Chappell Roan: The Effects of Overnight Fame

Chappell Roan has seen some unprecedented success in the last year- a kind of overnight fame that happens very rarely. But recently, there's been lots of discussion lately about the way she is behaving in the media and online. I'm here to talk about some of these issues she's been facing, and why I think she's on the right track to cracking a bigger issue.

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If you (somehow) don't know who Chappell Roan is, tldr she's a pop star who's really good at making songs about kissing girls. She only started to gain popularity earlier this year after releasing her hit single 'Good Luck, Babe!' which slowly made its way up the Billboard 100 chart as the year continued. While a large part of her success could be attributed to this song, it was actually a slow burn that really started to heat up after she started to open for Olivia Rodrigo's Guts: World Tour. Because of her role on that tour, the song 'HOT TO GO!' started to trend on social media because of the iconic and fun Hot To Go Dance that she performs live, which got people listening to Chappell before her hit single 'Good Luck Babe!' even released. Because of the success she saw earlier in the year, Chappell found herself headlining for multiple festivals throughout the summer, such as Coachella, Lollapalooza, Governor's Ball, etc. At almost every festival she performed at, Chappell was pulling in an insane amount of people to her set. Festival grounds were filled every single time, and every show for her Midwest Princess Tour was selling out quickly. And remember, all of this occurred only within a few months. A couple of months ago, she was merely an opener for Olivia Rodrigo, and all of a sudden she was performing for thousands upon thousands at these festivals, along with all of her music surging on the charts. All of this goes to show her sudden success, and now we have to stop and ask, how is she taking all of this?

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>> The Rise (and Fall?) of a Midwest Princess <<

Due to the fast success Chappell is experiencing, its worth thinking about what she might be going through right now. She's stated before all this popularity that she's a very anxious person and how sometimes things get to her easily. Because of this. it didn't take long for Chappell to find herself in controversy. Essentially, she had posted a TikTok about how she wasn't obligated to be nice to people in public just because she's famous. She talked about how she reserved the right to say no to a picture or hug whenever she's out living her day-to-day life. She argues that anytime she's not in her get-up, she's "clocked out" and isn't obligated to do anything for anyone. This came as a shock to many, who seem to have misunderstood Chappell through the mask she wears on stage. Many felt as though this was completely uncalled for, and that the least Chappell could do for her fans is to return the favor for supporting her. While others argued that we need to stop having such personal and parasocial relationships with celebrities, because fans are still essentially strangers to these celebrities. Chappell also goes on to say that the harassment has even gone as far as people contacting her family and friends, and doing things that can only be described as stalker behavior. Needless to say, despite her reasoning for speaking about this, many people (including some fans) thought Chappell was asking for too much considering how popular she had now become. This has led to questions about whether or not Chappell was "fit for fame".

Photo from The Washington Post

>> My Thoughts <<

After I had seen the backlash that Chappell was receiving for her TikTok video, I came to a conclusion pretty quickly- I don't think Chappell deserves the hate she's getting over this. Some fans have simply become out of control when it comes to their favorite artists- going as far to sending threats to them and feeling obligated to have control over their idols lives. Many tend to forget that pop-stars are people too with real feelings, emotions, and not every pop-star craves to be in the limelight 100% of the time. Artists are usually told to just sit and tolerate it by executives and higher-ups, as if they have to be loyal 24/7 or else their career will crumble before their eyes. That's a very dangerous mindset to have, and also one that enables concerning behavior by fans that can sometimes lead to bad outcomes. There are many examples of artists' safety being compromised due to obsessive behavior by fans/stalkers, and while there are precautions for these people, why should artists have to live in fear? Think about this- if you got hungry and decided to go eat at a restaurant, you would just go, right? Well, pop-stars have to both mentally and physically prepare for something as simple as getting dinner, as they need to prepare to get mobbed by fans, paparazzi, and get security arranged to protect them. All that just for a simple task, wouldn't it frustrate you too if being in public had to become such a chore? Not to mention that, even though we have an idea of what these pop-stars are like, they have no clue who you are. At all. You are simply a stranger to them, and they have no idea what you might do or say, or whether you are someone they want to have a conversation with or not. If it were me, I wouldn't be able to just talk to every rando on the street that talks to me either. Also, many are also forgetting that this only applies to interactions Chappell has outside of the time when she's performing or whenever she's "on the clock". She's said this to be the case, and when she's performing or wearing the mask of Chappell Roan, she has no issue interacting with her fans and giving the people what they want. Because of that, I see no issue with simply asking for boundaries with her fans. As a matter of fact, I think it's finally time that more artists step up and condemn this obsessive fan behavior we have come to know.

Thanks for reading! I wanna read what everyone else thinks, so don't be afraid to leave a comment at the bottom of the page!

Come back next week on Thursday for more music talk!

~ Joey

:)