The cicada resurgence of the summer of 2024 should have been a momentous musical event this year. However, the melodious chirping of thousands of bugs is not the record-breaking concert this summer has to remember.
The summer of 2024 is referred to by thousands as “Chappell Roan Summer.” Out of seemingly nowhere, a Midwest princess exploded across the internet, taking the spotlight away from the cicadas and leaving millions of new fans obsessed.
Roan’s album “The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess” contains fourteen tracks and three chart-toppers. However, these tracks have been released as singles over the past four years, so the question that really stands is: why now? Why should Roan explode this summer and break the record for most-attended concert in Lollapalooza history
Being in the dark about Chappell Roan’s album this summer left me wondering what the hype was. After listening to Roan’s album, I was baffled at the popularity it had gained. The album was catchy, but boring and repetitive.
Roan opens the album with “Femininomenon.” I appreciated the uniqueness of her speech-like singing, but her music isn’t anything new, reminding me of artists like Olivia Rodrigo and Phoebe Bridgers.
“Femininomenon,” “HOT TO GO,” “Pink Pony Club” and her recent single “Good Luck, Babe!” are Roan’s most popular songs, and for good reason. Roan’s chart-topping songs redeem her as an artist, but do not take away from the fact that the rest of her album is trashy and bland. Just about every other song in her hit album bored me. They were difficult to listen to, lacked individuality and made her record at Lollapalooza seem more like a coincidence than an excited crowd.
Being an artist that appeals to the LGBTQ+ community, specifically people identifying as lesbian, Roan’s music should be refreshing, but I felt let down and disappointed with “Rise and Fall”since it sounds like an AI generated album based on every pop song released in the past five years.
Hating popular songs isn’t an uncommon experience; hits are overplayed and easy to get tired of. Because of that, I have much stronger feelings towards her lesser-known songs like “Kaleidoscope.” It is one of the most skippable in her discography.
I would rather listen to an hour-long instrumental inspired by Moby Dick than listen to this song all the way through again. The song is repetitive and lacks interest. Writing a song with good story-telling and interesting verses, then ruining it with an unbearable chorus is almost worse than just writing a bad song.
The other song in this album I have a major problem with is “After Midnight.” This track sounds like an “Attention” by Charlie Puth rip-off but somehow considerably worse. Putting these songs side by side, the 2017 hit wins because at least it was original.
Chappell Roan is a talented singer who has spent her talent pursuing a genre of music not cut out for her. In a good handful of her songs, Roan tells vivid, captivating stories, however the melodies do not compliment her songwriting. I hope that as she gains popularity, Chappell Roan releases music that isn’t as basic and boring as this album was.