Chappell Roan is turning heads. Here's what Elton John said of the 'Midwest Princess'
It's hard to turn on the radio or step inside a store without hearing the upbeat lyrics from Willard native Kayleigh Rose Amstutz, more popularly known by her stage name, Chappell Roan.
Nine months ago, the 26-year-old pop musician performed at a free, sold out concert at the Gillioz Theatre as the kick off for her "The Midwest Princess" tour. Since her last public visit to her old stomping grounds, Roan has been busy, opening for Grammy-Award winning musician Olivia Rodrigo this spring, continuing the summer leg of her own tour and performing at several big-name music festivals, including Coachella.
Simply put, Roan is turning heads and her latest album, "The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess," has become a sort of sensation. One of the first singles she released from the album, "Good Luck, Babe," garnered more than 7 million streams in its first week, hit Spotify's Top 10 list and ranked No. 77 on Billboard's Hot 100 list. This month, the album ranked No. 8 on Billboard's Top Album Sales chart for the first time.
Chappell Roan uses platform for advocacy at Governors Ball festival
Known for her bold makeup and eye-catching costumes, Roan is also a loud and proud advocate for the LGBTQIA+ community.
Most recently, Roan graced the stage dressed head-to-toe as Lady Liberty at the Governors Ball Music Festival in New York City. Her costume and performance Sunday served as a protest.
During her set, Roan recited "The New Colossus," the poem etched on the bottom of the Statue of Liberty, choking up halfway through.
"I'm in drag of the biggest queen of all, but in case you have forgotten what's etched on my pretty little toes, 'Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,'" Roan said, captured in a video shared by Rolling Stone. "That means freedom and trans rights. That means freedom and women's rights. And it especially means freedom for all ... oppressed people in occupied territories."
Later on in her set, Roan dedicated her song, "My Kink Is Karma" to the White House.
"This one's for the White House, who asked me to perform for Pride," Roan said, captured in a video shared by Rolling Stone. "We want liberty, justice and freedom for all. When you do that, that's when I'll come."
Photos and videos from the Governors Ball Music Festival show countless fans packed shoulder-to-shoulder for Roan's set.
On a local level, Roan aims to give back to the communities she performs in. Rather than traditional opening acts, which typically would include local, regional or touring bands, Roan hires local drag queens to perform before her at concerts. At her St. Louis concert May 30, fellow Willard native Ryan Baxter, who performs as Manna Steticcc Highland, was one of three Missouri drag queens who opened Roan's show.
More: Two Willard grads reconnected when this drag queen opened for Chappell Roan in St. Louis
'It's wonderful to see true talent being recognized'
During her downtime from the stage, Roan has been busy dressing up and posing for several magazine covers.
In February, Roan was the cover artist for NME, an independent pop culture magazine, and she performed her single "Red Wine Supernova" on "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert." In March, Roan performed on NPR's "Tiny Desk Concert" and most recently, she was featured as the cover artist for the June issue of Paper, an online magazine.
Roan has also been featured in Strike Magazine and kinda cool magazine and in interviews with TIME and Rolling Stone. And just a few weeks ago Roan was featured on the 400th episode of Elton John's radio show, "Rocket Hour."
"It's wonderful to see true talent being recognized," John told Roan during the show. "I'm genuinely excited when someone as good as you are breaks out. It's just the best thing."
John also made a point to discuss Roan's Tiny Desk Concert.
"You did an NPR Tiny Desk concert ... it's incredible. It's one of the best things I've seen and it totally captures what you're all about — songwriting-wise, visually, how your personality is," John said. "It's just such a breath of fresh air."
Over the next month, Roan will continue the final leg of her U.S. tour before performing internationally, starting at the Osheaga Music and Arts Festival in Montreal on Aug. 2, followed by Paris, Amsterdam, Berlin, München, London, Manchester, Glascow and Dublin.
The News-Leader contacted Roan's PR team but was unsuccessful in securing an interview by press deadline.
Greta Cross is the trending topics reporter for the Springfield News-Leader. She has more than five years of journalism experience covering everything from Ozarks history to Springfield’s LGBTQIA+ community. Follow her on X and Instagram @gretacrossphoto. Story idea? Email her at [email protected].
This article originally appeared on Springfield News-Leader: Here's what Elton John told Chappell Roan on 'Rocket Hour' radio show