This Song Changed My Life

Hello! I tried to be a little vague with the title. Create a little suspense. This is going to be more of an opinion, personal post again, but don't worry, it is the opposite of last week. This is a happy post. I'm going to talk about an artist whose music has basically changed my life. Let me start with a little story for context.

It's March 2024, and I'm sitting in my dorm room with a lack of homework to do. I decide to catch up on some culturally trending things that I had been meaning to check out. First was the musical Ride the Cyclone, which is amazing but a post for another day. (The songs are so good. I cried over "Talia"). After that, it was getting late, and I was tired, but I thought I'd check out an artist I'd been hearing good things about: Chappell Roan. Surprise! This is a Chappell Roan appreciation post. I had spent most of my life seeing such little queer representation (we love Catholicism) that I unironically listened to "Feminomenon," "Good Luck, Babe," and "HOT TO GO!" and did not realize they were about women.

But then... "Red Wine Supernova." Yep, this song seemed a little gay. I was shocked. This song was popular. And it was about seeking a relationship with another woman, let alone sex, with one. And this was right before the explosion of Roan in popularity, especially with "HOT TO GO!," which is so big that everyone on the Internet, regardless of sexual orientation, knows about it. I won't get into Roan as an artist and the unecessary controversies surrounding her. I just want to say what her music has done for me.

I had a strong understanding of my sexuality for the longest time, but as of this year, I honestly don't know. I want to give myself a label, but my friend gave me one the other day, and I didn't like it. So I'm just going to say queer because it feels right. Therefore, seeing queer representation in the mainstream has been such a breath of fresh air. I'm so used to hearing songs about heterosexual couples that I literally misinterpretted Roan's songs upon first listen. It's so nice that queer content is becoming somewhat normalized and Chappell Roan taking over the Internet is making others see that. I see other queer artists like Reneé Rapp, girl in red, Billie Eilish, and others I have yet to discover and am so excited for what the future holds.

So why specifically "Red Wine Supernova?" First, it's my favorite Chappell Roan song. Second, it's super fun and campy. It's a pretty standard pop song but has a little bit of a country feel to it. There's silly speaking parts and an anthemic-like chorus. It's perfect. Can I specifically relate to the situation? No. But do I feel seen? Yes. I feel so validated, and it's such a strange feeling. It has also been a major factor in making me less ashamed of my identity. There's other factors, too, but it is a strange coincidence that I feel more confident in my sexuality at a time when I feel less confident in my spirituality. I know "Good Luck, Babe" is more popular than "Red Wine Supernova," but I feel they both accomplish the same goal. They make a little queer guy (me) happy. I love listening to this song. I love sing-screaming this song. And I love having the delusional fantasy of meeting my own red wine supernova.

I hope you enjoyed this shorter post for today. I've been brainstorming topics and thought this would be a nice palette cleanser from last week. I know I'm in "sharing my opinions" mode right now, but I swear I want to try and write something more objective. We'll see. Anyway, I've been Grace, and I'll see you next week!