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Chappell Roan wows the world with a live version of “Good Luck, Babe”
American singer and songwriter Kayleigh Rose Amstutz who is known as Chappell Roan, music inspo and aesthetic is described by music critics as “1980s synthpop” as well as early 2000s style pop songs. Chappell Roan has cited Kate Bush as the main influence on her music. She collaborates with Dan Nigro, an American record producer and songwriter who has co-written and produced songs for a variety of musical artists. Born in Missouri, Chappell Roan has her own unique style that is described as being “influenced by drag queens.” Rolling Stone described her performance style and music as “campy.”
Chappell Roan has been influenced by the “club kids” scene, Vivienne Westwood and burlesque for her style and Boy George for her “look.” After uploading her original song “Die Young” to YouTube in 2014, she was signed by Atlantic Records. She followed this up in 2017, by debuting her EP. It was her single “Pink Pony Club” in 2020 which was her break out hit. The difference in style of the “Pink Pony Club” single from her initial songs, which enabled her rise to fame, saw her discarded by the same Atlantic Records label that had first signed her. It was with “Pink Pony Club” that Chappell Roan embraced her queer identity and by extension Chappell Roan became her “drag identity.” She proceeded to release songs independently in 2022 until she released her debut album for Island Records in 2023. The album “The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess” which made some of the best album lists in 2023, had begun to receive a “cult following” in early 2024. It went on to be nominated Album of the Year at the Grammy Awards that year.
Then it was the single “Good Luck, Babe” which she followed up the album with, as well as her performance at Coachella, Lollapalooza, the Governor’s Ball and her supporting act role on Olivia Rodrigo’s ‘Guts World Tour,’ that had led to “The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess” album’s commercial success. The album went on to top the charts in the United Kingdom, Ireland and New Zealand and reached the top five in Australia and the United States. Her live performance at the 2024 MTV VMAs was legendary. She won the MTV VMA for best new artist of 2024, and her song “Good luck babe” had gone to number one on the Billboard 100. Chappell dedicated her award to queer and trans people whom she says “fuel pop.” As she said in her acceptance speech “to the gays who dedicate my songs to someone they love or hate. And thank you to the people who are fans, who listen to me, who hear me when I share my joy and fears. Thank you for listening.”
Roan Chappell served at the VMAs and ate with her performance of the song “Good Luck, Babe.” The performance starts with her in shining armor as a “Roan of Arc figure, imprisoned in a medieval dungeon surrounded by knights. It features sword fighting and a live sword toss. As Chappell is freed, she shoots an arrow of flames at the castle keep and sets it ablaze, with the moon illuminating the background singing the lines “You’d have to stop the world just to stop the feeling,” and the music slows down. The production value alone of this live was next level, with actual fire and sword fighting.
Chappell Roan absolutely killed it with this masterpiece and the song is definitely giving nineties vibes.
