Media and fans alike have described Chappell Roan’s ascent to fame as “overnight,” “meteoric,” and “sensational,” but when people ask the Midwestern princess herself, she has a surprisingly blunt response to finally getting recognized as a pop star. (Hint: emphasis on the word finally).
In the middle of a hectic summer touring schedule, which included one of the largest crowds in Lollapalooza history in August 2024, Roan sat down with Saturday Night Live and Broadway star Bowen Yang for Interview magazine.
She and Yang discussed the queer experience, the caveats Roan has to acting, and, of course, how the pop star feels about being called, well, a pop star.
Chappell Roan’s Response to Being Recognized as a Star
Chappell Roan’s seemingly overnight takeover of the zeitgeist happened months after her debut release, The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess. With the help of social media and an opening slot on Olivia Rodrigo’s Guts World Tour, Roan went from an underground icon to a pop sensation, commanding such massive crowds during her 2024 festival schedule that organizers had to switch stages and schedules just to keep up with the demand.
Adding to Roan’s allure is the perceived rapidity of it all—after all, the news loves a fast-rising star. But if you were to ask Roan, she wouldn’t describe her career as a “quick” shot to fame. “It’s so crazy how industry people are taking me more seriously than before,” Roan admitted to Yang for Interview magazine. “I’m like, ‘I’ve been doing this the whole time, b****.’”
“My career doesn’t mean anything more now that I have a charting album and song,” she continued. “If anything, I’m just like, ‘F*** you guys for not seeing what actually matters.’ A chart is so fleeting. Everyone leaves the charts. I’m just like, ‘This is giving valedictorian.’ Everyone graduates. The valedictorian doesn’t really matter, and that’s kind of what I feel like right now.”
Her Fame Was Hard Fought, and Now Her Privacy Is, Too
Chappell Roan might appear to come out of nowhere, but she’s been cutting her teeth in the industry for years now. The pop singer even had a record deal with major label Atlantic Records, but the label dropped her three years before her debut release. While she’s no stranger to writing, recording, and performing her original music, Roan has been taken aback by fans’ responses.
“People have started to be freaks,” Roan lamented on the Comment Section podcast. “[They] follow me and know where my parents live and where my sister works. All this weird s***. This is the time when a few years ago when I said that if [there were] stalker vibes or my family was in danger, I would quit. We’re there. We’re there! I’ve pumped the brakes on, honestly, anything to make me more known. It’s kind of a forest fire right now.”
Of course, one downside to becoming one of the hottest musical acts of the year—however reluctantly—is that Roan doesn’t feel obligated to say “yes.” As she told Bowen Yang, “I’m just very lucky that I have the leverage to say no and yes. I mean, it’s awesome knowing that I have a job. I’ve never been guaranteed money before. That’s the difference. I’ve always been a writer, but I didn’t start making money to pay my rent until last year.”
Photo by Daniel DeSlover/ZUMA Press Wire/Shutterstock
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