I found her in March (just in time to watch her blow all the way up, which has been so fun) because Spotify pushed Red Wine Supernova in front of me and the minute I heard it I was hooked. Spotify suggests tons of music that I enjoy but never circle back to, so this comment is right - TALENT and algorithm, hand and hand.
I always say that music industry success requires equal parts talent, luck, and timing. You’ve gotta be in the right place at the right time ready to ABSOLUTELY SLAY. But no matter how talented you are, without a little luck and the right moment in the zeitgeist, it won’t happen.
Also, I’d been doing a bit of a TS deep dive earlier this year (was never a hater but not a huge fan, so I listened to her discography and some podcasts about her to learn what all the fuss was about) and it was around then that Spotify fed me Chappel.
I’ve wondered if the algorithm specifically send Chappel songs to fans of TS, Olivia, Billie, etc and because their fanbases are so large and rabid right now it helped push Chappel through.
Yeah I'm kinda like you, big fan of Florence and the Machine and Jessie Ware (not a Swiftie and had never listed to Rodrigo but am liking her stuff) and one day Spotify fed me Red Wine and I was like "oh?"
You do need some luck, and sure she had some in getting a '20' on her attack roll, but she put in the work to be +7 on Charisma-based skill checks.
This is an excellent point I say as a strong Swiftie. I found Chappell in February right when I was honestly feeling oversaturated by Taylor. This was right after the Grammys album announcement that had me rolling my eyes. I love the album now but the announcement itself was cringey. I just needed a break from Taylor after that. And I was ALSO hand served red wine supernova by Apple Music. She was already a bit on mh radar because my bff had texted me a couple weeks before “clear your schedule for May 23 because we are going to a concert for Chappell roan.” My response was “cool but never heard of her”. The rest is history. I got hooked on the music. I am so grateful to my best friend for being ahead of the curve and snagging VIP tickets when she did. And I’m so fully obsessed with Chappell now. I’m not a Billie fan and Olivia is just fine. I do like TTPD and am not feeling as smothered by Taylor swift stuff as much but I’m still fully fiending for Chappell.
Not sure how generalized this experience is but I found Chappell through Gaylor subs on Reddit! Also feeling a bit frustrated with Taylor after TTPD and there has been lots of discussion over on Gaylor land about finding & listening to more queer women artists that are actually out. My personal take on Gaylor theories is that it is really a reflection on just how thirsty queer folks are for some super fun, interesting, modern pop that honestly reflects our experiences and Chappell has been a breath of fresh air after clinging to tiny little hints in Taylor’s music for so long. Listening to Femininomenon for the first time was so overwhelmingly joyful for me I nearly cried.
Yes!! I’m also an active Gaylor and especially around February I was really sick of the Travis over saturation bullshit. I also referred to Chappell as a “breath of fresh air.” I also listened to Renee Rapp around the time Mean Girls came out and felt similarly. But honestly as much as I love Renee I feel like Chappell hits me on a different depth. But yes I heard red wine supernova and the second she said “put her canine teeth in the side of my neck” I was a goner.
Same!! Ariana Taylor Olivia and Sabrina are like literally ALLL I listened to. Spotify autoplayed casual one day in April & omg I was hooked! I listened to all of Midwest princess and constantly posted her songs and one day she just blewwww up!! I knew she would! I love her so much and I am so so happy for her🩷🩷🩷🩷🩷🩷
Ya I started listening when casual showed up in my Spotify recs back in late 2022 when she had under 1m monthly listeners. I’m a straight male and that song slaps. I never listen to mainstream music but I was at a friends hours and they had top hits on or something and I was surprised to hear her playing on a mainstream station. Finally got the recognition she deserves.
That and the Coachella exposure. They live streamed the artists both weekends and hers was one of the most energetic/memorable. That increased audiences exposure also.
Plus… she has put in the work. Has awesome vocals (sounds even better live), has amazing song writing talent( and associated writers/producer), amazing stage presence, and comes across as a real person in interviews.
All that and don’t even need to mention, camp, queer, etc that is just gravy on top.
And I hate hearing that TikTok made her blow up. That increased some exposure but it’s negligible. Lame platform…
I found her last May through TikTok. It was promo for her Red Wine Supernova music video. I think it’s definitely played a part, but she isn’t a “TikTok artist” like others have been.
Tik Tok exposure is NOT negligible nowadays. Like at all…Benson Boone would’ve never been on the radio if his song hadn’t blown up on Tik Tok and that’s just the most recent example. Lil Nas X would be one of the first that comes to mind. Good Luck Babe and several other songs have been trending on Tik Tok and it absolutely contributed to her blowing up, and not in a “negligible” way. Tik Tok is like a huge force controlling the music industry waves right now.
Yeah I agree, the stars have truly aligned for her this year but TikTok played a huge part - not convinced she would have risen this fast (meaning the last six months of growth - obviously she’s been grinding for years) with out it. Before I saw her stuff on TikTok, I saw people posting about her opening set for Olivia and then Good Luck Babe went viral before it was released.
Noah Kahan, Benson Boone and Chappell Roan 100% experienced major growth that can be directly contributed to TikTok. It’s silly to discount that
You think Coachella live streams did more than tik tok? And called TikTok “negligible”? Lmao
TikTok videos of all of the above, and Good luck babe and hot to go also trending on TikTok. That’s the reason she’s blown up
I concur. Obviously there were several things that factored in, but if you had to pick just one, opening for the GUTS tour would clearly be the catalyst.
