Before Chappell Roan became a breakout pop sensation, she was grinding through years of disappointment, rejection, and thankless jobs.
The Good Luck, Babe! and Pink Pony Club hitmaker didn’t just stumble into the spotlight, she clawed her way there.
In a raw interview with W Magazine, the 27-year-old artist got real about how painful the early part of her journey was. “I was in hell for a very long time,” she admitted, recalling how her life before fame was filled with part-time jobs just to stay afloat. From working at drive-throughs and doughnut shops to nannying, Roan held onto her belief that she was destined for something bigger. “I kept hope alive because I knew I was really good. Even when there was no light at the end of the tunnel, I kept going,” she said.
Roan’s belief in herself came from an inner drive to succeed, one that wasn’t always reflected in how the world responded to her. She auditioned for major talent shows as a teen, hoping they’d be her ticket to a real music career. At 13, she flew to Austin, Texas, for America’s Got Talent, waking up at 4 a.m. to stand in line with thousands of others. She sang True Colors by Cyndi Lauper and didn’t make it.
At 15, she auditioned for The Voice, choosing Rihanna’s Stay, and even tried a gender-bending twist on Bruno Mars’ When I Was Your Man. She thought it made her unique, but apparently every girl had the same idea. Worse still, the person watching her audition barely looked up from his phone. “He was like, ‘Okay, next,’” she recalled. “I went up there and sang a cappella, the scariest thing ever, and he never really looked at me.”
Those moments could’ve crushed her spirit, but Roan kept going. The fear of quitting just before her big break gave her the courage to power through. “What if I stopped the day before that something is meant to happen?” she asked herself. And eventually, something did happen. She broke through.
Now a Grammy winner with a growing fanbase, Chappell Roan is living proof that persistence matters just as much as talent. Her story isn’t just about success, it’s about refusing to give up, even when everything around you says you should.
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