Emerging from the clouds descends the next queer pop star, Chappell Roan. After shooting to stardom with her opening shows for Olivia Rodrigo, as well as a number of her songs going viral on TikTok, Roan is slowly climbing the charts and making her way into fans’ hearts.
Roan initially got her start on YouTube, writing and performing her own songs online. Atlantic Records caught wind and decided to sign her. Many of her songs are inspired by her path to “queer freedom” with one of her first recorded songs being written after going to her first gay club.
Though she thought she had her kick start there, Atlantic Records ended up dropping her as an artist, and she began working on her own again. Later, she found a new label and created her 2023 album, “The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess.” The album was received extremely well, some of those songs have over 20 million plays.
Roan, though not top of the pop stars, is setting a standard that many celebrities should follow. Dressed in huge wigs and over-the-top makeup, she acknowledges her inspiration from drag shows and the queer entertainment industry. She constantly features drag queens in her music videos, as well as her shows.
When headlining, Chappell Roan invites local drag queens in the area to open her show. She shares their Venmo accounts so fans can directly donate to the queens performing. A portion of her own headlining tour’s ticket sales went to the charity “For the Gworls,” to decrease homelessness rates in the Black transgender community.
In almost every interview, Roan makes sure to give the LGBTQ+ community their flowers, as payback for inspiring her career. Unlike other celebrities that have been under scrutiny before for using LGBTQ+ community as a “prop” or bait to promote their own music, like Taylor Swift’s 2019 music video for “You Need to Calm Down,” or Harry Styles’ fashion inspirations.
Although some people see calling people “queer baiting” to be a bit regressive, it is refreshing to see an artist in the spotlight consistently do real work to improve underserved communities as well as hold up their love and passion for the gay community.