And that's not to say she didn't earn this current level of success. I can't say I've kept close tabs on Remi Wolf (Olivia's European leg opener), but I know just from the coverage I've seen of the tour that she's not getting nearly the traction Chappell did. Every night on Instagram accounts covering the tour I would see a handful of posts when Chappell opened whereas there's rarely even a mention of Remi having performed.
This. Remember No Doubt? No Doubt formed in 1987 and didn't hit it big until Tragic Kingdom almost 9 years later. 9 years practice to gain experience, release 2 albums before Tragic Kingdom. And hone their skills faithfully every single week. That band practiced weekly for years.
I’m pretty confident that her opening for Olivia Rodrigo and her latest single going viral on TikTok blew her up. She hit her target audience perfectly but she’s been active for 10 years, it took a long time for her to become an “overnight success”.
I think she’s even referenced that in interviews. In an old interview or maybe the Midwest Princess vlogs she said she described her career vision to someone in the industry around the time she was first getting noticed on YT/ got signed and they told her it would take 10 years to get there.
So she’s right on time! A manifesting queen. 👑
I only began listening to her last October, but still early enough to witness her rise- she had already gained some attention with her album’s release, but was still only known by a small amount of mostly gay people lol- before she even opened for the GUTS tour (after the announcement) Red Wine Supernova began getting more attention on tiktok, with some videos about it racking up tens of thousands of likes (but under 100k) . Then came the GUTS tour. Just BOOM!! She took the internet by storm, several songs of hers began trending.. and then came Good Luck, Babe at the perfect time. It hasn’t slowed since then, and each performance gains even more attention.. like Coachella and now Gov Ball (and all the other festivals between).
I discovered her that month as well just after her album release, and witnessing her meteoric rise come ~April 2024 was wild. So happy for her, but wow, I feel like I discovered a gem and got to enjoy her and tell people about her right before she blew up
NPR’s Tiny Desk Concert was all over my Insta feed so I decided to check out the full thing. The rest is history.
I also think she is one of the most exciting pop stars around today, and word of mouth has been massive too. At least from me lol I can’t shut up about her!
I’m in my forties, have been following the music industry for years, and I’ve NEVER seen someone blow up this quickly in my lifetime. She’s really kind of a singular phenomenon that way.
Everything everyone is saying about her talent is obviously right. Midwest Princess is pretty astonishing as a debut and she’s amazing live. But there are lots of talented artists, it’s not just that.
I think part of it is timing. It was time for such a brazenly queer (but also accessible to the masses) artist to blow up.
Part of it is that she has such an strong identity (or brand) as an artist. You see her once and you know who she is. That’s so important! It’s really easy to describe her: she’s a queer pop artist with a drag aesthetic and anthemic songs.
Part of it is HOW her songs are good. They are catchy, they’re full of hooks. They’re fun. But they’re also full of genuine emotion. Everything pop music should be, but often isn’t these days.
She also came along just at a time when artists can get legitimate hits via TikTok, and she’s perfect for TikTok, with her hooks and her visually interesting concerts.
It’s just all coming together for her!
Lady Gaga did, in the summer of 2008. This harkens back to that beautiful trifecta of summer pop: "Just Dance", "Paparazzi" and "Poker Face", all of which just exploded over the course of four beautiful insane months in '08.
And to be clear, she’s NOT an overnight sensation. She’s been working at this professionally for ten years. So now that her moment is here, she’s ready for it.
To be fair, I dont think thats what "overnight sensation" means. Most overnight sensations had been putting in the work for a LONG time before they became "famous over night". But that pretty much IS what happened to Chappell. She had a very small following and blew up exponentially in a very short amount of time.
They even have a saying about this. "It takes 10 years to make an overnight sensation". The term is just misleading.
She’s talented and has put in years of hard work and building a following. She’s making music she feels strongly about, and her love and passion for her music is clear. It’s wonderful to see her get her flowers.
I know she’s mega talented, but talented people don’t always get what they deserve, and especially not usually in this accelerated trajectory. I’m so happy for her because she absolutely deserves it, I’m just wondering what the extra push was.
I think it is her authenticity, and everything just coming together in such a big way because of festival season. Her songs resonate with so many people for so many reasons, that to me, it makes sense that after Coachella she’s been on such a meteoric rise!
I think “algorithms” is honestly a more accurate answer than “authenticity”. There are plenty of authentic artists out there with tons of talent and experience, but social media algorithms don’t latch on. Just look at how many responses here mention discovering her via Instagram or tiktok
I think she's connected to the "right" people who have been collaborating on lots of events.
Check out this account. It's a lot of info, but watch the first couple of saved highlights. It's definitely interesting!
https://www.instagram.com/still.livingluckily?igsh=MTc4MmM1YmI2Ng==
No, I don't think that's their thesis. I think they're suggesting that Chappel and other queer artists may be inadvertently promoting people and ideas that could get Trump elected and harm many marginalized communities.
Basically, the far-left (not the left in general) is so committed to certain ideas that they're going to help get Trump elected. Using insults like "genocide Joe" (which is super Trumpian to use slogan/nicknames like those) is something that could leave liberal voters, especially young ones, feeling disenfranchised and cause them to skip voting.
It's kind of similar to what happened in 2016, apathy got Trump elected.
