Rising pop star Chappell Roan owes a lot to Freddie Mercury, especially Rami Malek’s performance as the Queen frontman in the 2018 biopic. Bohemian Rhapsody.
At the Grammy Museum on Thursday, Nov. 7, the night before the list of Grammy nominees was announced, Roan sat down for a conversation with songwriter Daniel Nigra moderated by Brandi Carlile.
Roan said in a lengthy conversation Bohemian Rhapsody helped inspire her “hardcore” transition “to pop”. “That scene, whenever they do Live Aid and they do ‘Radio Ga Ga’ and they do that part, [thumping]? It changed my career. It turned around and I said, ‘I’ll do whatever it takes.’ ”
The scene Roan, 26, refers to is a recreation of Queen’s iconic Live Aid performance from 1985, where Mercury leads the crowd in synchronized clapping.
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Carlile asked if Roan connected her queerness to the film, to which she replied, “I haven’t been there yet.”
“I think it was like I would do anything to feel that way in a crowd. I just thought, ‘How can I do something that I can look out for and have everyone do the same?’ It was so powerful to just be like, all doing the same movement,” she explained.
Chappell Roan at the Grammy Museum on November 7, 2024.
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Roan’s part of the setlist “HOT TO GO!” does something similar, with audience members spelling the song title the same way The Village People’s “YMCA” does. Nigro also highlighted “Femininomenon”, which has a call and response in the bridge.
“You started playing shows, and then you saw how people reacted to it,” Nigro said. “I think it was also a moment of, oh, we can push it even further.”
The “Pink Pony Club” singer agreed, saying, “It was like I knew all along that I just wanted to write songs that would be amazing live to interact with the audience.”
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Chappell Roan performs in Manchester, Tennessee on June 16, 2024.
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She is also responsible for the success The Rise and Fall of a Midwestern Princess her acclaimed live performances.
“I honestly think that’s why this project just caught fire this year because it was my year of performing live, like every festival, on so many tours,” Roan said. “We did 83 shows this year. It’s no joke. I think that’s why these songs were never meant to be just, I don’t know, hidden somewhere on an album.”
On Friday, November 8, Roan received nominations at the 2025 Grammy Awards for Album of the Year (“Good Luck Babe!”), Album of the Year (The Rise and Fall of a Midwestern Princess), best new artist, best pop solo performance (“Good Luck, Babe!”) and best pop vocal album.
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Source: HIS Education