Chappell Roan on The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess, perseverance and the freedom of drag

When she was just 17, Chappell Roan signed her first record deal with a major label and moved to Los Angeles. But when the deal fell through, she returned home to Missouri where she began soul searching and trying to figure out her next steps. Roan talks to Tom Power about being discovered on KZbin, how she responded when she was dropped from her record label in 2020, and what inspired her critically acclaimed debut album, The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess.
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[@calummew7750]

Chappell Roan is the future of pop music. So excited to see what she comes out with next!

[@JavenarchX]

She got me with Karma ... But Pony... O...M....G

[@tudormiller887]

I'm a brand new fan of CR. Watching in 🇬🇧❤👩

[@mrqs1549]

I love her voice, her songwriting, her esthetic… everything about her.

[@jackielehman8945]

This interview feels so authentic, like she is not putting on a show, she is so real ❤

[@jas0206]

I find something about her beauty really captivating…her facial features genuinely look like a “Kayleigh from Missouri” - but that girl would typically dye her hair blonde, sing in a church choir, and have a really middle-class life. She would impress her group of “mom friends” with her karaoke skills at Michael & Susan’s wine night, and then her kids would whinge about how embarrassed they were on the way home, as she stares out the window and daydreams about another life where she got to be a star. I dunno…I just find her really alluring. The bright red hair, the drag makeup, the glamorisation of 80s pageants. It’s like looking at someone’s name, facial structure, and the state they come from, and going “oh…I know exactly who that girl is” - but her artistry completely subverts all of your expectations. It’s quite hard for artists to be innovative and unique in 2024, and she’s completely doing that, and the fact that she’s incorporating her Midwest roots into her story just adds to how interesting her artistry is.

[@jackielehman8945]

She is so right about the preditory aspect of the music industry, So many young pop stars are targetted and exploited from small towns.

[@ritwikjs]

im glad pink pony club is getting the recognition and love it so richly deserved

[@RogaineForEwoks]

I fracking love that song.

[@nataliehaney5198]

@@RogaineForEwoks I do too!!!! but I happened to find it shortly after my mom died so now I cant even sing along to it without getting choked up. like yeah I "won't make my mama proud, It's gonna cause a scene...." She was a very serious, career focused woman but i think she'd be happy I'm finding a way to just have fun and be myself and I'm just kinda sad I cant share this music with my her :/ sorry that was long!

[@RogaineForEwoks]

@@nataliehaney5198 no, no apologies needed. That's the powerful thing about music is the forever connections we can make to them. For me it is The Beatles Across The Universe, my parents called me to come get my little sisters because my brother had a seizure and they were taking him to the hospital. "Nothings gonna change my world." Always stirs up the sad and scared emotions that I felt on that drive with my little sisters crying in the back seat.

[@samkcatladyaks]

She’s my fav. Her songs feel like my mania and I have to be careful lol. I always wonder how she manages to be Chappell when the bipolar depression is present bc I know what that’s like and it’s so hard to put on the act or people have seen manic me and think that’s me all the time but there’s this completely opposite side of me and then they’re shocked or not accepting and upset because I have a hard time being consistently the same human-even medicated and in therapy. It’s so smart of her to see Chappell as drag for mental health boundary reasons too. Idk how long she’ll decide to do music but I thank the universe she’s sharing her gifts with us for now. There’s no one else even close to what she does on so many levels.

[@ginaballinalosangeles1699]

Tom did a great job letting us see who Chappell is. She was so relaxed and open with him, and he was prepared and a great listener and responded so kindly. She is going to be huge....

[@jellyrcw12]

I have the biggest crush on Chappelle Roan omgggg. She's totally my type. Amazing music, and I love her energy!

[@shullyyyy]

I found her because I was looking at artists from Missouri. I immediately fell in love with her after Red Wine Supernova.

[@StateofKait]

She’s gonna be huge

[@tannsolo]

The comments here are kind of all over the place lol I want to stand up for Tom the interviewer. Americans might not know that Q is the eminent radio culture show and Tom is highly respected as a journalist and here in fact he is able to elicit so much authenticity and, introspection that she shares with us. I think it’s a great interview AND the whole topic of reappropriating drag was fascinating.

[@davidmaybenot8626]

GOD SHE DESERVES ALLLLLL THE LOVE

[@peeveandtoonces]

What a thoughtful, lovely person.

[@gwenhughes8650]

She totally saved him with a very sweet answer when he said "After Midnight" and "Kaleidoscope" were said to be about her journey finding herself....I wonder if he listened to the record beforehand 🤔

[@st3phacope]

yep, had the same thought. super bizarre and really turned me off from listening.

[@EyeDigress]

I love her a lot, but she was also a bad interview here ngl. He was struggling too because of her vibe. It definitely would have helped if he prepped more.

[@nataliemariya2855]

i think she peeped it too lol

[@chayton1001]

I just love her. I've been listening to her for the last few years, and love seeing her finally find this well deserved success. Great interview.

[@sophiekaufman7349]

love this interview!! I love the questions that Tom asks, he is clearly very thoughtful and compassionate. Thanks!

[@lasagnahog7695]

Man I'd love a Midwest Princess hat but I'm a balding dude and don't have the guts to wear a mesh back hat. Her acting really stands out in her performance. She's got a wide future, I'd love to see her in some sort of on screen capacity.

[@squishking]

chappell’s whole thing is about being unapologetically urself! get that hat, man!

[@nataliemariya2855]

get the hat

[@M.c.harrington]

“In this industry, you really flourish if you DON’T protect yourself.” 😮 She’s spitting the truth in this interview. 🤌

[@MicahRion]

Saw her live on this tour and she was incredible!

