Chappell Roan is opening up about her meteoric rise to pop stardom and the downfalls she has experienced from seeing such a quick and intense spike in fame.
In a new cover story with Rolling Stone, Roan shared a raw look at how the fame earned from her “dream job” is affecting her life. The “Femininomenon” singer has skyrocketed in popularity in recent months, gaining traction from viral performances at festivals like Coachella, Governor’s Ball and Lollapalooza, the latter of which she is believed to have had one of the largest crowds in festival history. Even the 26-year-old pop phenom couldn’t believe how quickly she was gaining momentum.
“I was getting almost a hundred thousand followers a day. At first, I was in severe denial,” she said. “They would literally show me some stats and the only thing I could do is say, ‘No, no, no. It’s not like that.’ I couldn’t say, ‘I am gaining success.'”
With that heightened attention came increased pressure of meeting fans’ expectations, even though she has learned to trust herself as a songwriter through years as an independent artist after being dropped by her first label four years ago.
“What’s so infuriating is how people are just now taking me seriously. Like, ‘You know what, b—-? I’ve been doing this s— and you’re just now catching up,'” she said, before admitting how the pressure has impacted her. “Part of me hopes I never have a hit again because then no one will ever expect anything from me again.”
Despite this, she hopes to make things work.
“It’s my dream job,” she said. “I never know if it’s going to be like this ever again, which is kind of scary.”
Fortunately for Roan, she has been able to lean on other artists throughout the experience, including “Espresso” singer Sabrina Carpenter, who has also seen a rise in popularity recently, per People.
“We’re both going through something so f—ing hard. [Carpenter] just feels like everything is flying, and she’s just barely hanging on,” Roan said, adding, “It was just good to know someone else feels that way.”