3 years ago, a young Chappell Roan was singing Elton John covers on YouTube. Her hair was long and brown, her clothing muted, her demeanour understated, according ti the Independent.
That girl is worlds away from the sparky musician dancing on stage in 2023; red ringlets springing around her face and wearing elaborate costumes heavy with glitter and fringe.
Would Roan’s younger self, that one on YouTube, have believed Elton would be a fan of hers just three years later? “You’ve been called a ‘queer pop superstar in the making’ – I think they called me that too,” the Rocket Man himself quipped. “He’s a fan,” Roan tells me now, with a cheeky, nonchalant smile. “He loves it.”
Roan – real name Kayleigh Rose Amstutz – is a star cut from Elton’s cloth: all campy costumes, energetic performances and huge-sound pop. On her acclaimed debut album, The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess (she’s from Missouri), you can hear the stars of her childhood like Lady Gaga and Ke$ha, mottled with the sort of Eighties artists behind “big, anthemic” pop songs such as Kate Bush and Cyndi Lauper. She’s a versatile singer, expressing the pain of forbidden love and chaotic relationships through full-throttle, bratty vocals.
@oliviarodrigo is bringing me on to open her Guts US TOUR!!! Oh my god oh my god oh my godddd I AM SO EXCITED. thank you @oliviarodrigo for asking me I am very honored. I adore you and the community that surrounds your project. I CAN’T WAIT 💜 pic.twitter.com/91WSbsnSq7
— Chappell Roan (@ChappellRoan) September 13, 2023
I was going to reach out to Phoebe Bridgers and see what she was doing,” she recalls, “and I asked Olivia if she had talked to Billie [Eilish] or anything. People who are in similar circumstances.”
If fans want to overcomplicate the music, good for them. Have at it. Have a ball!
Rodrigo’s answer was honest, but it made Roan “kind of sad”. “She was just like, ‘No one has it figured out. No one has the answer. It’s different for every person,’” says Roan. “I do think it was really helpful for me to hear that no matter who you are or how big you are or how small you are, you feel the same.” The hurt becomes audible in her voice. “And you know what, of course there’s not a solution for people hating you. People hate you and they want to say mean things to hurt your feelings. The only solution is to not read.”