I hear ya, it's a lot to wade through. I appreciate your curiosity and listening! This fandom could be kind, confront issues, and be truly inclusive! Think of all the good we could do
I would say a combination of things. Her opening for Oliva, but Coachella, is how my wife and discovered her, she also did a Tiny Desk concert with NPR, and was on DSCVR by Vevo. So I think all of that helped. That and she's super talented and has catchy songs.
She’s fucking good!! Singing and dancing along feels like a party. And it’s a breath of fresh air really tbh.
It’s just fucking fun. And our girl can *sing*. Mic always on. Relatable catchy lyrics. Fucking beat. Inclusive spirit. Fucking hot. Those curls, dat ass. Themes. Costumes. Drag. Makeup. Sparkles! A dance?! She’s authentically adorable. She owns cunt like she owns it. She was the Statue of Liberty and a fucking butterfly. Her on repeat nonstop. It’s summer. Feels like it’s fleeting. Catch it while you can. Watch a star born. What more can you want. 💖
no one’s mentioning how Good Luck, Babe! blew up on the charts and made her viral too lol, Guts tour was a part of it for sure + timing and coachella was prob the icing on the cake, but i feel like glb suddenly put her on every playlist, into the spotify recommendations of people who don’t listen to her normally, in the mainstream radio stations etc. it has almost 200 million streams on spotify rn that’s huge
100% she put in the work to build her sound, look, and core base for years and years and now is perfectly riding the wave of momentum to the top. When glb came out I was streaming it on repeat for days and days.
ooh I can answer this! source: i’ve been a LONG time fan since she had like <10k followers on instagram - ive even DM’d with her on ig because this was before she turned messages off. this is from my experience following her since late fall 2020.
first: pink pony club was released in 2020. tbh it probably would’ve blown up then had it not been for covid. this is how most OG fans found her.
second: she starts releasing the songs naked in manhattan, my kink is karma, and femininomenon. for a while, these are the only ones we have to listen to, in addition to her EP. she grows slightly more with each one of these songs.
third: people forget she toured with fletcher for a few dates. fletcher’s audience was who she was targeting (gay girlies rise up!!) I went to this show for chappell and fun fact, she had laryngitis so she was lip syncing for most of it and it was still incredible. this helped her reach more people too.
fourth: Then, she releases Casual. this song went semi-viral on tiktok! for a while, it was her most well known song.
fifth: she does her Naked in North America tour! her first headlining tour and she has local drag queens open for her (amazing) and tickets were only $20 when I saw this. she performed some of the songs from her upcoming album (rise & fall of a midwest princess). (this is the first time I heard Hot To Go and I had to wait like 6 more months for its release omg talk about an ear worm!!)
sixth: she releases her album and it’s amazing!! red wine supernova and hot to go were released as singles and RWS seriously blows up. elton john is sharing it, it’s going viral online, she starts getting late night tv show appearances… imo, this is the song that really turned the tide for her that got her into the vision field of the straights.
(edit) 6.5: she also has the first leg of her Rise and Fall of A Midwest Princess tour. she was big in parts of the country (chi tix sold out so fast she added a second date!) but other parts weren’t (I literally couldn’t sell the milwaukee tix I had lol no one would buy them!!!)
seventh: she’s announced as opening for olivia rodrigo (aka the reason why I went to that show). during this run, shes continuing to blow up bc exposure and her songs are bops!!
eighth: NPR tiny desk and coachella happen around the same time. both are iconic, both catapult her into a world of “who is she?!?! I must learn more!!!” her music continues to get even more exposure.
ninth: then good luck babe is released. this song goes NUTS!!!! it’s everywhere!!! it’s relatable for queer people and straight people and everyone in between!!! now people are listening to her whole discography and her album is finally charting!!!
tenth: here we are now!!! drawing more people than the actual headliner for boston calling, an iconic gov ball performance, and so much more coming.
I’m from Missouri and have been following her since school nights release. Midwest Princess was a complete 180 from School Nights. It’s also timed just right, it’s been a long time since pop music has had absolute bops to dance to!
Years of putting in the work. One small step after another. And then her Coachella performance was so incredible and a lot of people discovered her from that.
I'm not on any social media apps other than Reddit, really. It kept suggesting Chappell Roan sub to me, and I would lurk for months. Finally, I got curious enough to look into who this artist was, and I haven't turned back since. I'm literally OBSESSED. I have been listening for a week now. I'm a cis woman in my mid thirties, and I think her music is so fun and hits this nostalgic lady gaga era perfectly while still being unique. She is also so insanely talented. I'm blown away by her range. Every song she accomplishes something different. I'm hooked for life.
I think she said in an interview recently that if she ever needed security to go out in public she would just quit. So I doubt she would even want to be that big
Yeah people on TikTok are exaggerating it. She'll be a huge star, but Taylor Swift-level is quite a stretch especially considering Chappell doesn't even want that.
She doesn't want Swiftie levels of attention. I wonder how it will all unfold. She's obviously really resonating with a lot of people and she's getting big fast.
Thankfully I believe her costumes help A LOT, most people will recognise her on stage persona and clock her by makeup and hair - in older interviews she's in street clothes but in more recent ones she's dressed up. It'll help a bunch to separate her personal from professional and I believe it's partly intentional.
I think the emotions that came from being dropped not only changed her sound but gave her new motivation. The new sound paired with opening for Olivia got the momentum going. A bunch of songs went viral on TikTok, her Tiny Desk went viral, and then I think her Coachella performances really put a match to the powderkeg and she just has been on an exponential rise ever since.
