By Ren Gibson, Staff Writer
Like or love her, Chappell Roan has become a pop music staple over the course of just a few months. She’s your favorite artist’s favorite artist, and she’s definitely proved her success with smash hits like “HOT TO GO!” and “Feminominon”. The release of her first album in 2023 and the successful release of “Good Luck, Babe” had everyone waiting with bated breath as she geared up to start releasing new music. During her appearance on Saturday Night Live, Roan popped up in a country darling drag look and gave us her latest earworm, “The Giver.”
Giving “The Giver”
The leadup to the official release of the single was as effervescent and theatrical as the song itself. Beginning in mid-February, Chappell posted a series of photos of her as different professionals, including a lawyer, a dentist, and a plumber. The photo series was accompanied by a series of billboards in various cities to promote the single in collaboration with Spotify. Chappell Roan is no stranger to switching up her genre. “The Giver” is unique in the sense that it’s the first time that she’s produced a country song.
Roan wrote on Instagram, “We’ve never done a country song and I have such a special place in my heart for country music. I grew up listening to it every morning and afternoon on my school bus and had it swirling around me at bonfires, grocery stores and karaoke bars.” Her inspiration seems to blend classic country music with modern stylings from the genre. The song opens with a twangy fiddle over a snappy drumbeat, making you want to start snapping and busting into a jig as soon as the song starts.
She Sure Knows Mating Calls!
It’s the lyrics that shine in “The Giver,” in my opinion. Chappell Roan, as proven by the marketing campaign and the ability to take a traditional genre and make it her own, loves to make her songs allegorical and fun. The song is playful and frisky as Chappell flirts with the girl she has her sights on to prove that she’s better than other suitors. She sings, “And other boys may need a map / But I can close my eyes / And have you wrapped around my fingers like that.” She’s proving that she can get the job done of loving her muse better than any of the “country boy quitters” that she refers to later in the song.
The bridge of the song is nonexistent (Chappell’s words, not mine) and honestly? It fits the song better. Instead of one of her iconic verses to move the song into its final minute, a series of “na na na’s” as Chappell’s backup singers agree that she gets the job done. It’s very country, especially with the standalone beat that shifts underneath the vocalizations during this part of the song.
On The Horizon
Chappell Roan has stated that she isn’t releasing her second album anytime soon, but intends to drop singles just for fun until the time is right. In the Instagram post commemorating the single’s release, she expressed that she’s currently making music that makes her feel good, with no promise of a new project just yet. With more festival lineups being released as summertime approaches, my fingers are crossed that she’s going to pop up on a few of those or announce her shows for this upcoming year.
