Why Chappell Roan Hasn't Started Working on Her Second Album
She's been killing it on tour, headlining music fests like Primavera Sound and Reading & Leeds Festivals. But, aside from being on the road, the 'Pink Pony Club' hitmaker shared that she was displaced to Altadena during the L.A. wildfires earlier this year and has had trouble settling into a new space after living in Airbnbs for seven months.
'I want to write music whenever I feel settled. I haven't felt settled,' she admitted. 'It's been a very unsettling year and a half, and I think once I really feel calm in a new house and have a routine...then I can think about writing a song once I have a routine.'
As for what that routine entails? The Midwest Princess said that it's as 'basic' as waking up in the same place, making the same meals, and wearing the same slippers. 'That's just not a thing right now, and it hasn't been for a very long time,' she said, in part. 'And then I came on this big tour. So it's been a journey on...how do I release music within the state of everything?'
While she's 'far done from touring,' Chappell shared that 'it'll definitely feel like a big breath of weight off [her] shoulders' when she wraps up her 'victory lap' of shows next April. She hopes she'll be able to 'chill for a sec and actually think about writing.'
As we patiently wait for her return to the recording studio, she shared that her latest single is a 'safe segue' into her upcoming era.
'I think it's a good rung on the ladder,' she shared on the platform's New Music Daily radio show. 'Midwest Princess is her, but even though this next era, I don't really know what it is, but 'Subway' is a very safe segue to it. But I just think that 'The Giver,' 'Good Luck, Babe,' 'The Subway,' they're all kind of so different, so that's why I'm just like, 'I have no idea what the next era is.''
She also spoke to the pressures of following up her breakout debut album and why she fears fans won't be as interested in new material.
'That's the scary part of putting out new music and then people not liking it because it's not like the music you made before, and so it makes you scared to release stuff. Because you're like, 'Well, people aren't ever going to like it as much as the first one' and that's the risk you take every single time,' she explained.
Chappell revealed that she hasn't even started writing CR2 during a conversation with Vogue earlier this month. 'There is no album. There is no collection of songs,' she told the publication. 'It took me five years to write the first one, and it's probably going to take at least five to write the next.'
She added, 'I'm not that type of writer that can pump it out. I don't think I make good music whenever I force myself to do anything.'
Check out Chappell's full conversation with Zane Lowe for Apple Music below.
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There are so many different ways that a lesbian, or any woman or non-binary person, can feel empowered. It might look like dressing up as a rhinestone cowgirl at the Pink Pony Club, or screaming at the top of your lungs at a dyke march, or honouring the ones who paved the way so that we might live and love more freely. It's all valid, it's all beautiful and it's all part of our collective mission to create a world where everyone is equal, safe and celebrated. This explosion of sapphic creativity, community and visibility is glorious. It benefits not just lesbians, but all women seeking liberation. So let's not allow this cultural phenomenon to be just another passing craze. Let's keep the party and the protest going, and, however you identify, let's stand – and dance – together. What A Girl Wants: A (True) Story Of Sexuality And Self-Discovery by Roxy Bourdillon is out now (Bluebird) From trans-focused Gendered Intelligence, to Micro Rainbow, which helps LGBTQIA asylum seekers, there are so many brilliant LGBTQIA organisations to get involved with. One of my favourites is Manchester's LGBT Foundation, where you can keep the gaybourhood clean and safe as a 'Village Angel' or raise awareness about sexual wellbeing as a 'Pleasure Advocate'. If you're concerned about trans rights in the UK, contact your MP and let your voice be heard. The charity TransActual offers really useful practical advice and a template letter to get you started on their website ( As well as Prides, there are events centring queer people with different identities, like the London Dyke March, UK Black Pride on 10 August and Bi Pride on 31 August. Are you aged 18 to 25, queer and based in the UK? If so, you're eligible to join the ambassador programme run by Just Like Us, an award-winning charity for LGBT+ young people. As an ambassador, you could get exciting opportunities, such as speaking in schools to combat homophobic bullying or writing for queer publications including Diva. Be part of the campaign that Diva supports as part of the Fertility Justice Working Group. Find more info and a template to write to your MP. Married lesbian influencers Whitney and Megan Bacon-Evans have won awards for their activism in this area. Follow them on Instagram. Amplify the work of LGBTQIA artists by following them on social media and engaging with their work. You can also support IRL by attending queer festivals like Liverpool's Homotopia LGBTQ+ Arts Festival (dates tba) and Manchester's Scene LGBTQ+ Film and TV Festival from 15 August.