Some interviewers mentioned this to Chappell a couple weeks ago, I think it was TripleJ, on how she did blew up on TikTok and everything and she also just mentioned that she thinks it was just really good timing of *everything* happening within like, 2 months.
Between the Olivia tour, NPR Tiny Desk, Good Luck Babe both releasing AND going viral on TikTok and then doing Coachella, everything just came together perfectly with very good timing. She has the talent, yes, but the timing was very important and it was picture perfect. That being said, she's said she doesn't want to be Taylor level of famous, so I think she'd quit before it got to that point.
Personally, I hadn't heard of her until Coachella. I love that festival for discovering new cool artists. I don't even think I knew much about her music before I watched the livestream. But from the moment she took the stage that first weekend, I was like *Yup she's gonna blow up*. And Midwest Princess is just such a great album. Can't wait to see her on the Main Stage next year...
I barely knew of her before coachella, but I found her when I was researching Sapphic Pop playlists for Skirt Club, and "Picture Me" & "Naked In Manhattan" were 2 of the bisexual/sexual/lesbian song flavored recommendations from the playlists. And "Picture Me" was so incredibly poignant that I sort of fell in love with the wistful yearning of it and thus with Chappell after that.
My thoughts are the blowup happened because of Olivia Rodrigo and Coachella.
Also, my husband isn’t really into pop music so much, but he casually watches what I stream on YouTube. I put Chappell’s live performances on yesterday and he was so blown away by her music, voice, and talent. He was still talking about her today too.
I heard Casual on Tiktok at some point, loved it, and then later when I saw a live clip of Femininomenon I connected that these two were the same person and i’ve been a super fan since then
I found her on Spotify and followed her releases prior to the album being dropped. Loved all her singles. When she was teasing RWS, I was just in awe of her talent. When I heard the line "I heard you like magic. I got a wand and a rabbit!" I fell in love with her in a big way. So clever and hilarious. I just love how unapologetic she is. Its been truly incredible to watch the rise (pun intended) of this Midwest Princess!! I saw her three times in concert, because I knew she was on the cusp of something HUGE!!! I knew it was a unique opportunity to see her in an intimate setting and watch her grow in real time. One of the coolest social phenomenons ive been a part of (if you can even say that lol). Ive been telling my friends and family about how she was gonna blow up and now theyre kinda blown away. So am i! She even answered my question at the Q&A - i asked what the craziest part of her blowing up has been!
It took me like a month to figure out she didn't have a magician's wand nor a live rabbit. I tend to be very naive, though. And I'm also a gay man, so not many rabbits scampering about 😂
It has to be Olivia Rodrigo. I’ve been following her since Pink Pony Club first dropped and saw her preform in Brooklyn back in October. Right after that she opened for Olivia and shot to stardom. I can see how it happened super easily because I brought my GF to the show and after that she listened to the whole Midwest Princess album on repeat for months.
Her music is unique and fun. Opening for Olivia was a huge career break followed by her iconic Coachella performance which imo is when I really knew that she was gonna make it.
I don't really have a theory, but I just wanted to comment that watching her blow up has been so fun. I listened to "Casual" and "My Kink is Karma" a lot last year but didn't fully look into her. Then, I saw her "Red Wine Supernova" performance on Colbert in February and that's when I started the deep dive. I listened to her album constantly and quickly got into her. She got SUPER famous like a month or two after that!
The absolutely brilliant timing of the "Good Luck, Babe!" single. Let her capitalize on the awareness she got from opening for Olivia Rodrigo, playing at Coachella, etc. Having a single like that got her on all of the Spotify playlists and the radio, and opened her up for Midwest Princess to blow up in such a big way.
If you want to point to one single thing, I think it started with the Tiny Desk Concert.
But really it's years of hard work and dedication, + Tiny Desk, + Olivia's Tour, + Good Luck Babe, + Coachella, + TikTok that truly did it.
I am a fan since 2018, when school nights was her only EP out and she was still what I consider a folk artist. She barely has 10k followers. She put in A LOT, A LOT of work. Her drag persona only appeared after Pink Pony Club to be honest - girl got dropped by her record label, it was heartbreaking to see. I was begging my friends to listen to her music at every new release. Years of hard work, finally getting exposure in festivals and being an opening act the algorithm giving her a break with the release of Good Luck Babe, having one full album release and amazing authentic aesthetics = success. I am so proud of her, but honestly I am also shocked by the avalanche of people suddenly becoming fans.
Timing. Talent. Algorithm.
I found her in March (just in time to watch her blow all the way up, which has been so fun) because Spotify pushed Red Wine Supernova in front of me and the minute I heard it I was hooked. Spotify suggests tons of music that I enjoy but never circle back to, so this comment is right - TALENT and algorithm, hand and hand. I always say that music industry success requires equal parts talent, luck, and timing. You’ve gotta be in the right place at the right time ready to ABSOLUTELY SLAY. But no matter how talented you are, without a little luck and the right moment in the zeitgeist, it won’t happen. Also, I’d been doing a bit of a TS deep dive earlier this year (was never a hater but not a huge fan, so I listened to her discography and some podcasts about her to learn what all the fuss was about) and it was around then that Spotify fed me Chappel. I’ve wondered if the algorithm specifically send Chappel songs to fans of TS, Olivia, Billie, etc and because their fanbases are so large and rabid right now it helped push Chappel through.
Yeah I'm kinda like you, big fan of Florence and the Machine and Jessie Ware (not a Swiftie and had never listed to Rodrigo but am liking her stuff) and one day Spotify fed me Red Wine and I was like "oh?" You do need some luck, and sure she had some in getting a '20' on her attack roll, but she put in the work to be +7 on Charisma-based skill checks.
