Welcome back to our occasional feature for swimfanning over our celebrity faves!

Biographical Details:

Fake Girlfriend Name: Chappell Roan (birth name: Kayleigh Rose Amstutz)

Name says: Chappell picked her professional name to honor her grandfather’s last name, who passed away, and his favorite song; how sweet! It’s also noted that she doesn’t love her birth name, which is… understandable, given her stage persona. Chappell Roan is definitely more of a “cool girl” vibe.

Date of Birth: February 19, 1998

Age says: She straddling that Zillennial line, so her life experiences can appeal to all people in key musical target demographics!

Place of Birth: Willard, Missouri

Birthplace says: She knows about Midwest existential dread.

Where You Have Seen Her:

Perhaps if you’re “in the know” musically, you may have heard Chappell back in 2021 when “Pink Pony Club” was labelled “the Song of Summer 2021” by Vulture, but I think back then I was still hobbling around, squinting into the sunlight as I got used to being back around people after my vaccine kicked in, so safe to say I was not partying it up that summer.

But if you’ve already heard about Chappell Roan it was probably the way most of us did, via Tiktok or someone’s IG stories in Autumn 2023 when her debut, full-length album, The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess, was released.

Roan garnered enough attention to be the opener act on Olivia Rodrigo’s Guts World Tour back in February 2024, and based on how often I’m seeing her brought up, it definitely brought a whole new host of fans to her music:

Exhibit A: Performing “Good Luck, Babe” at Coachella

Exhibit B: Doing a NPR Tiny Desk Concert

Now is the perfect time to brush up on her songs so you can sing along like an OG fan at her next concert!

Where You’ll See Her Next:

Chappell’s most recent single, “Good Luck, Babe” was released in April and it’s a banger, and, fingers crossed, hopefully the first step to a sophomore album release in late 2024?! In the meantime, you can catch Roan up close and personal on the festival tour circuit, as it looks like she’ll be touring all across the country through September at least.

Why You’ll Adore Her:

This album has been on repeat rotation for me since I first got a taste of “Hot To Go”, and I need more people to be excited about music that makes me dance in my car and makes the world seem a bit less shitty. Some songs are heartfelt and some are funny, but all feel honest and particularly raw at times, like when she blasts a partner for telling her their relationship is “Casual” yet she’s meeting their mom and getting very up-close-and-personal in the back of their car on the nightly.

Chappell has written or co-written all of her own music, which she describes as “dark pop with ballad undertones” with influences like Lana del Rey, Lorde, and Stevie Nicks. As the child of two parents who adored ‘80s music, I also noticed a lot of the ‘80s pop-synth beats and the frothy goofiness of similarly quirky ladies like Cyndi Lauper.

As a self-proclaimed queer girl, Chappell’s music feels like a safe space for people of all kinds to be who they want and just dance, and her outfits on stage seem to be an ostentatiously colorful and glamorous homage to the drag community. I love the pig-nose homage to Penelope on the single cover of “Good Luck, Babe” – Chappell seems like she’d be a lot of fun to hang out with.

Circumstantial Evidence:

See Chappell’s evolution from street performer to the big stage.

If you like hearing artists discuss the meaning behind their songs, Roan breaks down her debut album song by song in Making The Album:

Some of my favorite songs that have been on repeat for months now:

“Hot To Go”

If you don’t want to dance and sing along as loud as you can to this song, I dunno if we can be friends.

“My Kink is Karma”

I have a secret vindictive streak I rarely ever act on but enjoy indulging in my fantasies, so this song is perfection.


“Naked in Manhattan”

The amount of inappropriate times my brain would randomly make me want to sing out, “Touch me, baby, NAKED IN MANHATTAN” is…a lot. This song WILL get stuck in your head.

“Red Wine Supernova”

I like how funny and irreverent many of Chappell’s songs are; reminding you not to take yourself too seriously. “I heard you like magic, I’ve got a wand and a rabbit / So baby, let’s get freaky, get kinky / Let’s make this bed get squeaky”

“Casual”

DRAG THEM, Chappell!

“After Midnight”

This song deserves to be blasted on a long drive with your windows down.

Are you a Chappell Roan fan? What’s your favorite song? Let us know in the comments!

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Stephanie (she/her) is an avid reader who moonlights at a college and calls Orlando home. Stephanie loves watching television, reading DIY blogs, planning awesome parties, Halloween decorating, and playing live-action escape games.