The Jambar
American singer-songwriter, Kayleigh Rose Amstutz, known professionally as Chappell Roan, quickly rose to fame in early 2024 after clips of her opening for Olivia Rodrigo’s GUTS tour went viral.
Roan released her debut album, “The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess,” in September of 2023. The album has 14 songs with a run time of 49 minutes and helped her win a Grammy Award for Best New Artist.
With its surge in popularity, The Jambar has taken upon itself to list the top five songs of the album. However, the ranking does not include Roan’s trending hit on social media, “Good Luck, Babe!,” as it was released as a single off the album.
To kick off the ranking, spot No. 5 belongs to the album’s opening track, “Femininomenon.” This girl-power pop song delves into online relationships.
“Femininomenon” is the story of a woman who is unhappy in her current relationship with a man. Her friends attempt to warn her at the start that this man will not fulfill her and the woman ignores it.
The story leads to the climax of the song with the line, “Stuck in the suburbs, you’re folding his laundry. You got what you wanted, so stop feeling sorry.”
In the track, Roan is advocating for women to leave relationships that don’t appease them.
No. 4 in the ranking is “Casual.” Roan sings about unrequited love in this slowed-down pop ballad, compared to the other tracks on the album.
“Casual” is about Roan believing a “situationship” is leading to a relationship, while the other person is not committed. Roan stays in the situation until the end, hoping it gets better.
Roan sings at the end of the song, “I hate that I let this drag on so long, now I hate myself,” to state she’s over being treated this way.
No. 3 is “Red Wine Supernova,” a song about Roan falling in love with a woman for the first time. Roan sings about how she wanted to get to know the woman, but only fell in love with her concept.
This phenomena brings about Roan only wanting to see the woman when she’s drunk. Roan herself described the song to Capital FM as “a night out flirting with the girl across the bar.”
The runner-up spot goes to the album’s sixth track, “Super Graphic Ultra Modern Girl.” Roan opens this electropop record with, “You know what they say. Never waste a Friday night on a first date.”
The song encapsulates Roan knowing her worth and the man she’s on a date with not meeting her standards. Roan describes the man as “hyper-mega-bummer” and sings that she needs a “super graphic ultra-modern girl” on her level.
Finally, the No. 1 song off Roan’s debut album is the song that helped launch her into fame and peaked at number eight on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, “Pink Pony Club.”
“Pink Pony Club” is an indie pop song about Roan’s desire to leave her small town and make it big.
The song progresses through her journey with the second refrain, “I thank my wicked dreams, a year from Tennessee.” Roan is grateful for taking the leap and moving to California in search of belonging, chasing her dreams of making music.
“The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess” is a poetic take on Chappell Roan’s career and life, especially with her biggest song, “Pink Pony Club,” becoming a memoir in the public eye of her journey into stardom.
