Chappell Roan Rides ‘The Subway' to First Post-Release Performance & Admits She's ‘Really Nervous' at Oslo Festival: 9 Best Moments
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From a nearby stage, Australian punk band the Chats could be heard raging about everything from identify theft to the rising cost of smokes. For those unfamiliar with Roan's live sets, the pre-show sonic bleed might have seemed like an incongruous juxtaposition, given that Roan is ostensibly a pop artist. But when she hit the stage for her Øyafestivalen debut, it quickly became clear that Roan and her all-female backing band can land a rock n' roll punch just as well as a punk outfit (or any band that falls more obviously under the rock umbrella). The drums are hefty yet lean, thumping and energetic; the guitars crackle like fireworks and cut like buzzsaws; and Roan's voice can give falsetto highs, growly lows and from-the-gut shrieks at a level above most pop stars.
Two years out from The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess and the runaway success of that LP and follow-up singles 'Good Luck, Babe!' and 'The Giver' (both Billboard Hot 100 top 10s), Roan is now on the Visions of Damsels and Other Dangerous Things Tour. The new stage design offers up an alternately whimsical and foreboding fairytale atmosphere, with red eyes peeping out from a stony gazebo, images of gargoyles flapping above church spires and an intricate art nouveau gate that looks like a castle one moment and a cemetery the next. It's all fantastical camp, exactly the kind of heartfelt cosplay that has attracted LGBTQ people, allies and outside-the-box oddballs to Roan's world, which is both refreshingly candid and playfully unserious, sometimes within the same song.
Here are nine highlights from Chappell Roan at Øyafestivalen, from the first post-release performance of new single 'The Subway' to a shout-out to her mom, who was in the crowd.
Billboard's travel and accommodations for Øyafestivalen were provided by Music Norway, which was founded by the Royal Norwegian Ministry of Culture and Equality.
The Scream
Wearing a Lincoln green body suit with fairy wings, Roan ripped open the night with 'Super Graphic Ultra Modern Girl,' setting a high-energy, punchy tone. After spitting the 'not overdramatic, I know what I want line,' Roan unleashed a glorious, guttural scream – and hey, Oslo is a pretty damn good city for a Scream.
'Subway' Fares Well, Despite a Bump
Roan's new single 'The Subway' has been in her setlist previously, but Øyafestivalen is the first time she's performed the song since it's official release, a fact she noted in her introduction. 'Did you watch the video yet?' she asked the crowd, which roared a collective affirmative. 'If you haven't, I encourage you to – it's kinda good.' Now that it's officially out, the crowd was able to sing along to every word (especially the line about moving the Saskatchewan), although it's fresh enough that Roan flubbed one of the lyrics. Still, as a live pro, she was able to laugh it off and immediately return to her place in the song.
Nothing Beats Heart
When Roan guested on the After Dinner Thinks podcast, she told co-host Ann Wilson of Heart that 'Barracuda' is 'the coolest song ever,' one that makes her 'feel like a rock star' while covering it. After debuting her Heart cover at Austin City Limits last year, she brought it to Øyafestivalen. There's no doubting that it brings out a new side to her stage persona – ferocious, freewheeling and fun, giving her a moment away from highly personal material to unleash her inner '70s stadium rock queen.
'Cherish' Is the Word
'Can you believe it? We're in Oslo!' she shouted at one point, as much to her band as to herself. Later on in the show, she admitted, 'I'm really nervous. I just haven't done a show for a sec so I'm kinda nervous.' She also marveled at her songs traveling all the way to eager, receptive ears in Norway. 'I've never been here before, it's so beautiful,' she gushed. 'This past year has been tough…. I'm so grateful you're here. I needed this so bad when I was 15, 14. I just needed to feel free to dress up with other people who weren't going to judge me for dressing up. Not only do I want you here, but I cherish you for who you are. You are cherished.'
'Hot' Hands
In the hands of her current band, 'Hot to Go!' has a head-bobbing rock crunch on the verses, a nice edge that segues perfectly into the all-out, shout-along chorus. If Roan was a bit surprised by the fact that people in Norway know her music, she must have been knocked down by how ready the massive crowd was to deliver the 'Hot to Go!' hand-ography. Despite the elbow-to-elbow throng near the stage, everyone somehow managed to do the motions without encroaching into other people's personal space. (Hey, it's a polite place.)
'Giver' Keeps on Giving Gold
During her country-flavored 'The Giver,' Roan has made a habit of reading out fan-solicited notes which explain how a romantic ex was in some way an insufficient giver, after which the whole audiences boos. Oslo got some doozies: 'Daniel. He didn't want to take off his Temu rings for me. F—k Temu and f—k Daniel. Adam: He stopped screwing me so he could play Fortnite. Jacob: He cheated on me twice in the same Burger King parking lot.' Burger King? Damn. Sometimes you really shouldn't have it your way.
Serving Security Realness
'Who are the divas in the neon vests in the back?' Roan asked after dark had fallen on the festival grounds, pointing to some folks in the very back of her gargantuan crowd. She exploded into laughter when she realized 'the divas' in question were serving 9-to-5 realness: 'Oh, that's security.'
A Dragon to Keep From Draggin'
In any artist's live set, slower numbers can threaten to derail the energy a bit, or at least entice the audience to pop out and hit the bathroom or grab a drink. But Roan is clever when she brings out the ballads. Singing 'Coffee,' she introduced us to her tour pet for this trek, a baby toy dragon (with its little eyes closed, aw) that she crooned to while seated on a throne. The song is a heart-wrencher, but when the camera pans in on a tiny toy dragon, you can't help but giggle – it's a smart way of adding levity to a serious song.
Making Mama Proud
On closing number 'Pink Pony Club,' everyone in the crowd – whether they were in a fluffy pink hat or not – was singing along, hanging on every word. After singing the lyric about her mother's disdain over her daughter dancing in drag at a gay bar ('Won't make my mama proud / it's gonna cause a scene'), Roan had a bit of a revelation: her mother was in the crowd that night. When Roan hit that 'God, what have you done?' wail on the pre-chorus, you can be sure everyone was singing extra loud, if only to let mama know that she should, in fact, be damn proud.
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