Chappell Roan Covers the Latest Issue of W MAGAZINE

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W MAGAZINE released the cover for its latest issue, Volume 3, The Pop Issue, featuring Grammy Award-Winning singer-songwriter Chappell Roan. Each year, The Pop Issue is jam-packed with artistic legends and innovators, highlighting and celebrating the forces that drive pop culture. The issue covers everything from “Life in Parties” to “Trailblazers,” which showcases nine iconic musicians who paved the way for today’s generation of female hitmakers.

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Reminiscing about the first song she remembers singing: “Oops!…I Did It Again,” by Britney Spears. My mother took me out of gymnastics because I did the Britney dances instead of listening to the gymnastics teacher. I also sang, “Jesus loves me, this I know, for the Bible tells me so.”

Explaining how it felt to hear herself on the radio for the first time: I think it was in an Uber when I was on tour. I heard “Good Luck, Babe.” I grabbed my friend’s hand and I was like, “Oh my fucking….” But I didn’t scream. I don’t sing along with myself. I never listen to my own music. If it’s out, I don’t want to hear it. I’ve heard it hundreds and hundreds of times.

Her first kiss: “In my parents’ driveway. I was 15. I made the move. I usually make the first move! We had been seeing each other, going on dates every weekend for a month, and I was like, it’s time to kiss. It was fun. But I would say that kissing girls is funner.”

Sharing if she has ever been asked to be in films: “I met John Waters last night, which was insane. One of my idols! And I was talking about how there are only so many “firsts” you can have with your career. And he said, “No, no, no—there are all the firsts to go through when you become an actress!” And I said, “I’m not an actress—what are you talking about?” He said, “Every singer is an actress!” And I was like, okay, maybe I am! Damn! If John Waters says I’m an actress, maybe I am!”

Chappel on keeping the hope alive after moving back home when her first record deal was canceled: “Whenever I was working at my part-time jobs, like nannying or the drive-through or doughnut shop, I kept hope alive because I knew I was really good. I knew I had to just give it one more year. And I got that courage by, honestly, just being in hell for a very long time. I was like, this sucks so bad, but keep going. Every day I would think, Keep going, even if there was no sight of any light at the end of the tunnel. Zero! But I was like, what if it’s just around the corner? What if I stopped the day before that something is meant to happen? So I just kept going, and here we are!”

On reading from her diary when accepting her Grammy for Best New Artist: “Yes. I’ve been keeping a diary for—oh my god—like, 15 years. I started in middle school. I love looking back at what I had to say as a 12-year-old. I wrote that every day was “horrible.” It’s amazing to see what would ruin my day back then. It felt as dramatic as my life feels now. Throughout my life, I had a fear of losing my memory, so I kept a journal to log all these important events. As I’ve gotten older, it’s been harder and harder to keep a diary. Sometimes, when I’m having a bad day, I won’t journal, because I won’t want to remember.”

On her song choices for The Voice and America’s Got Talent auditions: When I auditioned for The Voice, I was 15 and I sang “Stay,” by Rihanna. That was when the Bruno Mars song “When I Was Your Man” was really big, and I thought I was so unique in switching it around and singing “When you were my man” and making it about gender. But every girl was like, “I’m switching it around.” By the way, when I did the Voice audition, the producer or whoever the fuck was watching did not even look up from his phone. He was like, “Okay, next.” And I went up there and sang a cappella, the scariest thing ever. He never really looked at me. With America’s Got Talent, I was 13, and we flew to Austin, Texas, and waited in line with thousands of people at 4 a.m. I sang “True Colors,” by Cyndi Lauper. Did not make it either.

[Photo Credit: Tim Walker for W Magazine]

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