The rise in pop music this past year has caused a drastic cultural shift, particularly in generation z individuals. This sudden rise has left many surprised and excited for the future of the music due to the downward trend of music being produced from 2020 to 2023, largely due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Although there were successful artists who released music during these years, we haven’t seen an entire cultural shift of this genre since the 2010s. The 2000s and 2010s were an incredibly iconic time for pop, and artists like Kesha, Lady Gaga and Rihanna all set the expectation for energetic, anthemic, empowering pop. With the shift of pop music being produced and discovered this year, fans claim on social media that pop stars are back. With that being said, The first artist I’ll be looking into is Chappell Roan and her hit album The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess.

The album was released in September 2023, but it gained widespread popularity in April 2024 when she opened for Olivia Rodrigo’s GUTS world tour from February to April of that year. 

In an interview with People Magazine, Chappell described her project as a party where people can “reflect, sing, dress up, and feel free.” But not only Chappell’s sound contributed to her rise to fame, the lyricism and themes she spread throughout her songs really drew people in and made a difference with her anthemic pop. 

With themes of queer acceptance and Chappell growing up in a small conservative town in Missouri, Chappell’s queerness was not accepted for a long time, and she constantly felt like she had to succumb to the norms of her environment. And that’s especially relevant in her song “Pink Pony Club,” which is about the ability to express your queerness freely and your most authentic self. It’s so meaningful since it is inspired by her experience at the Abbey, a gay bar in West Hollywood. Just listen to this first verse: 009 – 0:45.

It’s really this passionate sense of longing for gaining acceptance for your identity, which so many queer people were able to resonate with. It’s similar to Lady Gaga’s expression of identity throughout her music, with Born this Way as an example, which lots of people in the LGBTQ community connected to.

Roan has set the norm for placing boundaries as an artist. Throughout various videos, she mentions that she still wants time to be herself where she is not constantly being asked to take photos. Over the summer when she and her family were being stalked, Roan even considered quitting her career since some of her fanbase was putting her in danger. The situation has since died down and Roan is continuing to perform as normal while still standing up for herself and enforcing her personal boundaries.

Specifically on the red carpet