Why Chappell Roan took online classes at BYU

A 2020 podcast interview circulating on social media revealed the breakout singer, Chappell Roan , attended online classes at BYU to graduate high school.

Why it matters: Roan, 26, along with Sabrina Carpenter and Charli XCX, has been credited with heralding a new generation of pop music .

• Roan, a rising queer pop icon , grew up in a strict Christian household in Missouri before taking virtual classes at the private university owned by the Utah-based Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

State of play: The "Good Luck, Babe!" singer told the Bringin' It Backwards podcast that she was signed to Atlantic Records at the age of 16 and had to figure out how to balance school and making music.

What she's saying: "I took online classes from BYU while I was going to high school to make up the credits, and that's how I got through," she said.