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 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.