Midwestern pop star Chappell Roan has taken the music industry by storm over the recent years. Known for her dramatic performances and femme-centered pop music, the singer has built her way up to icon status.
Fans have eagerly awaited new music from Roan after the 2023 release of her debut album, The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess. Roan was nominated six times for Grammy Awards and won the award for Best New Artist.
Roan has a new breakup single out this month called “The Subway.” It’s a ballad driven by twangy guitar and Roan’s drama-inspired melodies. “I’m very proud of this song (and) what a journey she has been on. I first played it at gov ball when I was painted green as lady liberty,” Roan posted on Instagram the day of the release.
Chappell Roan first teased "The Subway" in 2024
The new song is about wanting to be over an ex-lover, but feeling unresolved and unable to move on. It debuted at No. 1 on the UK’s Official Singles Chart.
The music video for the new single features Chappell dressed with an exaggerated amount of hair extensions. There’s a version of her with red hair, and another that’s bright green, to represent her ex, whom she’s not over yet.
As the video progresses, the hair drags along the dirty city streets and collects trash, a metaphor for being unable to let go of memories of an ex. It’s filled with shots of the New York subway, and of course, the iconic city line, too.
There are dramatic scenes of Roan being dragged by her hair, rats swarming her hair, and a party in one of the subway cars. The video even has a cameo from the self-proclaimed Green Lady of Brooklyn, whom Chappell subsequently thanked via Instagram.
Although the chaos of the video sits in contrast with the song itself, it seems to drive home the feelings of heartbreak and loneliness that Roan is famous for being able to express.
On July 24 via Instagram, she announced a series of pop-up shows in three cities this fall, called Visions of Damsels & Other Dangerous Things. It includes four nights in New York, NY, at the Forest Hills Stadium from September 20-24, two nights in Kansas City, MO, at Museum and Memorial Park from October 3-4, followed by two nights in Pasadena, CA, at Brookside at the Rose Bowl from October 10-11.
Roan is currently accepting local drag artist submissions for the pop-up shows via her website.
Roan is set to spend the rest of August touring heavily in Europe and the UK. She is scheduled to play major international festivals such as Pukkelpop in Belgium, Rock en Seine in Paris, and Reading and Leeds in the UK.