Chappell Roan on Queer Culture in LA, Her Creative Process, and Self Exploration
“Oh my God…You can be whatever you want here,” Chappell Roan remarks, reminiscing on her experience moving to LA for the first time. The city, in a lot of ways, represents an evolution in identity for the singer. It’s where she immersed herself into the music industry, continued to hone her songwriting and collaboration skills, and more comfortably stepped into her queerness. This personal evolution is well noted within her music as well. From “Pink Pony Club” to “Naked in Manhattan” and more, Chappell Roan’s recent records tell a story of exploration and self-acceptance.
“Where I was growing up in the Ozarks, there's like maybe one gay bar, and I was never old enough to go to it…Experiencing the gay culture [in LA] really was the catalyst [for my personal growth].” As a teenager in Missouri, Roan was “quite depressed and very dark,” but noticed a shift in disposition on the West Coast. “Once I moved to LA, I was like, ‘Oh, I feel so much different. I feel like I can be myself.’”
This increasingly self-actualized version of Chappell Roan started to seep into her music, as she began to explore different aspects of her creativity. Written as an ode to gay culture in West Hollywood, her 2020 release “Pink Pony Club” was born as a result of Roan’s fantasies about dancing at queer clubs. She opens the song singing, “I know you wanted me to stay / But I can’t ignore the crazy visions of me in LA / And I heard that there’s a special place / Where boys and girls can all be queens every single day.” Though depicting a dissonance between her old and new self, this song has an undoubted feeling of euphoria in becoming who she is meant to be and no longer being stifled by her environment. Tracks like “My Kink is Karma” display remnants of her self described “dark and witchy” side, opening the second verse with, “Wishing you the best, in the worst way / Using your distress as foreplay.” This 2022 release depicts Roan reveling in bitterness, detailing the ever so relatable experience of watching someone get what is coming for them.
Throughout the last few years, Chappell Roan’s creative process went through a transformation. What used to be a primarily solitary and somewhat agonizing writing experience morphed into an increasingly collaborative one. “I used to only write alone and I was super bitter about writing with co-writers,” she describes, previously feeling as though collaborators didn’t fully understand her or hear her. I [felt] like I [had] to over explain myself a lot because I'm a woman. People don’t trust the first time I say what I want. Can you just trust me and not ask if I’m sure [about my decisions]?'“
With the help of esteemed producer and songwriter Dan Nigro, Roan was able to begin collaborating in ways that not only pushed her and challenged her, but made her feel heard and confident in her ideas. Together, they draw upon fiction, fantasy, and new experiences to bring her ideas to life. “I write very well with him... Usually I come up with a concept, then chords, then lyrical ideas and the melody and kind of go [from] there. Then I'll bring it to Dan and he'll produce it.” What she especially loves about Nigro as a collaborator is his honesty. “He always pushes me and tells me that my ideas are bad,” she says laughing. “Obviously not all the time, but I need that. I need people to just be honest and just be like, ‘You could do this better’... I always love to be pushed in that way. And he does that. He's not afraid to speak his mind.”
Chappell Roan started off 2022 strong, selling out her first headlining show at Resident DTLA in just 4 hours, as well as opening up for Olivia Rodrigo at Bill Graham Civic Auditorium on May 27th. She is set to play two headlining shows in LA & New York in August, and just her opening slot on FLETCHER’s North American tour this fall. Much has changed since the last time Chappell Roan toured. She is now an independent artist, she makes music that is more in line with who she is, and she sings those songs to an audience that understands her - an audience that can’t wait to scream the lyrics to “My Kink is Karma” this fall.