Chappell Roan, who earned global fame last year after her song, Good Luck, Babe! achieved chart-topping success, is gearing up to release her sophomore album.
The 27-year-old pop superstar has her fans wondering what’s next after her hit debut album, The Rise and Fall of the Midwest Princess.
As of yet, Roan has shown two very different glimpses into her next project.
The Casual hitmaker released The Giver in March, in which she explored an ‘80s country sound instead of her usual synth-pop style. However, in her latest released track, The Subway, Roan has made a distinct thematic change.
While the Grammy winner previously dominated more fun, celebratory pop genre with hit tracks like, Pink Pony Club, Super Graphic Ultra Modern Girl, HOT TO GO! and Femininomenon, her newest release is a breakup ballad, a yearning anthem.
Although fans have previously listened to Roan’s musings about heartbreak on her songs, Coffee, Bitter, Kaleidoscope, and Casual, it remains a largely unchartered territory for the songstress.
The Subway, with its vulnerable cries, presents an image of Roan the person more than Roan the popstar, unlike her debut album which built an image for the popstar.
Even though Roan has not announced an official release date for her sophomore album yet, the latest release has hyped fans even more for the upcoming release.
Previously in an interview with Rolling Stone in September last year, Roan shared that she would have “from November to mid-May off to write” music after wrapping up her tour.
At the time, Roan shared that she and her producer Dan Nigro already had five to six songs ready that they felt positive about.
“We have a country song. We have a dancy song. We have one that’s really Eighties, and we have one that’s acoustic, and we have one that’s really organic, live-band, Seventies vibe. It’s super weird,” the Mid West Princess told the outlet.
As for fans, one reddit user seemed to agree with the opinion that Roan could tap more into a “melancholic” tone for the sophomore album, as they wrote, “Generally, I think Chappell might inch toward sadder or more dramatic themes. While visually and sonically, she will still deliver that camp and 100% some 80’s flair, lyrically it seems like she’s going places that are notably more melancholic than her first album release!”
Another noted, “Good Luck Babe and Subway sound very similar to her current project (in the best way), but she did say that she wants her next album to be different.”
While another theorised, “im reasonably sure Good Luck, Babe won’t be on the album, but The Subway and The Giver will definitely be on it. I also have a feeling the album might not do as well as her first in terms of mainstream appeal, but will definitely do well critically.”
Sharing their expectations, a third chimed in, “I can see a collab with Sabrina Carpenter or Remi Wolf! They’re all signed to Island.”
Although collaborating with other artists would be new for Roan, if she is making creatively different choices from her previous work, other featured artists could include Sabrina Carpenter, Olivia Rodrigo, and Charli xcx, all of the popstars who she seems to have grown close to.
Boygenius singers, Phoebe Bridgers, Lucy Dacus, and Julien Barker have also previously spoken about their friendship with Roan, so fans might want to expect a feature with the band, particularly if the songstress leans into a mellow tone which is something the girl group is known for.
So far, there are much excitement and conversations among fans about the singer’s follow up to a successful debut album, but we can expect Roan to release it only when she is satisfied as an artist – as she has previously detailed in interviews.