How Chappell, Sabrina and Doechii made pop music great again
by studying the greats, of course!
Whenever I’ve been asked me about my favorite new music last year, I had lots of answers–it was such a great year for music, especially pop music made by women. Albums from Clairo, Sabrina Carpenter, Chappell Roan, Doechii, Blondshell, Katie Gavin, and Remi Wolf were all on top of my list, but trust, that was just the tip of the iceberg.
I was just as shocked as most of my peers that this year the GRAMMYs really got it right with their awards. It was so gratifying to see the hard work of so many of my favorite musicians paying off when the nominations were announced months ago, and seeing them win awards and perform at the 2025 GRAMMYs had me crying like a proud mother all night: specifically for Doechii, Chappell Roan and Sabrina Carpenter.
In retrospect, it was a bit less surprising when I realize that last year was the first time in forever that I actually *liked* the music playing on the radio. As someone who has not spent a lot of my life subjected to the radio, I typically associate radio music with the time I spent working at a pizzeria when I was 17 in 2010. “California Gurls” had a lot of play (one of Katy Perry’s weaker singles of that era). There was also a lot of “Hey Soul Sister” (cringe) and “Love the Way You Lie” (throwing up), with a mix of that Jersey Shore club-pop like “Dynamite” by Taio Cruz (what ever happened to him?) and “OMG” by will.i.am and Usher (honestly, Usher is a good example of someone genre-crossing successfully). None of these were songs I’d ever listen to on my own.
As a walker and commuter, the radio is usually something I only had to listen to in the brief moments I spent in my mom’s Bluetooth-less car(s) over the past 15 years, and it was usually full of OneRepublic and Imagine Dragons, which, all tea, all shade, I can’t believe anyone listens to on purpose and enjoys.
But I spent a fair amount of time in 2024 sitting in the passenger seat of my mom’s car, off to chase a sunset; and I remember the shift that occurred one day flipping through stations and landing on “Espresso,” (yay!) which was immediately followed by “Good Luck, Babe!” and “Hot to Go,” I think on Z100, my mouth open in awe. They were actually playing the music I listened to voluntarily! That never happens! But these artists had made a splash into the mainstream, and for good reason.
I was an early listener of Chappell’s debut album, The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess, which embarrassingly never left the top spot of my weekly listening roundups for a year straight. Anyone who knows me knows I’ve been calling Sabrina Carpenter my number one pop star draft pick for years now, too. Doechii was someone I got into more recently, but as soon as I listened to her EP last year, I was completely sold on her and excited for her career.
One part of the work that really separates these three from the rest is their commitment and curiosity about the history of music and those who came before them. They’re students of music, and they aren’t shy about citing their resources. In an era where other pop artists are dismissive and downplay the influence of other artists in their own music, their pride in being studious is a breath of fresh air.
From their late night TV show performances, VMA performances, and viral, attention-grabbing festival performances, the attention to detail showed that these artists did their homework, culminating in this grand finale of a banner year with huge GRAMMY wins and performances.
Here were these artists who had honed not just their sound, but their imagery and performance skills, making themselves impossible to ignore. It took years of hard work, but their preparation made them ready for their big moments when they presented themselves. They studied from those before them, learning just as much from other artists’ successes as they did from their shortcomings. And they believed in themselves and invested in themselves, and it really paid off.
Some music lovers have noted that 2024 could go down in history as the successor of 19841 in pop music phenomena–a year marked by the rise of pop stars who focused on their visuals in the form of music videos. While music videos are a big part of Chappell, Sabrina and Doechii’s packages, what’s even bigger is their image. In an era where pop stars have been born from viral TikTok sound fame, only to die in purgatory a few months later, the biggest night in music honoring those who have cultivated a cohesive image marked a shift in how we’re consuming music–for the better.
Chappell Roan, whose widespread acclaim was a clear marker of this shift, absolutely deserved her award for Best New Artist, even if only based on the merit of her meteoric rise over the course of her album release in September 2023 to her performance at Outside Lands in August 2024, as illustrated in this line graph that shows the jump in 1m to 40m listeners in under a year. My favorite part of this graph is that it shows the difference between her growth after opening for Olivia Rodrigo, which some people believed was what launched her into mega-fame, and her growth post-Coachella, which was where the (organic) magic really happened.