[@alvalz88]

I'm a new Chappelle listener. She is a revelation. I love her 💜💜💜💜 great interview.

[@Infunktable]

Excellent interviewer. I stumbled across My Kink is Karma not long ago and I find Chappell so fascinating!

[@XanthiKokkinos]

I loooove her final thoughts ✨

[@BrynnaLayne]

Love this interview. I keep loving her more and more. Tom does such a great job in creating (what seems to be) a welcoming and comfortable environment. Great questions

[@batv9096]

Nice and onest Interview. You hear lot development in her songs since the beginning. It was somehow good luck to have a new label. New Album i can here in loops. Good vibes always. I also like her idea of protect your inner self by creating this stage figure. Looking forward for the concert in Berlin ❤

[@philosophy_schilling]

Such a great interview. ❤

[@DESHPLEASEMUSIC]

this is one of my favorite interviews. she's so honest, and down to earth and her sharing her personal struggles and her stories and what she went through is inspiring but also so relatable. she's so incredibly strong and has such a wonderful spirit. i'm so happy for her success! ❤‍🔥❤‍🔥

[@ItssMare]

Why am I crying at the last like 4 minutes

[@orangerainforest]

loveee her brain

[@danielnascimento6300]

Pop music is finally getting good again!

[@aidenmarchky8532]

she’s so awesome. i saw her Tuesday on halloween.

[@Hitoritaka]

Loving Chappell so much. But who says working a drive-thru isn't hard?

[@emmerson_cave7045]

I feel so bad for Chappel, because I followed her for a long time so I can tell that It feels like the interviewer didn’t do research the person he was interviewing.Chappel roan is such an interesting and cool person. I’m just so sad that he didn’t dig deep in his questions. They felt very surface level.

[@egel7736]

You have to look at this as a promotion opportunity for Chappell as well. There's a reason why he's asking these "surface-level" questions, namely to introduce her to his audience. :)

[@19Mariya26]

I'd have to disagree, the interviewer seemed genuinely empathetic and interested in what Chappell had to say and I would argue that that is more important than the quality of questions, she seemed raw and comfortable here.

[@MoPoppins]

I’m 49, but always still interested in discovering new artists, and I didn’t know anything about her backstory. Based on the interviewer’s way of asking questions, he doesn’t sound like an unprepared journalist-those entertainment shows like Extra, Entertainment Tonight, and Access Hollywood are shallow AF. I appreciated the way this interview unfolded, since I’d watched one on KIIS-FM Chicago & another by Rolling Stone, and they didn’t get into her origin story. Some of us aren’t going to organically have heard about her, so some interviews SHOULD be like this….and I think Chappell understands this-she’s very strategic in her choices, so she knows that every interview has its style & purpose.

[@fantasticbeck3938]

Keep in mind too, Q with Tom Power is a radio show that plays on the CBC (Canadian Broadcasting Corporation). The questions probably have to be kind of broad because this show is being broadcast to a whole country and a lot of listeners probably don’t know who Chappell is.

[@paulperkins1615]

From the 70s and 80s, the pop stars who understood that the music biz wanted to kill them were the only ones to have long careers. My favorite example: Neil Young.

[@Katz3y3GAMEZ]

Oh HELLO! She won me with the opening sentences cuz FACTS “you reach success when you don’t take care of yourself” artists that give into easy climbage is the example of what she said

[@ar-tz8ot]

felt like he tried to feed her an answer with every question

[@SMarcey]

There is a level of just baseline empathy that I think the younger generation I think take for granted in their media spaces. Im only 36 but I can tell you from watching this interview that if this was 20 years ago in the normal morning zoo radio format this interview would have been just a parade of misery. This is the kinda thing that keeps me hopeful.

[@RachelattheShelter]

Chappell matching the host's energy and seeming so subdued this episode is almost jarring.

[@SebastianKrabs]

God help me why couldn't I be served at the drive thru window by Chappell Roan? I was in Springfield at that time too! 🤦‍♂️

[@Teddy143Fresa]

A few years as a drag assistant I realized that drag covers any art form that pivots upon a put on affect, an alternate identity. Which is when the unpopular realization that clowns are also drag

[@BuddyMcKnight-oe2bd]

Crayola was also Raja's original drag name

[@robertfsullivan1756]

Peace Love Cool

[@thomasscottwilliams6672]

It’s shocking how unsurprising it is that industry manipulation of minors in contracts

[@Redrum66609]

She deserved a better interviewer. She’s so talented and such an interesting person.

[@malcolmburn1113]

Cmon Tom . Try questions that arent purely vacuous.

[@solarqueen2555]

What did she go through with that old company? I dont really understand what happened

[@gcee2636]

She was dropped by her label in 2020 and went independent and now funds her own music to the best of my knowledge

[@Sarah-hj7ht]

she reminds me so much of a young wise katy perry

[@waddler0715]

no naked in manhattan? whyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy :(

[@ScaleScarborough-jq8zx]

Vurry Midwest

[@andrearhiannon4979]

I feel like the interviewer is a bit out of his depth😅

[@gcee2636]

He sucks 😕 he's constantly dropping the ball with asking good open ended questions that haven't been asked 1000's time before. I started screaming while listening to his interview with Hailey Williams

[@SavyGoodman]

What a tragic interview she looks so bored 😭

[@jackielehman8945]

She looks authentic. I wish more people would.

[@rachellynch2898]

I love her music but I have never disliked a person more…… she as a person is SUCH bad vibes

[@lithia4483]

Wait, why do you think so? I'm new to her music, has she said/done anything bad?

[@rachellynch2898]

No, I might just be taking her irreverence towards her fame as entitlement. I liked her further into the interview