First, there was “Red Wine Supernova,” then “Good Luck, Babe” — how is pop sensation Chappell Roan going to continue her trend of writing devastatingly beautiful Queer songs while the whole world has their eyes on her?
There’s only one answer: gay cowgirls.
Chappell debuted a new song during her set on Saturday Night Live, which aired on November 2. Following a performance of her hit “Pink Pony Club” — during which the audience sang the pre-chorus back to her with passion an SNL performer has never seen before — she gave everyone a first look at what appears to be a new country single titled “The Giver.”
Dressed in pink and white gingham, Chappell strutted down stage, tossing her mess of red curls in every direction as she belted the catchy country/pop crossover, lyrics laden with country imagery.
Chappell tells the audience that the person who can please a woman the most is another woman — “Cause you ain’t gotta tell me / It’s just in my nature,” she sings. In classic Chappell fashion, she stuns with a unique bridge in which she kneels to the audience and says, “Well, only a woman knows how to treat a woman right,” proclaiming she’s able to pleasure a woman more than a “country boy” ever could. She sings, ”I get the job done” throughout the final chorus, driving the point home.
This performance blew up immediately after the episode aired. The lyrics are already on Genius and the chorus is stuck in my head. I can’t go two scrolls on X (formerly Twitter) without hearing the song, and I'm not complaining.
Beside the song being an instant bop, there is also a sentimental value to it. Although there are many Queer artists who make beautiful music, at the moment, Chappell’s is the most notable — it’s topping the pop charts and staying there.
Her songs aren’t just hinting at being Queer — they are unmistakably so, with lyrics such as, “I just wanna love someone who calls me ‘baby’” in reference to a lover who refuses to be honest about their relationship in “Good Luck Babe.” In “Naked in Manhattan,” she describes her first time having sex with a woman, and how the two of them “Could go to hell, but we’ll probably be fine.” Chappell’s music is now being played anywhere with a speaker, which is great for anyone with good music taste, but also creates true representation for Queer people everywhere who don’t typically get to hear their love stories on the radio.
Chappell’s SNL performance was not only loaded with star power and fabulous outfits — it also paved the way for one of the most prominent Queer role models of our time to further expand her music career.
With the possibility of even more fans supporting her now as she breaks into the country crowd, the performance demonstrated that lesbian love songs deserve to be on the stage, front and centre, for everyone to hear.
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