Chappell Roan, a self-described thrift store pop star, will transform Soundwell into her “Pink Pony Club” on Thursday, March 9, 2023 in support of her sold-out Naked In North America tour. Tickets may still be available on the secondary ticket market.
Roan skyrocketed to success in 2022 with a series of hit singles. Her first release, “Naked in Manhattan,” channels Katy Perry’s “I Kissed A Girl,” and adds an early 80s new-wave disco-pop beat. On “My Kink is Karma” she delights in the malicious joy of watching an ex-lover struggle post-breakup. She sings “People say I’m jealous, but my kink is watching you crashing your car, you breaking your heart, you thinking I care. People think I’m jealous, but my kink is karma.”
She teed up her latest single, “Casual,” on TikTok ahead of the song’s release to create a viral buzz. It worked. Her song about the pitfalls of a “situationship” made Billboard’s list of top 100 songs of 2022. With a sold-out tour, four well-received singles, and a full-length debut album due out sometime in the spring, Roan is riding a wave of success she’s been carefully building over the past few years.
“Die Young,” an original composition she posted on YouTube when she was 17, went viral and landed her a recording contract with Atlantic Records. Then she left her rural Missouri home for Los Angeles to pursue a pop music career. Despite her powerful vocals, the melancholy ballads on her 2017 EP School Nights just didn’t find her audience and in 2020, Atlantic Records ended their affiliation with her just as she started to fine-tune her sound with “Pink Pony Club,” a catchy number with all the camp you’d expect from a song about a go-go dancer at a gay West-Hollywood cabaret.
Cut loose from Atlantic Records, Roan found herself adrift just as the global pandemic took hold. Without the moorings of a major record label team to guide her, Roan needed to figure out how to proceed as a Do-It-Yourself, independent artist. She found herself back where she started as a teenager–on the Internet–trying to gain a following on TikTok and other platforms. The Atlantic Records experience brought talented people into her orbit like Grammy-winning songwriter and record producer Dan Nigro. Writing songs with Nigro helped Roan build on the success of “Pink Pony Club” and find her independent voice.
From a period of darkness and uncertainty, Roan emerged with what she calls “slumber party pop.” She blends color, campiness, and pageantry into her infectious disco-pop sound. I plan to catch this rising star when she brings her Naked In North America tour to Soundwell on March 9, 2023. I’m looking forward to the glitter and glam.
Who: Chappell Roan
What: Naked In North America tour
Where: Soundwell
When: Thursday, March 9, 2023
Tickets and info: https://soundwellslc.com, www.postfontaine.com
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