Q&A: Chappell Roan on queerness, growing up, and what it means to be the "Midwest Princess" of pop
Chappell Roan galloped onto the stage at the Rave on Tuesday night to the beat of thundering drums. Sporting her signature bouncy red curls, technicolor go-go boots, rainbow fishnet tights and a colorful mixed print corset set, the self-titled "Midwest Princess" took a moment to survey her crowd before launching into the melodic intro of her debut album’s opening track, "Femininomenon."
"Hit it like, get it hot,” the enthusiastic crowd chanted, as the piano melody shifted to a soft, synth-dripped techno thrum and the bass kicked in.
The theme for the night’s show was "rainbow," picked by Roan herself, a Missouri native who told the audience that she “knew what it was like to grow up in the Midwest sometimes afraid to wear a rainbow." In a room full of Pride flag-flaunting, sequin-laden teens and twenty-somethings, Roan guided her fans through an evening of heartbreak and celebration.
The 25-year-old singer first launched onto the music scene in 2017 and has since risen to indie pop stardom by producing gut-wrenching ballads and TikTok-worthy grooves for her Gen Z audience.
She will return to Milwaukee in March as an opener for Gen Z pop sensation Olivia Rodrigo, who is bringing hits from her second album "GUTS" to Fiserv Forum.
Chappell Roan is Kayleigh Rose Amstutz's stage persona. She's a drag queen, the artist says — an embodiment of the person Amstrutz longed to be for much of her life. As a 17-year-old moving to California, the singer had never kissed a girl or spent late nights partying in Los Angeles, even as her alter ego released songs unraveling every element of those experiences.
After her Milwaukee show, she chatted with the Journal Sentinel about her Missouri upbringing and her recently-released debut album, “The Rise and Fall of The Midwest Princess." Her interview has been lightly edited for clarity and conciseness.
In what ways did growing up in a more conservative state shape your experience embracing queerness?
Amstutz: I think growing up in a conservative state made me have a different perspective on queerness and a great appreciation for safe spaces and more accepting places.
I’m grateful that I come from a place that is so unlike the coasts because I know and understand why things are the way they are. I may not agree with it, but I understand people and where they’re coming from, and where their fear is coming from.
It’s not like homophobia is gone in West Hollywood, it’s not like you’re totally fine in New York. It’s everywhere, it’s just less than the Midwest or South.
Your 2020 single "California" conveys a sense of longing to escape your hometown and insecurity about the path you’re destined to follow. How did it feel to re-contextualize this song with the rest of the album?
Amstutz: I think "California" really represents the “fall” of the Midwest Princess.
The title [of the album] is obviously "The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess" but I think that the “fall” means this girl who went to West Hollywood, to become a dancer, and sing, and [be] a drag queen, and then all her dreams come true, and it just doesn’t feel right. She just wants to go home, and she feels like she’s failing, and that she’s not good enough.
I think that what "California" represents is that maybe the grass isn’t greener on the other side, and that maybe getting what you want isn’t what you need.
What made you feel prepared or willing to spill tales about uncomfortable aspects of girlhood, like heartbreaks with best friends, on this album?
Amstutz: I don’t know if I felt prepared. I think the song just wrote itself, and therefore I was prepared. I have a really hard time accepting breakups and unreciprocated feelings, and I feel like the songs got me there.
Writing is very therapeutic in that way, where it kind of forces you to face feelings that you’ve been suppressing for a long time.
Is there any advice you would give to young people who have found themselves in a rut where their dreams seem less visible?
Amstutz: This feeling is temporary. This job is temporary.
That was really difficult, for me to push through being a barista, or a nanny, all of that stuff. I would tell myself, “just keep going, don’t stop.”
I struggle with being really hard on myself with everything, even good things, like saying “good job” to myself, or being like, “I just went to a yoga class — that’s really good and healthy for me!” It’s like, “Oh, well, you didn’t go yesterday, so it’s not like you’ll keep this habit.” [It’s] just weird, critical things.
So just try to be gentle with yourself, and know that all these bad feelings are temporary. If you keep going, it eventually happens.
What early influences shaped your songwriting and style?
Amstutz: My early influences were Britney Spears. I love P!nk, [but] I didn’t listen to a lot of them growing up, just here and there. I was mostly raised on Christian rock and country music. I really loved Lorde and Lana [Del Rey]. They were very, very pivotal artists for me.
For this album specifically, I just wanted a cheer song. For "HOT TO GO!," I really wanted something I could teach the audience, like "Y.M.C.A." vibes. I really wanted an undeniable gay pop song, so I pulled from the greatest pop girlies and the 2000s and 2010s.
I pulled from disco references for "After Midnight." "Pink Pony Club" was definitely cabaret and really dramatic, theatrical songs. I just wanted something that was fun and campy and sparkly.
What does it mean to be a Midwest Princess?
Amstutz: I think I just am, I don’t know how to explain it! I think it’s just a girlie from the Midwest who is doing their own thing and causing a ruckus — a little bit of a rebel.
It doesn’t have to be a girl. A Midwest Princess does not mean girl or boy, it can mean anything. It can mean a feeling or an attitude of just... rhinestone-cowgirl-trashy in-your-face, but [also] loving and accepting and free.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Q&A: After her Milwaukee show, Chappell Roan explains being a "Midwest Princess"
