Who is Chappell Roan? From ‘trailer park trash’ to popstar inventing Gen Z’s YMCA

It looks like the American Dream is still alive and kicking.

Well, that’s certainly the case for the US’ latest pop phenomenon Chappell Roan. The 26-year-old, who just bagged her first UK number one album, derived from the most humble beginnings being brought up on a trailer park.

And now, she’s got the whole world hooked with her catchy pop beats, her tongue-in-cheek lyrics and a dance routine dubbed as Gen Z’s answer to the YMCA.

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Her debut album ‘The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess’ is now a UK number one, she has three singles on the UK Top 40 and seven singles on The Billboard Hot 100.

But, who really is Chappell Roan that seems to have burst onto the global music stage overnight? Here, we take a look at how a ‘trailer park trash’ girl transformed into America’s most exciting music star of the moment…

Humble beginnings

Chappell Roan has only been alive for a couple of years. That’s because its her stage name, but the moniker that many have grown to know and love her as in recent weeks.

But behind the drag makeup and sequin outfits, is Kayleigh Rose Amstutz – born in Springfield, Willard, a small town in Missouri, United States.

The 26-year-old grew up on a trailer park – often derogatorily seen as ‘trash’ – within the town that boasts a tiny population of around 6,000 people.

She lived with both of her parents – who have medical backgrounds – and with her three younger siblings in a conservative Christian environment.

Chappell admittedly said she was raised as a ‘God girl’ and would attend church three times a week. But, she knew that she ‘felt different’ from a young age.

As a child, she became captivated by the likes of Kesha and Lady Gaga – and their outlandish personas – which were a far cry from her devout religious learnings.

Speaking in an interview with Variety last year, Chappell admitted: “I just wanted to feel like a good person, but I had this part of me that wanted to escape so bad.”

And escaped she has…

Birth of Chappell Roan

Chappell Roan has been active in the music scene since she first released an original track ‘Die Young’ to YouTube back in 2014 when she was just a teen.

The star said she penned her first song at a summer camp where she mixed with fellow creative sprogs for the first time in her life.

She owes this to changing her “trajectory forever.” When coming up with her persona she sought inspiration from her grandad – who sadly died of cancer back in 2016 from brain cancer.

Admittedly, Chappell never felt “super connected” to her real name Kayleigh. So in her grandad’s honour she took his last name ‘Chappell’ and ‘Roan’ from his favourite song ‘Strawberry Roan’.

She married the pair together to become Chappell Roan and even ‘wishes’ that was her real name, she told Cherwell.org.

In attempts to pursue a career in music and honour her grandad, Chappell travelled to New York in hopes of getting noticed and to build up a fanbase.

And the grafting paid off as she managed to get signed to Atlantic Records in 2015 at the age of just 17. However, it wasn’t meant to be.

Despite being the supporting act for a number of big names on tour, like Olivia Rodrigo on her GUTS World Tour, Chappell was dropped by the record label in 2020 for reportedly not being “profitable enough.”

That was even after her critically acclaimed ‘Pink Pony Club’ hit.

But, Chappell didn’t stop there.

Half-way through 2023 she signed with Dan Nigro’s Amusement Records, under Island Records. It was shortly after that she dropped her debut album ‘The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess’ – that has now propelled her to stardom.

Along with her ‘drag’ style outfits and makeup, Chappell is quickly becoming one of the most recognised names in pop.

Gen Z’s answer to YMCA

Chappell Roan is being named as one the women who are well and truly bringing pop back – after a dry spell post-2010s. The American singer-songwriter has penned a number of boppy numbers with cleverly crafted lyrics.

But, one song is now being seen as the Gen Z answer to YMCA and it’s even thought to have attracted record breaking crowds at popular US festival Lollapalooza.

‘HOT TO GO!’ – a song about being, well, hot has certainly proved popular in the charts and crowds alike. Thanks to its chanty chorus, Chappell choreographed an easy to follow dance routine that even non-fans can join in with.

Similar to ultimate cheesy dancefloor banger ‘YMCA’, you simply just have to act out the letters above your head – but at a much faster speed than the 70s tune.

She admitted to NME that she was “jealous” of the YMCA and was inspired to do something similar as she wanted a ‘cheerleader’ type song and wanted a dance she could do with her audience.

Chappell demonstrates how to do it in the music video for the song that’s racked up 13million views on YouTube within a year. She even gets her grandparents to join in for the three-minute long clip.

And just a little before the song’s anniversary, the ‘HOT TO GO!’ routine has possessed music lovers in their droves. Footage from her performance of the song at the Lollapalooza quickly went viral as the crowd managed to spell out the letters with their arms in unison.

It’s thought that over 100,000 joined in – even though she was a daytime act and not a headliner on the bill.

“Chappell’s performance was the biggest daytime set we’ve ever seen. It was a magical moment added to Lolla’s DNA,” a spokesperson for Lollapalooza told CNN.

But creating Gen Z’s version of the YMCA isn’t the only thing that Chappell is responsible for.

Many critics and fans are saying that she’s peddling the “lesbian pop renaissance” with her songs discussing queer culture and sexuality as well as celebrating feminist ideologies.

Chappell Roan will be visiting the UK on her The Midwest Princess Tour in September

Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk