Chappell Roan (born February 19, 1998) is an American singer and songwriter who turned a slow-burn decade in the industry into one of the most explosive breakouts in recent pop memory. Her sound pulls from ’80s synth-pop, disco, and early 2000s dance-pop, delivered through a persona that is as much performance art as it is pop stardom. She has built her music and her image squarely around queer joy, camp excess, and the kind of unfiltered emotional honesty that makes audiences feel like they are hearing a secret told at full volume.
Roan’s path was anything but linear. Signed to Atlantic Records at seventeen, she released an EP that went nowhere, got dropped during the pandemic, moved back to Missouri, and nearly quit music altogether. What followed was a reinvention: she found producer Dan Nigro, built a glitter-drenched stage persona, and released The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess in September 2023. The album was a slow burn that caught fire in 2024, fueled by a run of festival performances, Coachella, Governor’s Ball, Bonnaroo, Lollapalooza, that kept getting bigger than the stages booked for them. Her single “Good Luck, Babe!” cracked the top five of the Billboard Hot 100 and made her a household name almost overnight.
Since then, Roan has won the Grammy for Best New Artist, released hit singles “The Giver” and “The Subway,” headlined festivals across Europe and South America, and landed brand partnerships with M·A·C Cosmetics and Fortnite. What makes her compelling is the tension between the shy introvert from Willard, Missouri, and the towering, painted character she becomes onstage. That gap is the engine of everything she does.
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Quick Facts
| Real Name: | Kayleigh Rose Amstutz |
| Stage Name: | Chappell Roan |
| Profession: | Singer, songwriter |
| Born: | February 19, 1998 |
| Age: | 28 (as of 2026) |
| Birthplace: | Willard, Missouri, United States |
| Nationality: | American |
| Genre(s): | Synth-pop, indie pop, dance-pop, disco, pop |
| Known For: | “Good Luck, Babe!,” “Pink Pony Club,” “Hot to Go!,” drag-inspired live performances, and her 2024 festival breakout |
| Notable Albums: | The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess |
| Awards: | 1 Grammy Award (Best New Artist, 2025), MTV VMA Best New Artist (2024), BBC Sound of 2025 |
| Record Label(s): | Amusement Records / Island Records (current); formerly Atlantic Records |
| Zodiac Sign: | Pisces |
| Relationship: | Private (identifies as a lesbian) |
| Years Active: | 2017 to present |
Featured Video
Video courtesy of Chappell Roan’s official YouTube channel.
Early Life & Education
Kayleigh Rose Amstutz was born in Willard, Missouri, the eldest of four children. Her mother, Kara, is a veterinarian; her father, Dwight, is a retired Naval Reservist who also managed the family’s veterinary practice. Roan has described her upbringing as conservative and Christian — she attended church three times a week and spent summers at Christian camps. In a 2023 Variety interview, she put it plainly: she struggled with her identity from an early age and spent much of her childhood feeling like she needed to escape.
Music was the first exit. She took piano lessons, joined her school choir, and started uploading cover songs to YouTube around age fourteen. The turning point came at Interlochen Center for the Arts, a summer music camp in Michigan, where she wrote her first original song, “Die Young.” She uploaded it under her birth name and the response was immediate — record labels came calling. By 2015, at seventeen, she had signed with Atlantic Records and traveled to New York for industry showcases. She adopted the stage name Chappell Roan in 2016, honoring her late grandfather Dennis Chappell and his favorite song, “The Strawberry Roan.” She graduated early from Willard High School, missing prom and her own graduation ceremony in the process.
After signing to Atlantic, Roan moved to Los Angeles in 2018. She has said that it was the first time she felt free to live openly as a queer woman, describing the experience as being overwhelmed by acceptance. That freedom — the distance between the church-going kid in Willard and the person she was becoming in L.A. — would fuel nearly everything she wrote from that point forward.
Career Highlights and Milestones
Roan’s career has two distinct chapters, separated by a gap that nearly ended it. The first chapter — Atlantic Records, the School Nights EP (2017), supporting Vance Joy on tour — produced well-reviewed but commercially invisible work. In 2020, she released “Pink Pony Club,” a song inspired by her first visit to a gay bar in West Hollywood. It was the first track that sounded like the artist she was becoming: bright, danceable, emotionally raw, unapologetically queer. Atlantic dropped her that same year, mid-pandemic, with no severance and no health insurance.
She moved home to Missouri, worked odd jobs, and gave herself one year to try again. Back in L.A. in 2021, she reconnected with producer Dan Nigro, began self-funding music videos, and rebuilt her image from scratch — drag-inspired makeup, campy costumes, a stage persona she has compared to Hannah Montana. The result was The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess, released through Amusement Records (an Island Records imprint) in September 2023. It opened modestly but had a long tail: by mid-2024, propelled by the single “Good Luck, Babe!” and a string of incendiary festival sets, the album climbed to number two on the Billboard 200 and spawned six concurrent Hot 100 entries.
The summer of 2024 was the inflection point. At Coachella, she played to a packed tent. By Governor’s Ball, she was dressed as the Statue of Liberty and going viral. At Lollapalooza in August, organizers scrambled to move her to the main stage two weeks before the show — she drew an estimated 110,000 people, the largest daytime crowd in the festival’s history. That fall, she performed on Saturday Night Live, won MTV’s VMA for Best New Artist in a Joan of Arc costume, and debuted a new country-tinged single, “The Giver,” live on SNL. In February 2025, she won the Grammy for Best New Artist and used her acceptance speech to demand that labels provide artists with livable wages and health insurance.
In 2025 and into 2026, Roan has continued to scale up without releasing a second album. “The Giver” debuted at number five on the Hot 100 and topped the Hot Country Songs chart, making her only the third woman to lead that chart with her first entry. “The Subway,” released in July 2025, debuted at number three — her highest-charting single — and earned two nominations at the 2026 Grammys (Record of the Year, Best Pop Solo Performance). She headlined festivals across Europe, played pop-up stadium shows in New York, Kansas City, and Pasadena, and was named M·A·C Cosmetics’ Global Brand Ambassador. She has said publicly that her second album may not arrive for another five years, calling herself a slow writer who cannot force the process.
Selected discography and music highlights
- School Nights EP (2017)
- “Pink Pony Club” single (2020)
- “Naked in Manhattan” single (2022)
- “My Kink Is Karma” single (2022)
- “Femininomenon” single (2023)
- “Red Wine Supernova” single (2023)
- “Hot to Go!” single (2023)
- “Super Graphic Ultra Modern Girl” single (2023)
- The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess (2023)
- “Good Luck, Babe!” single (2024)
- “The Giver” single (2025)
- “The Subway” single (2025)
Major recognition
- Grammy Award for Best New Artist (2025), with six total nominations across the Big Four categories plus Best Pop Solo Performance and Best Pop Vocal Album
- Two Grammy nominations at the 2026 ceremony: Record of the Year and Best Pop Solo Performance for “The Subway”
- MTV VMA Best New Artist (2024); dedicated the award to queer and trans people
- BBC Sound of 2025 winner
- Billboard’s No. 1 on the Artist 100 (October 2024)
- Lollapalooza 2024: drew the largest daytime crowd in the festival’s history (approximately 110,000 people)
- “Good Luck, Babe!” surpassed 1.7 billion streams on Spotify
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Awards and Accolades
| Year | Award | Category | Work | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Grammy Awards | Best New Artist | Career | Won |
| 2025 | Grammy Awards | Album of the Year | The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess | Nominated |
| 2025 | Grammy Awards | Record of the Year | “Good Luck, Babe!” | Nominated |
| 2025 | Grammy Awards | Song of the Year | “Good Luck, Babe!” | Nominated |
| 2025 | Grammy Awards | Best Pop Solo Performance | “Good Luck, Babe!” | Nominated |
| 2025 | Grammy Awards | Best Pop Vocal Album | The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess | Nominated |
| 2026 | Grammy Awards | Record of the Year | “The Subway” | Nominated |
| 2026 | Grammy Awards | Best Pop Solo Performance | “The Subway” | Nominated |
| 2024 | MTV VMAs | Best New Artist | Career | Won |
| 2025 | BBC | Sound of 2025 | Career | Won |
| 2024 | Billboard | Top New Artist | Career | Won |
Discography / Notable Works
| Year | Title | Type | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | School Nights | EP | Atlantic Records debut. Dark pop with ballad undertones. Commercially quiet but critically noticed. |
| 2020 | “Pink Pony Club” | Single | Inspired by a gay bar in West Hollywood. Went viral on TikTok in 2021. Eventually reached #4 on the Hot 100. |
| 2022 | “Naked in Manhattan” | Single | Self-funded post-label comeback. Unapologetically queer. Marked the start of her reinvented image. |
| 2022 | “My Kink Is Karma” | Single | Revenge-pop with camp flair. Continued establishing the new Chappell Roan persona. |
| 2023 | The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess | Studio Album | Debut album. Sleeper hit. Peaked at #2 on Billboard 200. Six concurrent Hot 100 entries. Grammy-nominated for Album of the Year. |
| 2024 | “Good Luck, Babe!” | Single | Breakout hit. #4 on Hot 100. Over 1.7 billion Spotify streams. Three Grammy nominations including Record and Song of the Year. |
| 2025 | “The Giver” | Single | Country-tinged anthem. Debuted at #5 on Hot 100. #1 on Hot Country Songs — only the third woman to lead the chart with a debut entry. |
| 2025 | “The Subway” | Single | Debuted at #3 on Hot 100 — her highest-charting single. Topped the UK Singles Chart. Two 2026 Grammy nominations. |
Touring History / Major Tours
| Year(s) | Tour Name | Scale | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | Vance Joy — Lay It On Me Tour | Support act | Early touring experience supporting Vance Joy on select dates. |
| 2022 | Olivia Rodrigo support dates | Arena support | Opening act for Olivia Rodrigo. First major arena exposure. |
| 2023–2024 | The Midwest Princess Tour | Club/theater to arena | 94 shows across six legs. Started in clubs, ended in arenas. Local drag queens opened every date. Concluded at Austin City Limits, October 2024. |
| 2024 | Festival circuit | Festival headliner circuit | Coachella, Governor’s Ball (viral Statue of Liberty set), Bonnaroo, Lollapalooza (110,000-person crowd — largest daytime set in festival history). |
| 2024 | Olivia Rodrigo — GUTS World Tour | Arena support | Opening act on multiple North American dates. Helped catalyze her mainstream crossover. |
| 2025–2026 | Visions of Damsels & Other Dangerous Things Tour | Global stadium/festival tour | Began at Orange Warsaw Festival (May 2025). European festivals, U.S. pop-up shows (Forest Hills Stadium, Rose Bowl), Australia/NZ, and South American Lollapalooza headlining dates through March 2026. |
Net Worth, Income, & Lifestyle
| Net Worth (2026) | Public estimates vary widely. Chappell Roan has not disclosed a verified net worth figure. Treat numbers found online as unconfirmed. |
| Income Sources | Recorded music sales and streaming royalties, touring and live performance revenue, songwriting and publishing income, brand partnerships and endorsements, merchandise sales. |
| Business & Ventures | M·A·C Cosmetics Global Brand Ambassador (announced December 2025). Fortnite collaboration (February 2026) headlining Festival Season 13 music pass. The Midwest Princess Project, her charitable initiative supporting trans youth organizations. No separate production company or consumer brand has been publicly announced. |
| Properties & Assets | Roan was displaced from her Altadena, California, home by the January 2025 Los Angeles wildfires. She has spoken publicly about living in temporary housing for several months before securing a new residence in L.A. Most financial details are private. |
| Lifestyle | Describes herself as deeply introverted off-stage. Enjoys thrifting, video games (including Old School RuneScape), parks, and beer gardens. Has spoken at length about the tension between her private personality and the demands of fame, and about setting firm boundaries around public interactions. |
Social Media & Online Presence
| Official account: @chappellroan (verified). Used for album announcements, tour dates, and behind-the-scenes content. | |
| X (Twitter) | Official account: @ChappellRoan (verified). Less frequently active than other platforms. |
| TikTok | Official account: @chappellroan (verified). Significant platform for her rise — several videos about fame and personal boundaries have become her most-viewed content. |
| Official page: Chappell Roan (verified). | |
| YouTube / Vevo | Official channel: Chappell Roan. Home to official music videos including “Good Luck, Babe!,” “Hot to Go!,” “The Subway,” and “The Giver.” |
| Spotify | Artist profile: Chappell Roan. Approximately 35 million monthly listeners as of early 2026. |
| Apple Music | Artist profile: Chappell Roan. |
| Official Website | iamchappellroan.com — merch, music, tour info, and The Midwest Princess Project. |
Fan communities on social media (unofficial)
NOTE: In addition to any official accounts listed above, many fan-run pages, update accounts, and clip accounts exist across all platforms. These are not confirmed to be affiliated with Chappell Roan. Links and usernames can change at any time.
Trivia & Lesser-Known Facts
- Her stage name honors her late grandfather Dennis Chappell, who died of brain cancer in 2016, and his favorite song, “The Strawberry Roan” by Curley Fletcher.
- She was the youngest person ever signed as a songwriter by Sony/ATV, at age thirteen, before her Atlantic Records deal.
- She has described her stage persona as her “drag character” — an 18-plus version of Hannah Montana who is bolder and more confident than her real self. The concept originated from a conversation with her therapist about her inner child.
- She worked at a donut shop while rebuilding her career after being dropped by Atlantic, and has said publicly she had no shame about it.
- Her favorite childhood song was “Genie in a Bottle” by Christina Aguilera. She has credited Rihanna’s “Stay” as the song that inspired her to start writing music, and named Alanis Morissette’s Jagged Little Pill as the album that made her realize she was gay.
- She plays piano but can no longer play guitar, despite starting on that instrument as a kid.
Quotes
“I told myself if I ever won a Grammy, and I got to stand up here in front of the most powerful people in music, I would demand that labels and the industry profiting millions of dollars off of artists would offer a livable wage and health care, especially to developing artists.”
— Chappell Roan, Best New Artist acceptance speech, 67th Grammy Awards (February 2, 2025)
“I just wanted to feel like a good person, but I had this part of me that wanted to escape so bad.”
— Chappell Roan, Variety interview (2023)
“My career has worked because I’ve done it my way, and I’ve not compromised morals and time. I have not succumbed to the pressure.”
— Chappell Roan, W Magazine cover story (April 2025)
“If a 5-year-old could draw a pop star, it would be me.”
— Chappell Roan, as quoted in W Magazine (April 2025)
“I’ve just gotten to the point where I have to stop lying to myself.”
— Chappell Roan, Interview Magazine, in conversation with Bowen Yang (August 2024)
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Q: What is Chappell Roan’s age?
A: She was born on February 19, 1998. She is 28 years old as of 2026.
Q: What is Chappell Roan best known for?
A: She is known for the hit singles “Good Luck, Babe!,” “Pink Pony Club,” and “Hot to Go!,” her drag-inspired live performances, and her debut album The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess. She won the Grammy for Best New Artist in 2025.
Q: Has Chappell Roan won a Grammy?
A: Yes. She won Best New Artist at the 67th Grammy Awards in February 2025. She received six nominations that year and two more at the 2026 ceremony for “The Subway.”
Q: Where did Chappell Roan grow up?
A: She grew up in Willard, Missouri, a small town near Springfield. She moved to Los Angeles in 2018 and still lives there.
Q: What genre is Chappell Roan?
A: Her music draws from synth-pop, indie pop, dance-pop, and disco, with influences from ’80s pop and early 2000s dance music. Her 2025 single “The Giver” also explored country.
Q: What are Chappell Roan’s official social accounts?
A: Her verified accounts include Instagram and TikTok @chappellroan, X @ChappellRoan, and her official website iamchappellroan.com.
Q: Is Chappell Roan currently touring?
A: Yes. Her Visions of Damsels & Other Dangerous Things Tour, which began in May 2025, includes headlining dates at Lollapalooza festivals in Chile, Argentina, and Brazil in March 2026. No full-scale world tour or new album has been officially announced beyond those dates.
Upcoming Projects
- Lollapalooza South America (March 2026) — Headlining Lollapalooza Chile (Santiago, March 13–15), Lollapalooza Argentina (Buenos Aires, March 13–15), and Lollapalooza Brazil (São Paulo, March 20–22).
- Second studio album (TBA) — Roan told Vogue in mid-2025 that her sophomore album “doesn’t exist yet” and may take “at least five years” to write. No title, tracklist, or release window has been announced. Treat as subject to change.
- M·A·C Cosmetics partnership — Named Global Brand Ambassador in December 2025, with campaigns rolling out in 2026.
- Fortnite collaboration — Announced February 2026. Roan headlines Fortnite Festival Season 13’s music pass with character skins, in-game tracks, and emotes.
- Additional singles — Roan has said she intends to continue releasing standalone singles before committing to a full album cycle. No specific release dates have been confirmed.
Interviews & Features
- W Magazine, “Chappell Roan on Country Icons, Her Enneagram, & the Long Road to Pop Stardom” (April 2025), a cover story exploring her personality, her Enneagram obsession, and her approach to the Challenger archetype.
- Interview Magazine, “Chappell Roan and Bowen Yang on Queers, Fears, and Surviving Superstardom” (August 2024), a wide-ranging conversation about queer identity, fan boundaries, and the reality of sudden fame.
- Rolling Stone, “A Teenage Chappell Roan Says ‘I Want to Win a Grammy’ in Viral Video” (February 2025), coverage of her Grammy win and the teenage footage that resurfaced, showing she predicted the moment years earlier.
- Billboard, “Chappell Roan Wins Grammy for Best New Artist 2025” (February 2025), reporting on her acceptance speech demanding livable wages and healthcare for developing artists.
- Perfect Magazine, “Chappell Roan Interviewed by Alpha, a Six-Year-Old Superfan” (December 2025), a charming Q&A covering her favorite candy (AirHeads Xtremes), her stuffed Eeyore from Disney World, and why she swam in a fountain for “The Subway” video.
Public Appearances, Tours, & Festivals
- Lollapalooza (August 1, 2024): Roan performed at Chicago‘s Grant Park, drawing approximately 110,000 fans — the largest daytime crowd in Lollapalooza history. Organizers moved her to the main stage two weeks before the show.
- 67th Grammy Awards (February 2, 2025): Performed “Pink Pony Club” and won Best New Artist at the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles. Used her speech to call for industry reform.
- Saturday Night Live (November 2, 2024): Musical guest alongside host John Mulaney in New York. Performed “Pink Pony Club” and debuted “The Giver” on national television.
- 68th Grammy Awards (February 1, 2026): Attended and presented Best New Artist at the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles. Nominated for Record of the Year and Best Pop Solo Performance for “The Subway.”
- Visions of Damsels & Other Dangerous Things — U.S. pop-up shows (September–October 2025): Four nights at Forest Hills Stadium in New York, two nights in Kansas City, and two nights at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena. Donated a portion of ticket proceeds to organizations supporting trans youth.