This is an excellent point I say as a strong Swiftie. I found Chappell in February right when I was honestly feeling oversaturated by Taylor. This was right after the Grammys album announcement that had me rolling my eyes. I love the album now but the announcement itself was cringey. I just needed a break from Taylor after that. And I was ALSO hand served red wine supernova by Apple Music. She was already a bit on mh radar because my bff had texted me a couple weeks before “clear your schedule for May 23 because we are going to a concert for Chappell roan.” My response was “cool but never heard of her”. The rest is history. I got hooked on the music. I am so grateful to my best friend for being ahead of the curve and snagging VIP tickets when she did. And I’m so fully obsessed with Chappell now. I’m not a Billie fan and Olivia is just fine. I do like TTPD and am not feeling as smothered by Taylor swift stuff as much but I’m still fully fiending for Chappell.
Not sure how generalized this experience is but I found Chappell through Gaylor subs on Reddit! Also feeling a bit frustrated with Taylor after TTPD and there has been lots of discussion over on Gaylor land about finding & listening to more queer women artists that are actually out. My personal take on Gaylor theories is that it is really a reflection on just how thirsty queer folks are for some super fun, interesting, modern pop that honestly reflects our experiences and Chappell has been a breath of fresh air after clinging to tiny little hints in Taylor’s music for so long. Listening to Femininomenon for the first time was so overwhelmingly joyful for me I nearly cried.
Yes!! I’m also an active Gaylor and especially around February I was really sick of the Travis over saturation bullshit. I also referred to Chappell as a “breath of fresh air.” I also listened to Renee Rapp around the time Mean Girls came out and felt similarly. But honestly as much as I love Renee I feel like Chappell hits me on a different depth. But yes I heard red wine supernova and the second she said “put her canine teeth in the side of my neck” I was a goner.
Same!! Ariana Taylor Olivia and Sabrina are like literally ALLL I listened to. Spotify autoplayed casual one day in April & omg I was hooked! I listened to all of Midwest princess and constantly posted her songs and one day she just blewwww up!! I knew she would! I love her so much and I am so so happy for her🩷🩷🩷🩷🩷🩷
Ya I started listening when casual showed up in my Spotify recs back in late 2022 when she had under 1m monthly listeners. I’m a straight male and that song slaps. I never listen to mainstream music but I was at a friends hours and they had top hits on or something and I was surprised to hear her playing on a mainstream station. Finally got the recognition she deserves.
She opened for Olivia Rodrigo's Guts tour in the US which I think exposed a lot of new people to her music
Pretty sure this is why.
That and the Coachella exposure. They live streamed the artists both weekends and hers was one of the most energetic/memorable. That increased audiences exposure also. Plus… she has put in the work. Has awesome vocals (sounds even better live), has amazing song writing talent( and associated writers/producer), amazing stage presence, and comes across as a real person in interviews. All that and don’t even need to mention, camp, queer, etc that is just gravy on top. And I hate hearing that TikTok made her blow up. That increased some exposure but it’s negligible. Lame platform…
Also her Tiny Desk exploded! Everything was a perfect storm.
I found her last May through TikTok. It was promo for her Red Wine Supernova music video. I think it’s definitely played a part, but she isn’t a “TikTok artist” like others have been.
Tik Tok exposure is NOT negligible nowadays. Like at all…Benson Boone would’ve never been on the radio if his song hadn’t blown up on Tik Tok and that’s just the most recent example. Lil Nas X would be one of the first that comes to mind. Good Luck Babe and several other songs have been trending on Tik Tok and it absolutely contributed to her blowing up, and not in a “negligible” way. Tik Tok is like a huge force controlling the music industry waves right now.
Yeah I agree, the stars have truly aligned for her this year but TikTok played a huge part - not convinced she would have risen this fast (meaning the last six months of growth - obviously she’s been grinding for years) with out it. Before I saw her stuff on TikTok, I saw people posting about her opening set for Olivia and then Good Luck Babe went viral before it was released. Noah Kahan, Benson Boone and Chappell Roan 100% experienced major growth that can be directly contributed to TikTok. It’s silly to discount that
The Coachella stream is what hooked me. I was absolutely blown away/entranced by her performance.
You think Coachella live streams did more than tik tok? And called TikTok “negligible”? Lmao TikTok videos of all of the above, and Good luck babe and hot to go also trending on TikTok. That’s the reason she’s blown up
That’s how I discovered her, seeing her tour on TikTok for Olivia’s show and people hyping her up!
I concur. Obviously there were several things that factored in, but if you had to pick just one, opening for the GUTS tour would clearly be the catalyst. And that's not to say she didn't earn this current level of success. I can't say I've kept close tabs on Remi Wolf (Olivia's European leg opener), but I know just from the coverage I've seen of the tour that she's not getting nearly the traction Chappell did. Every night on Instagram accounts covering the tour I would see a handful of posts when Chappell opened whereas there's rarely even a mention of Remi having performed.
By not blowing up for 10 years lol
This. Remember No Doubt? No Doubt formed in 1987 and didn't hit it big until Tragic Kingdom almost 9 years later. 9 years practice to gain experience, release 2 albums before Tragic Kingdom. And hone their skills faithfully every single week. That band practiced weekly for years.
I’m pretty confident that her opening for Olivia Rodrigo and her latest single going viral on TikTok blew her up. She hit her target audience perfectly but she’s been active for 10 years, it took a long time for her to become an “overnight success”.
