Pop singer Chappell Roan secured the Grammy for the Best New Artist category. Roan has dominated the charts this year, with her hits “Good Luck Babe!” charting on the Billboard Hot 100 for 43 weeks and “Pink Pony Club” charting for 34 weeks, the latter spiking in popularity after her show stopping Grammy’s performance.
Her debut album “The Rise and Fall of a Midwestern Princess” is inspired by her life in Willard, Missouri, and her sexuality. In the week of Oct. 5, 2024, her album reached number one on the Billboard Top Album Sales, number one on Vinyl Sales, and rose from the third position to second on the Billboard Top 200.
In her acceptance speech, Roan thanked her fellow nominees, her listeners, her label, Island Records, and her grandfather, “Papa Chappell,” who she named herself after.
“I told myself, if I ever won a Grammy, and I got to stand up here in front of the most powerful people in music, I would demand that labels and the industry profiting millions of dollars off artists would offer a living wage and healthcare, especially to developing artists,” Roan said.
Her remarks earned applause from the crowd, including a standing ovation from fellow Best New Artist nominee Benson Boone, known for “Beautiful Things.” Roan continued, “Because I got signed so young—I was signed as a minor—and when I got dropped, I had zero job experience under my belt. Like most people, I had a difficult time finding a job during the pandemic and could not afford health insurance. It was so devastating to feel so committed to my art and feel so betrayed by the system. I was so dehumanized not to have health insurance.”
“If my label prioritized artists’ health, I could have been provided care by a company I was giving everything to,” she said.
The audience applauded again, and Taylor Swift was seen standing and applauding. “Record labels need to treat their artists as valuable employees with a livable wage and health insurance and protection,” Roan said.
She stared into the crowd and finished: “Labels, we got you, but do you got us?” More fellow nominees Sabrina Carpenter and Doechii were seen emotionally applauding Roan as she exited the stage.
Roan’s brave speech dared record label representatives in attendance to treat their singers with respect and solidified her reputation as a boundary-breaking artist. Roan teased her new song “The Giver” on Saturday Night Live on Nov. 2, 2024, and recently announced that fans can preorder the song. New and exciting things coming from Chappell Roan, and perhaps another successful Grammy season.
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