Press Conference Recap: Chappell Roan Talks Silliness, Small Towns, and Sirens Ahead of 'The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess'
Popstar Chappell Roan opened up to Afterglow about her greatest inspirations, fears, and goals as an up-and-coming queer artist before her debut album releases on September 22.
Written by Janie Bickerton
Photos courtesy of Ryan Clemens
Underneath the drag makeup, go-go boots, and bedazzled leotards, Kayleigh Amstutz is just like anyone else. At 25 years old, she’s trying to set boundaries and heal her inner child, all while providing for her pet cat, Luna. What sets Amstutz apart is her alter ego Chappell Roan — a glitzy, campy popstar spreading queer joy with upbeat anthems.
Debuting in 2017 with her 2017 EP School Nights, Amstutz’s career took off after moving to LA and working with a pre-“drivers license” Dan Nigro in 2020. The pair released “Pink Pony Club,” a vivacious track about living authentically after leaving home, to critical acclaim. The single officially placed the Missouri-born singer in the catalog of inspirational queer artists. After independently releasing three singles in 2022, Island Records signed Amstutz, who’s set to release her semi-autobiographical and unapologetically entertaining tale, The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess.
There’s so much to look forward to in Chappell Roan’s debut album. Her favorite track “Guilty Pleasure,” and several other tracks documenting polarizing moments in Asmultz's life, will depict both “rises” and “falls.” Have your tissues ready for “California,” “Coffee,” and “Kaleidoscope,” the despondent tracks Amstutz listed as her “fall” compared to the shiny singles that focus on her journey towards authenticity.
One of her favorites — “Femininomenon” — is ready to soundtrack your next night out. A campy earworm about taking satisfaction into your own hands, the upbeat anthem revels in femininity. “She doesn’t get enough credit,” Amstutz jokingly retorted, considering the song’s performance compared to other equally fun singles “Red Wine Supernova,” “Naked in Manhattan,” and “HOT TO GO!” When asked about how she imagines such out-there song titles, she described her process as “all just like clickbait,” stringing words together to create an eye-catching title.
With The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess, Amstutz encourages her audience to unabashedly embrace their goofy sides. The singer allows herself “to feel silly” by dressing up, jogging, and playing pop songs on stage without shame as Chappell Roan. To reflect the album’s ability to make anyone show their most unserious selves, she suggests the album be listened to in a range of unique spaces. Her debut brings the pure pop energy needed to soundtrack an intimate “craft night” with friends, a dopamine-inducing pregame, or a night on the dance floor at a gay club.
Confronting your inner child is innately linked to being pridefully silly. Amstutz finds this connection necessary while making the record. Her biggest change in making The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess was “honoring [her] inner child.” One way she did so was by channeling her childhood muses Britney Spears, Katy Perry, and Lady Gaga in her bouncy, sex-positive pop songs. Despite her idols and their influence on pop culture, being herself is the greatest step towards healing. “There are so many things in the Midwest you are told you can and can’t be,” Amstutz admitted. She felt afraid to express queerness in her hometown of Willard, Missouri, because of its overbearing religiosity, binary expectations, and absent queer representation. Rejecting her rigid past, the pop starlet puts authenticity first in her career by asserting agency in her music after signing with Island Records. She can control her image now more than ever because of her newfound financial freedom, stating excitement about finally having a tour bus. Aware that with monetary wriggle room comes label’s expectations for her music, Amstutz laid some ground rules about controlling her sound and style. “I will be doing what I want, so just know that,” she recounted telling her new label. Chappell Roan is free to be sexy, surprising, and self-confident, simultaneously letting go of and honoring her past by being who she wants to be.
As a queer person, Amstutz feels a responsibility to shine a light on her queerness with her music. The popstar topples heteronormative standards by depicting what happens when a siren lures a woman to deep sadness in her “Casual” music video. “It was just like something casual for her, and I wanted her to, like, move in with me,” she laughs, showing how a noncommittal partner can hold just as strong a bite as a siren maiming her victim. Beyond depicting fantastical queer relationships in her music, Amstutz paints the LGBTQ+ experience vibrantly to help “see queer kids make it out alive” as she did. “There [are] a lot of heavy topics … especially when it relates to queerness, unfortunately. I simply write what I feel or what I wish would happen.” By writing bluntly in her ballads and positively in her pop songs, Amstutz aims to make listeners “feel something… that pulls them out of the pit of despair.”
Adding a personal touch to her songs has blurred the lines between Chappell Roan and Kayleigh Amstutz — a struggle that she does not yet know how to conquer. “It is like drag,” Amstutz said while describing going on tour. “[Chappell] is so extravagant … and my personality is, like, a sliver of that.” She finds her persona seeping into her real self, especially while grappling with augmented fame in the past year. “The busier I get, the harder the boundaries become to uphold.” While maintaining a work-life balance may be her greatest challenge, it’s simultaneously her greatest goal to learn how to deal with new found fame “in a healthy way.” But for now, Amstutz is ready to channel Chappell with her joyous, outrageously fun album, The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess.
Inspired by seeing Orville Peck’s cowboy-meets-camp tour in 2019, Amstutz incorporates drag into her performance by having local drag queens open her shows. She encourages the audience to be just as extravagant and expressive as the show itself by setting costume themes for each night. From “Slumber Party” to “Space,” Amstutz has several themed outfits doused in glitter for tour, and she is especially ready to don “massive angel wings” on “Angels vs. Devils” night. Dress-up, drag queens, and interactive portions of the tour emphasize how much Amstutz implements her love for drag into her work, saying: “Campiness is just kind of at the forefront of the project.” Amstutz is excited to show Chappell Roan’s unapologetic self, encourage silliness, and amplify queer joy with The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess, out September 22.