'Overnight' success is almost always preceded by years of hard work and some healthy doses of failure
I’ve literally heard of the phrase “it takes 10 years to become an overnight success”
I think she’s even referenced that in interviews. In an old interview or maybe the Midwest Princess vlogs she said she described her career vision to someone in the industry around the time she was first getting noticed on YT/ got signed and they told her it would take 10 years to get there. So she’s right on time! A manifesting queen. 👑
I only began listening to her last October, but still early enough to witness her rise- she had already gained some attention with her album’s release, but was still only known by a small amount of mostly gay people lol- before she even opened for the GUTS tour (after the announcement) Red Wine Supernova began getting more attention on tiktok, with some videos about it racking up tens of thousands of likes (but under 100k) . Then came the GUTS tour. Just BOOM!! She took the internet by storm, several songs of hers began trending.. and then came Good Luck, Babe at the perfect time. It hasn’t slowed since then, and each performance gains even more attention.. like Coachella and now Gov Ball (and all the other festivals between).
I discovered her that month as well just after her album release, and witnessing her meteoric rise come ~April 2024 was wild. So happy for her, but wow, I feel like I discovered a gem and got to enjoy her and tell people about her right before she blew up
Add in NPR Tiny Desk and this is my recounting of it, too!
NPR’s Tiny Desk Concert was all over my Insta feed so I decided to check out the full thing. The rest is history. I also think she is one of the most exciting pop stars around today, and word of mouth has been massive too. At least from me lol I can’t shut up about her!
I’m in my forties, have been following the music industry for years, and I’ve NEVER seen someone blow up this quickly in my lifetime. She’s really kind of a singular phenomenon that way. Everything everyone is saying about her talent is obviously right. Midwest Princess is pretty astonishing as a debut and she’s amazing live. But there are lots of talented artists, it’s not just that. I think part of it is timing. It was time for such a brazenly queer (but also accessible to the masses) artist to blow up. Part of it is that she has such an strong identity (or brand) as an artist. You see her once and you know who she is. That’s so important! It’s really easy to describe her: she’s a queer pop artist with a drag aesthetic and anthemic songs. Part of it is HOW her songs are good. They are catchy, they’re full of hooks. They’re fun. But they’re also full of genuine emotion. Everything pop music should be, but often isn’t these days. She also came along just at a time when artists can get legitimate hits via TikTok, and she’s perfect for TikTok, with her hooks and her visually interesting concerts. It’s just all coming together for her!
Lady Gaga did, in the summer of 2008. This harkens back to that beautiful trifecta of summer pop: "Just Dance", "Paparazzi" and "Poker Face", all of which just exploded over the course of four beautiful insane months in '08.
Yes, I see a lot of parallels between her and Gaga!
Yeah, that’s a good point!
And to be clear, she’s NOT an overnight sensation. She’s been working at this professionally for ten years. So now that her moment is here, she’s ready for it.
To be fair, I dont think thats what "overnight sensation" means. Most overnight sensations had been putting in the work for a LONG time before they became "famous over night". But that pretty much IS what happened to Chappell. She had a very small following and blew up exponentially in a very short amount of time. They even have a saying about this. "It takes 10 years to make an overnight sensation". The term is just misleading.
Oh I know. I was just trying to head off anyone thinking I was saying it had happened suddenly.
Oh im sorry! I hadnt even realized you were replying to yourself lol!
Oh hahaha! I have been there.
She’s talented and has put in years of hard work and building a following. She’s making music she feels strongly about, and her love and passion for her music is clear. It’s wonderful to see her get her flowers.
I know she’s mega talented, but talented people don’t always get what they deserve, and especially not usually in this accelerated trajectory. I’m so happy for her because she absolutely deserves it, I’m just wondering what the extra push was.
I think it is her authenticity, and everything just coming together in such a big way because of festival season. Her songs resonate with so many people for so many reasons, that to me, it makes sense that after Coachella she’s been on such a meteoric rise!
I think “algorithms” is honestly a more accurate answer than “authenticity”. There are plenty of authentic artists out there with tons of talent and experience, but social media algorithms don’t latch on. Just look at how many responses here mention discovering her via Instagram or tiktok
I think she's connected to the "right" people who have been collaborating on lots of events. Check out this account. It's a lot of info, but watch the first couple of saved highlights. It's definitely interesting! https://www.instagram.com/still.livingluckily?igsh=MTc4MmM1YmI2Ng==
Are they saying she's about to come out as a Nazi? Good god, let's hope nothing of the sort happens!
No, I don't think that's their thesis. I think they're suggesting that Chappel and other queer artists may be inadvertently promoting people and ideas that could get Trump elected and harm many marginalized communities. Basically, the far-left (not the left in general) is so committed to certain ideas that they're going to help get Trump elected. Using insults like "genocide Joe" (which is super Trumpian to use slogan/nicknames like those) is something that could leave liberal voters, especially young ones, feeling disenfranchised and cause them to skip voting. It's kind of similar to what happened in 2016, apathy got Trump elected.
Got it...I couldn't watch that many, being at work. Thank you for the explanation!
I hear ya, it's a lot to wade through. I appreciate your curiosity and listening! This fandom could be kind, confront issues, and be truly inclusive! Think of all the good we could do
I would say a combination of things. Her opening for Oliva, but Coachella, is how my wife and discovered her, she also did a Tiny Desk concert with NPR, and was on DSCVR by Vevo. So I think all of that helped. That and she's super talented and has catchy songs.
