Roan spoke out against unfair labor practices within the music industry during her acceptance speech, saying:
“I told myself that if I ever won a Grammy and got to stand up here before the most powerful people in music, I would demand that labels in the industry profiting millions of dollars off of artists would offer a livable wage and health care, especially to developing artists. I got signed so young—I got signed as a minor. When I got dropped, I had zero job experience under my belt, and like most people, I had… quite a difficult time finding a job in the pandemic and [could not] afford insurance. It was devastating to feel so committed to my art and feel so betrayed by the system and dehumanized. If my label had prioritized it, I could have been provided care for a company I was giving everything to. Record labels need to treat their artists as valuable employees with a livable wage and health insurance and protection.”
This is also my experience. I can also see myself occasionally feeling like this style of music though. Not listening to pop can sometimes cause people like me to be assholes and look down on pop music and anyone who enjoys it. My respect for Chapell Roan’s persona/politics and her showmanship caused me to listen to her stuff less judgmentally, allowing me to experience “pop music done well”
This makes me think of another pop star that has crossed this boundary for me before - Pink. I don’t think I liked her music as much as I found myself liking this today but she definitely came across more as a rockstar doing pop than a pop star. So I had a respect for her and kinda enjoyed her songs if I ever heard them on the radio or wherever.
The vibes are probably playing a big part for Chappell Roan to as far as I’m concerned but it also helps that she’s going for that old school sound, which kinda sets her apart musically too.