I vividly remember watching the livestream of her performance at Coachella weekend one–I was out with my mom getting food and had started watching the livestream of The Japanese House’s set on my phone, but I was adamant that we get back to her house in time to watch Chappell on her living room TV. Thankfully, we did, and I was instantly mesmerized by her ‘80s glam rock inspired look: a spandex shirt reading “EAT ME” (while her band wore matching shirts reading “EAT THE RICH”), a massive studded choker, leopard print tights with a leather harness on top, her red hair teased and crimped, bold eyeliner and eye gems–the perfect drag look for the live debut of her 80s synth pop reminiscent single, “Good Luck, Babe!” Between the look, those vocals, and the intro she delivered before performing “My Kink Is Karma,” it was a true “star is born” moment.
Even though she was given a 5:30 set time in the Gobi tent (where Suki Waterhouse headlined that night, lol) and hadn’t yet seen her blow-up coming to fruition, Chappell did not cut corners on her incredible costume and makeup2 for her first weekend performance, and that look paired with her iconic “face to face” hand movement in her delivery of that “Good Luck, Babe!” line was what hooked everyone on her in just a few seconds time. I knew people would see these clips and fall for her, and I was right. Clips of that moment during her performance clogged my Twitter timeline for weeks, exposing her to the masses, showing off her powerhouse vocals and making her talent undeniable. She never even released a music video for the single (just a silly lyric video!) but it became her biggest one to date, with much credit due to that Coachella week one performance.
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By weekend two of Coachella, the tent she had packed out the previous weekend was overflowing and she knew her star was rising. In stunning butterfly drag, she delivered an even more iconic intro for “MKIK”: “My name is Chappell Roan. I’m your favorite artist’s favorite artist, your dream girl’s dream girl and I’m here to serve exactly what you are: CUNT!”
Other festival appearances shifted her stages and performance times to accommodate the shift in demand: she ended up drawing one of the biggest crowds in Lollapalooza history, estimated at around 110,000 people. By summer’s end, people were flocking to festivals to see her alone, a fact I personally capitalized off of when she dropped out of All Things Go last minute–stressed out and overwhelmed mentally after experiencing such a rapid shift in popularity and attention–and a bunch of would-be festival goers decided to forego the festival altogether and sold their tickets at a loss, granting me the opportunity to see MUNA3 at a more affordable price. Luckily, I was fortunate enough to be in the audience for her incredible Gov Ball set in June, which I still think was too short. Each appearance offered another iconic look, from her Statue of Liberty drag at Gov Ball to a Lucha Libre inspired look and stage design at Lollapallooza. Her iconic looks have even carried her influence into the gaming world, with Roblox introducing an avatar bundle of 4 of her looks, including the two aforementioned festival looks, and a Fortnite skin reportedly on the horizon.
Chappell’s outspoken nature–specifically in speaking out against pushy stalking fans and rude, creepy paparazzi–earned her a bunch of hate from idiots, but very tellingly gained her the praise of respected and respectable musicians.
One of the oldest videos on Chappell Roan’s Youtube channel is a cover of Elton John’s “Your Song.” Her own comment is pinned on the video, reading: “Your song is one of my all-time favorite songs. Elton John has inspired so much of my music.” In the years since that was posted, she’s spent a lot of time with Elton himself, who is a major fan of hers. She performed “Your Song” at his Academy Awards watch party just last night, and duetted “Don’t Let The Sun Go Down On Me” with him. (They also performed “Pink Pony Club” together, and Chappell cried while telling Elton how much he means to her and “knighting him” by placing her pink cowboy hat on his head.) As a musician and lover of music, Chappell has learned from and studied the greats, Elton being one of many.
In a 2018 interview, when asked about musical influences, she also cited Karen Carpenter and Stevie Nicks as her main vocal influences, and said she was inspired by Lady Gaga and Beyoncé in terms of stage presence and that she hoped to be like them someday–I think she’s done herself proud there.
Aside from that, she never misses the opportunity to shout out drag queens who inspire her looks, and she boosted local drag performers by having them open for her in their respective cities on her Midwest Princess tour.
