud,” she was torn by two worlds. But LA was calling. “I heard that there’s a special place, where boys and girls can all be queens every single day. I’m having wicked dreams of leaving Tennessee,” she sings.
Living in somewhere you don’t belong is a painful experience, and Roan hasn’t been happy prior to finding LA. Speaking about her early music, where she was being compared to dark pop artists like Lord and Lana, Roan didn’t attempt to hide her pain, “I used to be very dark…I was just a teenage who was really sad and depressed.” Her music was a reflection of her natural state of being.
“Pink Pony Club” was an instant hit. Roan’s honesty immediately created an echo around the world. From exotic dancers to artists and performers in the show biz to everyone who weren’t understood and alienated because they grew up to be someone other than the person they were expected to be, “Pink Pony Club” is for them.
“There are a lot of heavy topics that go into queerness,” Roan said. “I don’t know a lot of people who don’t have any trauma connected to their coming out, being queer, or just dealing with homophobia.”
But Roan has found her happiness in the campy town of amazing queens and fun-filled adventures. She became an eclectic cheerleader in “Hot to Go” and the bitingly hot devil girl in “My Kink In Karma. Her music has transcended onto next level with warm brewing soundscapes, spicy lyrics, irresistible groove.
“My eyes were opened to so many new things and so many fun people. I was doing things that I never thought I was able to do,” she said. “‘The new sound’ just reflected what was genuinely going on with my life.”
But there was always a bitter undertone. “I simply just write what I feel or wish would happen,” she admitted. “I think that a lot of people daydream and wish for things. At the end of the day, people just want to feel something sometimes that pulls them out of the pit of despair.”
Written by Katrina Yang
Press Q&A with Chappell Roan
Q (HUMANKIND ZINE): After tapping into and feeling a poignancy that so many people relate to, how does “Pink Pony” further push your lyrical and conceptual expressions?
Chappell Roan: I think that there is a lot of heavy topics that go into queerness. I don’t know a lot of people who don’t have any trauma connected to their coming out or being queer or just dealing with homophobia. I simply just write what I feel or what I wish would happen. I think that a lot of people really daydream and wish for things. At the end of the day, people just want to feel something that sometimes pull them out of the pits of despair.
Q (Luna Collective): How have your sound and lyricism evolved since your early singles up to your debut album? What has inspired that progression of change?
Roan: I mean it has drastically changed. I used to be very dark, like piano ballad pop, very Lord, Lana-esque. I was just a teenager who was really depressed and sad and I think it just really reflected that. What changed was that I moved. My eyes were opened to so many new things and so many fun people. I was doing things that I never thought I was able to do. I thought “the new sound” just reflected what was genuinely going on with my life.
Q (Lettuce and Cheddar ): On your latest song “Hot to Go,” I was curious about where the idea for the beat and melody came from. It almost sound like 80-inspired.
Roan: It just naturally. I’m always inspired by synth pop. I love synth pop. It’s definitely inspired but ‘80s, but that song was written in a day. It just came out because I wanted a cheerful song. I wanted something that’s fun.
Q (1824): Did the dance come to you during the making it or was it like a post-production sort of thing?
Roan: We wrote it with the dance . I posted a video the other day of me writing and like I’m literally dancing with the song.
Q (Off the Record Press): What’s the best part of having drag influence has been?
Roan: I’m very inspired by drag in every aspect. I have drag artists open for me. I have three local drag performers for every city that I headline. I think that drag has really inspired the project with styling, makeup, performance, and music videos. The energy around the entire show, and just the writing, the campiness is at the forefront of the project.
Q (For the Punks): What is one thing that you want fans to know about your work or your artistic process before they listen to the album?
Roan: [laugh] That’s a hard question. One thing, prepared to be silly. Don’t take it too seriously. I find myself hyper critical when I listen to something brand new, or seeing a movie everyone love. Give it a chance. Allow yourself to feel silly and fun.
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