“I’m the pop star of Goodwill.
I’m a thrift store pop star.
I’m a DIY queen, know what I mean?”
she toldRolling Stonein 2022, a few years before her career really took off.
“If a five-year-old could draw a pop star, it would be me,” she joked.
This is the stunning transformation of Chappell Roan.
“I felt so out of place in my hometown.
I wish it was better.
I wish I had better things to say,” she told Rolling Stone in 2022.
“But mentally, I had a really tough time.”
“When I was younger, I really loved Karen Carpenter and I really wanted to emulate her.
For a while, though, she hid her budding musicality from her family.
Her grandfather Denny chimed in, adding, “We didn’t know she could sing.”
OnInstagramyears later, Roan shared a snap of her younger self, holding a cat and looking sad.
In the caption, she wrote, “if only she knew how hard she would slay.”
Looking back in an interview with Rolling Stone, she revealed it was difficult.
“I didn’t know the consequences of how much I had to sacrifice.
I didn’t do my senior year.
I didn’t go to prom.
I didn’t go to graduation,” she said.
“This job allows me to do and be whoever I want.”
“I really wanted to showcase a very moody vibe with his album.”
Even then, thanks to Roan’s internet presence, she was beginning to find a fanbase.
“I had never cried on stage before until last night,” she wrote in an emotionalFacebookpost.
“Looking out and seeing people singing my songs with me is a feeling I can’t describe.
It is a dream come true.”
“I’m saying that not as an observer,” she toldThe Washington Postin 2023.
“I was in it, and I know.”
Soon, though, that all changed.
Everyone was having a great time; it was magical.
I just felt like I belonged there, and that really changed my life.”
The night inspired “Pink Pony Club,” an ode to the gay community.
Chappell Roan had found her people.
“I was just so f***ing young and it just sucked.
But I did learn so much.”
Being dropped by her label meant a chance to reset.
“I was upset about my project not moving.
She got back in touch with producer Dan Nigro, who gave her some tough love.
She fine-tuned the Chappell Roan persona, too, making her stage character more akin to a drag queen.
“I think Chappell’s a drag-queen version of me because it’s very larger-than-life.
Kind of tacky, not afraid to say really lewd things.
This time around, the queer themes in her music felt more authentic, too.
“I’m not observing from the outside anymore,” Roan reflected.
“I feel like I’m in it.
Her new music and her new aesthetic suddenly hit.
“I was the thrift store pop girl it was so drag,” she toldNME.
“I learned how to embellish my own costumes.
But do you know what, it f***ing worked.”
“I feel so loved and supported,” Roan wrote.
“"‘I don’t have the answers I’m sorry.
No one has the answers,'” she remembered Rodrigo telling her.
That was an answer that worked for Roan.
In 2024, Roan joined Rodrigo as the opener on The GUTS World Tour.
I adore you and the community that surrounds your project.”
one person commented onYouTube.
In April, she performeda set at Coachellathat blew fans away.
She gave a moving speech about how far America still needs to go.
“I guess I just want to be honest,” she said in aYouTubeclip, her voice catching.
“The meet-and-greets, I don’t think I can do that again.
I know a lot of artists, as you grow, they can’t do it anymore.
Oh, my God, the boundaries, there’s none, you know?”
Filth is my life!
… inspired by Divine the most beautiful woman in the world, almost.”
In the correspondingInstagrampost for that look, Roan went into more detail about what Divine meant to her.
“divine if you are reading this from heaven…come down and haunt me sometime.”
She told Fallon, “It just hit me through the heart.
I hope Sasha Colby one day watches me.”
“People are starving for something authentic and cool in pop again,” theywrote.
“She’s filling a void!”
“I love Chappell,” she commented, followed by a string of black heart emojis.
OnInstagram, he shared a photo of the two hanging out.
“Love her, love her, love her.”
Surely that love for Roan will only continue to spread as her career continues.