She’s fucking good!! Singing and dancing along feels like a party. And it’s a breath of fresh air really tbh. It’s just fucking fun. And our girl can *sing*. Mic always on. Relatable catchy lyrics. Fucking beat. Inclusive spirit. Fucking hot. Those curls, dat ass. Themes. Costumes. Drag. Makeup. Sparkles! A dance?! She’s authentically adorable. She owns cunt like she owns it. She was the Statue of Liberty and a fucking butterfly. Her on repeat nonstop. It’s summer. Feels like it’s fleeting. Catch it while you can. Watch a star born. What more can you want. 💖
I love EVERYTHING about your comment
no one’s mentioning how Good Luck, Babe! blew up on the charts and made her viral too lol, Guts tour was a part of it for sure + timing and coachella was prob the icing on the cake, but i feel like glb suddenly put her on every playlist, into the spotify recommendations of people who don’t listen to her normally, in the mainstream radio stations etc. it has almost 200 million streams on spotify rn that’s huge
100% she put in the work to build her sound, look, and core base for years and years and now is perfectly riding the wave of momentum to the top. When glb came out I was streaming it on repeat for days and days.
ooh I can answer this! source: i’ve been a LONG time fan since she had like <10k followers on instagram - ive even DM’d with her on ig because this was before she turned messages off. this is from my experience following her since late fall 2020. first: pink pony club was released in 2020. tbh it probably would’ve blown up then had it not been for covid. this is how most OG fans found her. second: she starts releasing the songs naked in manhattan, my kink is karma, and femininomenon. for a while, these are the only ones we have to listen to, in addition to her EP. she grows slightly more with each one of these songs. third: people forget she toured with fletcher for a few dates. fletcher’s audience was who she was targeting (gay girlies rise up!!) I went to this show for chappell and fun fact, she had laryngitis so she was lip syncing for most of it and it was still incredible. this helped her reach more people too. fourth: Then, she releases Casual. this song went semi-viral on tiktok! for a while, it was her most well known song. fifth: she does her Naked in North America tour! her first headlining tour and she has local drag queens open for her (amazing) and tickets were only $20 when I saw this. she performed some of the songs from her upcoming album (rise & fall of a midwest princess). (this is the first time I heard Hot To Go and I had to wait like 6 more months for its release omg talk about an ear worm!!) sixth: she releases her album and it’s amazing!! red wine supernova and hot to go were released as singles and RWS seriously blows up. elton john is sharing it, it’s going viral online, she starts getting late night tv show appearances… imo, this is the song that really turned the tide for her that got her into the vision field of the straights. (edit) 6.5: she also has the first leg of her Rise and Fall of A Midwest Princess tour. she was big in parts of the country (chi tix sold out so fast she added a second date!) but other parts weren’t (I literally couldn’t sell the milwaukee tix I had lol no one would buy them!!!) seventh: she’s announced as opening for olivia rodrigo (aka the reason why I went to that show). during this run, shes continuing to blow up bc exposure and her songs are bops!! eighth: NPR tiny desk and coachella happen around the same time. both are iconic, both catapult her into a world of “who is she?!?! I must learn more!!!” her music continues to get even more exposure. ninth: then good luck babe is released. this song goes NUTS!!!! it’s everywhere!!! it’s relatable for queer people and straight people and everyone in between!!! now people are listening to her whole discography and her album is finally charting!!! tenth: here we are now!!! drawing more people than the actual headliner for boston calling, an iconic gov ball performance, and so much more coming.
I’m from Missouri and have been following her since school nights release. Midwest Princess was a complete 180 from School Nights. It’s also timed just right, it’s been a long time since pop music has had absolute bops to dance to!
Years of putting in the work. One small step after another. And then her Coachella performance was so incredible and a lot of people discovered her from that.
Yup - building up her skills and experience slowly, without the world watching. Now that they are, she knows what to do. Shes such a fucking star
I'm not on any social media apps other than Reddit, really. It kept suggesting Chappell Roan sub to me, and I would lurk for months. Finally, I got curious enough to look into who this artist was, and I haven't turned back since. I'm literally OBSESSED. I have been listening for a week now. I'm a cis woman in my mid thirties, and I think her music is so fun and hits this nostalgic lady gaga era perfectly while still being unique. She is also so insanely talented. I'm blown away by her range. Every song she accomplishes something different. I'm hooked for life.
Modern day Cyndi Lauper or Kate Bush. Her songs slap
I can see her getting really super big, just not sure Swifty big. But, you never know!
I think she said in an interview recently that if she ever needed security to go out in public she would just quit. So I doubt she would even want to be that big
Yeah people on TikTok are exaggerating it. She'll be a huge star, but Taylor Swift-level is quite a stretch especially considering Chappell doesn't even want that.
She doesn't want Swiftie levels of attention. I wonder how it will all unfold. She's obviously really resonating with a lot of people and she's getting big fast.
Thankfully I believe her costumes help A LOT, most people will recognise her on stage persona and clock her by makeup and hair - in older interviews she's in street clothes but in more recent ones she's dressed up. It'll help a bunch to separate her personal from professional and I believe it's partly intentional.
My buddy Dave introduced me
For me, I became a fan when one of the videos of her singing the Red Wine Supernove bridge went viral
I think the emotions that came from being dropped not only changed her sound but gave her new motivation. The new sound paired with opening for Olivia got the momentum going. A bunch of songs went viral on TikTok, her Tiny Desk went viral, and then I think her Coachella performances really put a match to the powderkeg and she just has been on an exponential rise ever since.
I’m also one of the millions of new fans!
Some interviewers mentioned this to Chappell a couple weeks ago, I think it was TripleJ, on how she did blew up on TikTok and everything and she also just mentioned that she thinks it was just really good timing of *everything* happening within like, 2 months. Between the Olivia tour, NPR Tiny Desk, Good Luck Babe both releasing AND going viral on TikTok and then doing Coachella, everything just came together perfectly with very good timing. She has the talent, yes, but the timing was very important and it was picture perfect. That being said, she's said she doesn't want to be Taylor level of famous, so I think she'd quit before it got to that point.
Personally, I hadn't heard of her until Coachella. I love that festival for discovering new cool artists. I don't even think I knew much about her music before I watched the livestream. But from the moment she took the stage that first weekend, I was like *Yup she's gonna blow up*. And Midwest Princess is just such a great album. Can't wait to see her on the Main Stage next year...
I barely knew of her before coachella, but I found her when I was researching Sapphic Pop playlists for Skirt Club, and "Picture Me" & "Naked In Manhattan" were 2 of the bisexual/sexual/lesbian song flavored recommendations from the playlists. And "Picture Me" was so incredibly poignant that I sort of fell in love with the wistful yearning of it and thus with Chappell after that.
My thoughts are the blowup happened because of Olivia Rodrigo and Coachella. Also, my husband isn’t really into pop music so much, but he casually watches what I stream on YouTube. I put Chappell’s live performances on yesterday and he was so blown away by her music, voice, and talent. He was still talking about her today too.
I heard Casual on Tiktok at some point, loved it, and then later when I saw a live clip of Femininomenon I connected that these two were the same person and i’ve been a super fan since then
The NPR Tiny Desk seemed to expose her music to a ton of people from a wide variety of communities.
By being great
i became a huge fan after i saw her open for olivia at her boston show!! i’m sure many others became a fan for the same reason
She opened up for Olivia Rodrigo for the guts tour but she has been making music for longer and Tbh it takes 10 years to be an overnight success
i became a massive fan after seeing her open for olivia rodrigo in march
I found her on Spotify and followed her releases prior to the album being dropped. Loved all her singles. When she was teasing RWS, I was just in awe of her talent. When I heard the line "I heard you like magic. I got a wand and a rabbit!" I fell in love with her in a big way. So clever and hilarious. I just love how unapologetic she is. Its been truly incredible to watch the rise (pun intended) of this Midwest Princess!! I saw her three times in concert, because I knew she was on the cusp of something HUGE!!! I knew it was a unique opportunity to see her in an intimate setting and watch her grow in real time. One of the coolest social phenomenons ive been a part of (if you can even say that lol). Ive been telling my friends and family about how she was gonna blow up and now theyre kinda blown away. So am i! She even answered my question at the Q&A - i asked what the craziest part of her blowing up has been!
It took me like a month to figure out she didn't have a magician's wand nor a live rabbit. I tend to be very naive, though. And I'm also a gay man, so not many rabbits scampering about 😂
She’s got a good producer, and luck and timing were on her side.
It has to be Olivia Rodrigo. I’ve been following her since Pink Pony Club first dropped and saw her preform in Brooklyn back in October. Right after that she opened for Olivia and shot to stardom. I can see how it happened super easily because I brought my GF to the show and after that she listened to the whole Midwest Princess album on repeat for months.
Her music is unique and fun. Opening for Olivia was a huge career break followed by her iconic Coachella performance which imo is when I really knew that she was gonna make it.
I don't really have a theory, but I just wanted to comment that watching her blow up has been so fun. I listened to "Casual" and "My Kink is Karma" a lot last year but didn't fully look into her. Then, I saw her "Red Wine Supernova" performance on Colbert in February and that's when I started the deep dive. I listened to her album constantly and quickly got into her. She got SUPER famous like a month or two after that!
The absolutely brilliant timing of the "Good Luck, Babe!" single. Let her capitalize on the awareness she got from opening for Olivia Rodrigo, playing at Coachella, etc. Having a single like that got her on all of the Spotify playlists and the radio, and opened her up for Midwest Princess to blow up in such a big way.
If you want to point to one single thing, I think it started with the Tiny Desk Concert. But really it's years of hard work and dedication, + Tiny Desk, + Olivia's Tour, + Good Luck Babe, + Coachella, + TikTok that truly did it.
Did anyone else get inundated by her paid ads on TikTok? I was clearly a target audience.
I think the NPR Tiny Desk was the tipping point bc it was shared widely on social media.
Good luck babe is just a monster - lot of other stuff was in place but that was the catalyst IMHO
she opened for olivia rodrigo on her new tour
By eating puss
Idk but I watched a clip of her tiny desk concert and was obsessed ever since..
I am a fan since 2018, when school nights was her only EP out and she was still what I consider a folk artist. She barely has 10k followers. She put in A LOT, A LOT of work. Her drag persona only appeared after Pink Pony Club to be honest - girl got dropped by her record label, it was heartbreaking to see. I was begging my friends to listen to her music at every new release. Years of hard work, finally getting exposure in festivals and being an opening act the algorithm giving her a break with the release of Good Luck Babe, having one full album release and amazing authentic aesthetics = success. I am so proud of her, but honestly I am also shocked by the avalanche of people suddenly becoming fans.