Undoubtedly, 2024 was the year Chappell Roan exploded. She had released songs in 2017 and “Pink Pony Club” came out in 2020, followed by a few small releases in 2022 and The Rise and Fall of a Midwestern Princess in 2023 – which was nominated for a Grammy in early 2024, around the time she began opening for Olivia Rodrigo offal Tour. Between that point and the April 2024 release of “Good Luck, Babe,” Roan became a phenomenon—or a feminine nomenon, to quote her song—attracting record audiences at outdoor music festivals, performing at the Grammys, and Saturday Night Live, She gives a guest lecture at Harvard Business School and has Harris-Walz make merch in the style of her album title in 2024.

What did it all look like to her? Well, it started with hooves and then a snout. Back then it was stage clothing. The VMAs in September were the first significant About the red carpet where she walked and where she was eagerly awaited. She’s had issues with fans not being able to set appropriate boundaries, particularly when it comes to her personal space and her family’s privacy, which is good on her for bringing that up. She’s careful to describe her music as “my project” or something like that, as if she’s trying to maintain a boundary between the character “Chappell Roan” and her actual self. Hopefully the fandom and general public will appease it, otherwise their favorite artist’s favorite artist might decide it’s no longer worth the effort. And that would be a huge loss. She writes bangers, and in the words of Wayne Campbell, she can whine.

(Photos: Jim Bennett, Vivien Killilea, Rodin Eckenroth, Gilbert Flores, Matthew J. Lee, Marleen Moise, Stephen J. Cohen, Natasha Mustache, Kevin Mazur, Jeff Kravitz, Jim Dyson, Jason Kempin, Rick Kern, Rebecca Sapp, Nina Westervelt/Getty Images, Douglas Mason, Gotham/WireImage, Steve Jennings, Gary Miller/FilmMagic, Jakubaszek/Redferns, Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic)