LOS ANGELES, CA– “I’m your favorite artist’s favorite artist,” Chappell Roan, 26-year-old lesbian singer from Missouri, said as she looked into the camera broadcasting her Coachella performance.
The famous Coachella quote is an acknowledgment of Sasha Colby, season 15 winner of Rupaul’s Drag Race, who heavily inspires Roan. In a post about Sasha Colby following the performance, Roan said, “Me saying I’m your favorite artist’s favorite artist at Coachella was a nod to her, how much I admire her, and how much drag is intertwined with my project.”
Roan is very open about her drag queen persona that is directly influenced by drag and the culture surrounding it. When others hear the name Chappell Roan, she wants the first thought to be “drag queen,” according to NME.
When asked about the inspiration for her style on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, Roan said, “My stylist, Genesis Webb, and I, we pull from drag, we pull from horror movies, we pull from burlesque, we pull from theater like, I love looking pretty and scary, or like pretty and tacky…or just not pretty, I love that too.”
On tour, Roan has local drag queens opening for her in every city to shine a light on the community that inspires the singer’s art and persona.
Maitri Khera, long-time fan of Chappell Roan, saw the popstar at her show in October 2023 in Philadelphia, PA.
Khera said, “Having local drag queens shows how much she values the drag community and being an active part of it and just her dedication to queer culture.”
Emma Busch, fan of Chappell Roan, has seen the artist at two headlining shows both with drag queens as the opener. Busch said, “I really appreciate her highlighting the local drag scene especially in places where it may be less obvious that there is a drag scene.”
The dress-up fun doesn’t stop with Roan but carries on to her concert attendees. The “HOT TO GO!” singer shares a post that said, “Every show I have a theme that is inspired by a song off the album! It is HIGHLY encouraged to dress up!” Dressing on theme allows the show to not only take place on the stage, but also in the audience with the fans.
At Roan’s Philadelphia show the theme was “Pink Pony Club,” Khera said, “It was cold so I didn’t really get to dress up, but everyone looked so cute and pink!”
“Pink Pony Club” is one of the many themes inspired by songs from Roan’s album. The dress code consists of pink cowboy attire where pink cowboy hats are abundant.
The first time Busch saw Chappell in October 2023, the theme was “My Kink Is Karma.” Busch said, “I wore a red lingerie dress with fishnets and a leather jacket. And the most recent time had a mermaid theme, so I bought netting and shells at Michaels and crafted a sash and hairpiece and thrifted a turquoise sequin dress that I chopped shorter.”
The fans love to get creative with their outfits, “The gays love to craft and style and seeing everyone lined up outside the venue dressed for the themes brings an immediate sense of community to the crowd,” Busch said.
The queer community is thrilled about the “Good Luck, Babe!” singer’s rise to fame and the queer representation she brings to the general public through her art. Fans like Khera and Busch are excited hearing songs by a lesbian about dating and intimacy with women that have captured the attention of the world.
“I know that it is great visibility for queer youth, especially from the conservative parts of the country, to see that you can succeed and be outwardly queer,” Busch said.
Khera said, “I love her, and I love lesbians and I’m so glad that lesbian popstar Chappell Roan is the next big thing!”