In a recent promotional video project on Hulu, “Faces of Music,” Chappell went more in depth speaking about her influences, musically and visually, and the years and steps it took to creating the pop star persona that is Chappell Roan, referencing artists who came before her that have created an image synonymous with their music, like Lana del Rey (the actual most influential pop star of her generation, but that’s another essay for another day) and Dolly Parton, referencing the story behind Dolly Parton’s signature look, a form of drag in itself. Dolly herself said her look was modeled after the ‘town tramp’ who was ‘the prettiest thing’–the big hair, red nails and blue eyeshadow, which Chappell notes is specifically stigmatized and associated with sex work, drag makeup and promiscuous behavior.
“Everything I do is a ‘fuck you’ to the box I was so pressured to be put in and a reference to people who came before me. I have to just honor the elders…like, Divine.”
While Chappell has made it clear that her stage presence is a drag persona and that drag is one of her major influences, she isn’t the only artist with a carefully constructed image.
Sabrina is a widely palatable pop star, but her overnight success wasn’t guaranteed. Short n’ Sweet, her brilliantly named 2024 album, was her sixth studio album, and that doesn’t include all the EPs she recorded over the years. Since getting her toes wet in a Miley Cyrus star search contest back when she was just 10 years old, Sabrina’s road to pop stardom has been a long one. The biggest change that skyrocketed her to fame in 2024 was a meticulously executed rebrand. Her persona, from her wardrobe and hair to her comedic bits and even her album packaging are all carefully curated to be in line with a 1960s-era style that she’s successfully made her brand, showing that she’s done her research into the history of not just pop music but pop culture as a whole.
“Espresso” was the song of the summer in 2024, and you may not remember this, but it was debuted4 at Coachella, where Sabrina had a 6:00 pm set time, performing ahead of…Lil Uzi Vert. At least they put her on the Coachella stage! But this was the introduction to her new persona and her first Short n’ Sweet single, and up until this point, she mostly had a dedicated fanbase from her Disney days, plus pop-lovers who recognized her previous album, emails i can’t send, for the greatness that it was. (“Read Your Mind” was my introduction to Sabrina, and from the first listen, I knew I had just heard a perfect pop song.) Despite having no proof yet that “Espresso” would be the single to launch her into household name territory, she clearly had a plan and vision for the future, so she went all out with her Coachella stage production, featuring a motel. She even played upon the Beatlemania craze in this performance, having staged “fans” in the audience holding up signs reading “Please, please, please5 play Espresso!”
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In a recent interview with Vogue magazine, Sabrina spoke to her rebrand, saying that “her Short n’ Sweet persona is not a created character, but rather a more theatrical version of herself.”
Speaking to her inspirations, Sabrina said she remembered “feeling inspired by images of women that felt very strong and hyperfeminine,” and wondering, “if only she said what she was actually thinking.” While she gets criticized for her horny lyrics, the truth is, by embodying early aspects of hyperfemininity and sexuality but also being an agent of her own chaos, she’s doing something that those pin-ups of the ‘50s and ‘60s weren’t allowed to.
“There’s no, like, alter ego. But it’s definitely a more emphasized version of me. It’s interesting because I’m able to dress in this way where you would kind of expect to hear like a voice from the ’60s. But then, when I’m speaking to the audience, I’m just myself. I started wearing outfits that felt more like myself. And then it sort of bled into, like, I was writing these songs that felt more and more like my personality.”
Curating a look and persona has its benefits, the same way having a job or school uniform does. With one thing figured out, the creativity is free to flow into other spaces. This is (unfortunately) also not dissimilar to people emulating tech moguls like Steve Jobs, who was known for wearing the same black turtleneck every day, and Mark Zuckerberg, who used to wear the same t-shirt every day before he started trying to look cool and wearing chains6.
In Sabrina’s case, she seems to confirm the uniform’s portal to creativity by saying that dressing like her 1960s inspirations opened her up to writing songs that felt more like her. While babydoll nighties, corsets with heart cut-outs and pleasers may not fit the idea of a uniform, the results speak for themselves. Short n’ Sweet is a spectacular pop album, overflowing with creativity and effortless genre-blending without cringey appropriation–just a pop star testing her limits and trying new things on. That approach to playfulness and evolution in music is one that only a well-read pop historian would have–and Sabrina is certainly someone who can claim that title.
When the iconic Diana Ross surprise-appeared at the Grammys to present the Record of the Year award, the cameras cut to Sabrina, who was just as gagged as I was at home. This wasn’t a surprise to me–Sabrina has “I’m Coming Out” on her pre-show playlist. And “Taste” isn’t just a hit single of hers; it’s something she has in spades. Her public Spotify playlists are curated with a chaotic but still cohesive approach, gathering pop music across subgenres from the ‘60s to the ‘80s.
Sabrina’s also quite accustomed to dressing up as part of her performance–she has a documented history of dressing up like the legendary musicians she emulates. Her old Youtube covers from when she was a kid show her donning a fedora and single glove to perform a Michael Jackson medley, including a rendition of “Ease on Down the Road” from The Wiz, which was also my first introduction to the story of Dorothy and her red slippers (I actually didn’t see The Wizard of Oz for the first time until last year). She also covers Guns N Roses’ “Sweet Child O’Mine,” while donning an Axl Rose-inspired headband, and her surprisingly strong cover of Sinéad O’Connor’s “Nothing Compares 2 U” finds her with slicked back hair made to look like Sinead’s crew cut and a serious expression on her close-up face.
Given her love for the classics, it makes sense that Sabrina feels most at home in a 1960s inspired persona–and to be fair, the era is rapt with references for her to pull from! The way it’s informed her slapstick comedic performances at concerts or at the GRAMMYs is the most clear-cut example of how talented she is at entertaining; a born superstar. I hope she got to really soak in the full circle moment of performing “Homeward Bound” with Paul Simon at the SNL 50th Anniversary special.
Perhaps the most interesting case study of all is Doechii, specifically because despite her blowing up in 2024, she has actually blown up before. Her music has gone viral! But as part of the faceless TikTok sounds category, with her song “What It Is (Block Boy)” in 2023. Tons of new Doechii fans did not realize that the current hardest rapper out was the same artist responsible for that radio pop/R&B song that soundtracked thousands of TikToks a few years ago.
But she was unfulfilled by that kind of success and kept pushing to make it on her own terms. And she did. Watching Doechii win Best New Rap Album at the GRAMMYs was so special. I cried as soon as she was announced as the winner and kept crying throughout her beautiful speech. Watching her perform was even more special–the choreography, the styling, all of it was pure artistry at its finest.7
In a video for Vogue about getting ready for the Grammys, Doechii spoke to her inspiration behind her incredibly cool Thom Browne looks of the evening.
“In my studying of hip-hop, I observed an era where fashion shifted and became a vital part of hip-hop, and it was around the time that Jay Z decided to put on a suit…and make rap highly luxurious and like this boss/executive thing. I fell in love with Thom Browne in my research for brands that I wanted to incorporate into this era and I wanna tell that story–that being a student of hip-hop and studying, brought me to where I am, which is nominated for four Grammys, which is incredible.”
A self-proclaimed thespian, Doechii is no stranger to theatrics. In every appearance surrounding the release of her GRAMMY-winning mixtape Alligator Bites Never Heal, Doechii’s styling and the styling of her band, backup singers and dancers have been carefully executed, from her GRAMMYs performance where everyone was dressed in Thom Browne, to her Late Night with Stephen Colbert performance where her braids were interwoven with her two backup singers’ braids, to her NPR Tiny Desk concert, where every band member and singer also rocked braids and similar schoolgirl-themed looks.
While it was this album cycle that shot Doechii into the mainstream (VISIBLY!), she’s been practicing at using fashion to create personas for a long time. One of her biggest singles, “Alter Ego,” has a video that takes us to the swamp that Doechii calls home as her own alter ego, the Swamp Princess.8
“The thespian in me has to be fed. It does a lot for my inner-child. I am a theater kid. Playing with characters and coming up with characters has always been a passion of mine. Fashion is more than just flexing, it's about being creative and telling a story,” she told PAPER magazine in a September 2024 feature for which she created a male drag character named Ricardo, who she says is a bisexual from Panama. She was inspired to make herself up into a man after receiving lots of comments online about how she looked like a man.
When Doechii won that Best Rap Album GRAMMY, she made history, becoming the third-ever woman to win that award. Her predecessors are Cardi B and Lauryn Hill, the latter of which she cites as inspiration often, specifically when it comes to the raw nature of her lyrics.
“Old-school hip-hop is vulnerability. I’m gravitating towards the pure skill that was incorporated. Anyone who doesn’t think that hip-hop is an intellectual genre, I think that assumption is rooted in racism,” she said in a recent interview with The Cut. “The feeling that I have when I listen to The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill is the same feeling I want some other Black little girl to have when she listens to me. And in order for her to have that feeling, I have to talk about my feelings.”
Doechii, who was once an artist making “TikTok music9,” is now used in TikToks mimicking the breathing exercise she huffs through in her most vulnerable single, “Denial Is A River,” which is a feat for a number of reasons. If you were to scroll and happen upon one of the videos, you’d know the song and you’d know it was Doechii’s, which can’t be said for every artist who has a TikTok-trending track.
While artists like Doechii, Chappell and Sabrina have benefitted from TikTok spreading their sound and music, they are all artists who would still have a career and mass appeal without TikTok, which cannot be said for a lot of other modern pop stars. Take for example, fellow Best New Artist nominee Benson Boone, who garnered a lot of confusion during his performance at the GRAMMYs. People had no idea who he was, but they recognized the chorus of his song “Beautiful Things” from TikToks and Instagram Reels.
Boone, who has been criticized for lazily modeling his stage presence and appearance after Harry Styles (and denying it) notably went home without any awards, while the women who created images synonymous with their sound were well decorated. More than just women vs. men, this marked a shift in how we’re consuming music as listeners and fans.
Chances are, if you see a TikTok using a Chappell song, it’s a video showing off her wide audience range, whether it’s a toddler who insists on singing along to “Pink Pony Club” or a middle-aged straight male standing on a table in pink cowboy boots, lip-syncing to the same song. Posts mimicking Sabrina’s own “Have you ever tried this one?” sex positions schtick from her live performances of “Juno” on tour are some of the most popular videos using her sounds on TikTok. And as mentioned before, Doechii’s current trending TikTok track is unmistakably her song, emulating her own mannerisms from live performances.
For the last few years, faceless artists skyrocketed to fame overnight with a catchy clip of a single turned viral TikTok sound, with many of them not prepared to capitalize on their 15 minutes of fame. In this attention economy, you only have so long to leave a lasting impression before you’re forgotten as quickly as you were discovered. But for artists like Chappell, Sabrina and Doechii, who have made themselves memorable and impossible to ignore, the work was laid out before the viral moments, priming them for the lofty careers they (and we!) have to look forward to.
If the GRAMMYs are any indicator of the way we as a society are consuming pop music, they’ve certainly showed we’re trending in a positive direction that rewards integrity, originality and creativity–a far cry from the lazy and unoriginal music that’s been awarded in recent years. I hope other artists are taking notes–and that they’ll cite their references when it’s their turn.
https://archive.ph/dMziw
Major shout out to her stylist, Genesis Webb!
They performed a gorgeous acoustic over of “Good Luck, Babe!” and sent her love and well wishes during their performance–greatest band in the world.
Technically, it was released the night before, but this was its big introduction to the world!
A hint at another future single, which I picked up on right away, thank you very much.
He also recently wore Benson Boone’s GRAMMYs jumpsuit for some reason. Which, btw, Zuck being a fan of you is a clear sign your music is too mainstream i a bad way.
I’ve also loved seeing DJ Miss Milan with her along the way at all of her big appearances in the past few months. I remember seeing her name on flyers as the DJ for all the coolest parties in NYC years ago, and to see her craft take her this far is inspiring.
Not to be confused with Chappell’s title as the Midwest princess, but how cool is it that they both put on for their underrepresented hometowns as queer women?
“Now I’m making TikTok music, what de fuck,” she raps in “Denial Is A River,” pointing to her hit track “What It Is" which blew up on TikTok in 2023.