Chappell Roan’s new single, ‘The Giver’, is a cheeky side-step from the camp-pop of the ‘Pink Pony Club’ into the country-pop of a honky-tonk bar. Yet, it manages to feel both unexpected and inevitable. With her theatrical kitsch take on pop, Roan has already shown she isn’t afraid to experiment. Here she adds a playful yee-haw stomping beat to showcase her versatility without losing the razor wit and emotional resonance that makes her so captivating.
It feels like we are amidst a wave of pop-to-country crossovers that threaten to become a tsunami, but Roan is not sham surfing this breaker. The singer’s Missouri roots and country influences lend her credibility to silence any cynics; after all, she took part of her stage name from her grandfather’s favourite country song, ‘The Strawberry Roan’. Roan understands the country formula and embraces the storytelling tradition, infusing it with female empowerment and delivering it with a wink. While Taylor Swift and Beyoncé have both helped breakdown country’s rigid boundaries, Roan takes it further, bringing an unapologetically queer voice to a genre often hesitant to embrace it.
Sonically, ‘The Giver’ follows the country playbook. The undying warmth is there, with a rollicking arrangement full of fiddle solos, infectious banjo beats and a boot-stamping sing-a-long chorus. It feels loose, inviting and effortlessly catchy. Yet, Roan’s powerhouse vocals are dialled back here into something thoughtful yet brimming with personality. The singer is paying respectful homage to her country origin while delivering a knowing, in-on-the-joke, take on country’s sad song tradition.
The song explores the ache of giving love freely and receiving little in return, part of country music’s heritage of longing and regret. But, the twist is Roan is not wallowing, she’s self-aware and empowered and subverting her role in the dynamic with lines delivered with a playful double-edged tease: “I don’t wanna be the giver if you’re just the taker.” Rather than begging for love, ‘The Giver’ feels like a reclamation of power — wrapped in a fun, twangy package.
The new single is a reminder that Roan isn’t confined to the euphoric synth-pop of The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess but a clever performer who thrives on reinvention. As she sings the line “I can close my eyes / And have your wrapped around my fingers like that” it could be a metaphor that no matter the genre, Chappell Roan will find a way to make it hers.
Words by Andrew Butcher
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