Chappell Roan nudged aside Sabrina Carpenter to win the Grammy for best new artist Sunday, capping a remarkably explosive rise to fame for an artist dropped by her last record label.
Roan, who is openly queer and taps into drag culture, was the sassy toast of the pop world in 2024 with tracks that include “Good Luck, Babe!” “Red Wine Supernova” and “Hot To Go!” from her 2023 album “The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess.”
In her speech, she called for record labels to give a livable wage and health care, especially for developing artists. “It was devastating to feel so committed to my art and feel so betrayed by the system and dehumanized,” Roan said.
She ended with a line that got plenty of cheers: “Labels, we got you but do you got us?”
Roan is also up for three other Grammys — album of the year, song of the year and record of the year. She lost both best pop solo performance and best pop vocal album to Carpenter.
For the best new artist crown, Roan beat out Carpenter, Benson Boone, Doechii, Khruangbin, RAYE, Shaboozey and Teddy Swims.
Roan began her music career in 2015 when she signed with Atlantic Records, releasing several singles including “Pink Pony Club.” In 2020, the label dropped her. She moved back to her hometown to work as a barista before releasing her debut full-length album.
Roan first hit the mainstream as the opener for Olivia Rodrigo’s Guts Tour and drew a record-breaking crowd at Lollapalooza.
She also won best new artist at the 2024 MTV VMAs, beating Shaboozey, Gracie Abrams, Tyla and Teddy Swims.
“I think that a lot of the songs are from daydreams, and a lot of that daydreaming happened from Missouri, from this repressed state of not having a queer community growing up and feeling really weird,” she told the AP in 2023.
She joins past best new artist winners like The Beatles, Carly Simon, Bette Midler, Culture Club, Mariah Carey, Toni Braxton, Lauryn Hill, Christina Aguilera, John Legend, Adele, Dua Lipa and Chance the Rapper.
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