Chappell Roan reminds us what it means to be a pop star
26-year-old Kayleigh Amstutz, better known by her stage name “Chappell Roan,” has become a prevalent face in the public eye over the past few months—even having the opportunity to perform during Coachella’s opening night this year. As with any artist who makes their way into the mainstream, some may wonder what it is about her, particularly, that warrants this attention. The most obvious answers are related to the singer’s aesthetic, the energy she brings to her music, and her presence both on and off the stage.
Chappell Roan’s debut album, The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess, which was released in Sept. 2023, was immediately evocative and well-received by LGBTQIA+ music lovers for its range of pop-girl anthems to bittersweet ballads. The album’s themes were meaningful for their large focus on the singer’s lesbian identity—delving into the journey and self-sacrifices Amstutz has taken to try and “make it” in the music industry. This alone, though, cannot account for her impending breakthrough into mainstream pop. Instead, this has attested to her notably ‘camp’ aesthetic, reminiscent of queer legend and pop icon Lady Gaga, complimented by her extremely high-energy performances, videos of which have been making the rounds on TikTok.
Amstutz admits to Vogue in an interview that she sees the stage moniker of Chappell Roan as a “quasi-drag persona” incorporating the caricature aesthetic, hyper-femininity, and fabulousness of traditional drag queen culture into her aura as a performer. Her look for the debut album’s cover shows indications of this inspiration, with it being entirely overtly conjuring commonplace notions of Marie-Antoinette-stylings. The vintage feel of the bouncy, pinned curls, the faux beauty mark, and white face paint create a delicious stylistic tension with her teal off-the-shoulder dress, sash, and tiny tiara—all of which are electrically glittered—and modern vanity mirror illuminating her from behind. Through her look alone, viewers can tell how Amstutz pulls from the performers before her to create a persona that is modernized yet reminiscent in an unapologetic way.
Just a few weeks ago, Amstutz departed as the opening act for Olivia Rodrigo’s Guts (2023) World Tour, only to announce a tour of her own, and, the cherry on top, revealed that she would be performing at the illustrious aforementioned Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival. This excited many fans as they rushed to get tickets, aspiring to move from the detached online appreciation of Amstutz to feel the crowd’s buzz as she dominated the stage in front of their eyes.
Amstutz is revered for her stamina on stage; with the high energy of many of her songs, no crowd expects her to keep up as well as she does; during a typical performance, she can be seen jumping, kicking, rolling, and generally moving and grooving around the stage. Not only that, but this is done as she consistently projects strong, connected pitches and sustaining belts. In our modern world of backing tracks and backup dancers, it is refreshing to watch a performer who can make the stage their own while still knowing when to lean on the more modern concert conventions.
One of many iconic examples of her on-stage performance occurs during the song “HOT TO GO,” where the singer uses her arms to spell out the title of the song, creating what some have called “the queer YMCA.”
Amstutz’s debut release certainly propelled her to become an artist to watch out for and created a devoted fanbase in a very short amount of time. As she continues to revel in her recent stardom, I hope the lighting people know how to make all that glitter really shine!
Thumbnail photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons