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The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess
Studio album by Chappell Roan
Released	September 22, 2023 (2023-09-22)
Recorded	2018–2023
Genre	Pop synth-pop dance-pop
Length	49:08
Label	Amusement Island
Producer	Daniel Nigro Ryan Linvill Mike Wise
Chappell Roan chronology
School Nights (2017) The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess (2023)
Singles from The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess
"Naked in Manhattan" Released: February 18, 2022 "My Kink Is Karma" Released: May 6, 2022 "Femininomenon" Released: August 12, 2022 "Casual" Released: October 28, 2022 "Kaleidoscope" Released: March 31, 2023 "Red Wine Supernova" Released: May 19, 2023 "Hot to Go!" Released: August 11, 2023

The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess is the debut studio album by the American singer and songwriter Chappell Roan. The album was released on September 22, 2023, through Amusement Records, an imprint of Island Records. It was met with widespread acclaim and praised by music critics for its bold and emotionally charged nature. Reviews also complimented the album's engaging blend of sharp songwriting, dynamic pop elements, and Roan's vocal performance. Several publications ranked it on multiple year-end best albums lists for 2023. The album earned Roan her first Grammy Award nominations at the 67th annual ceremony, including for Album of the Year. She is one of fifteen artists in history who have earned Grammy nominations in all of the "Big Four" categories in one night.

Roan promoted the album by headlining the Midwest Princess Tour in 2023 and 2024, along with appearances on NPR Music's Tiny Desk Concerts, The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, and The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.

Background and recording

Roan was signed to Atlantic Records and living in Los Angeles by 2017, when she released the EP School Nights, a "folk-leaning" project. In 2018, Roan started working with Dan Nigro, owner of the Amusement imprint, eventually releasing the singles "Pink Pony Club" and "Love Me Anyway" in April and May 2020, respectively. She released "California" that August, and was dropped by Atlantic shortly after. "Pink Pony Club" and "California" were both ultimately included on The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess.

Roan moved back to her home state of Missouri where she worked to save money to move back to Los Angeles, at which point she resumed working with Nigro, and signed to his Island Records imprint Amusement. The album is inspired by Roan's experience leaving her hometown in Missouri for Los Angeles to pursue a career as a singer. During her journey of self-discovery, Roan navigated love, heartbreak, and embraced her sexual identity – themes that would become central to the record. Roan has stated that The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess allowed her to "come to accept queerness".

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
AnyDecentMusic?	7.9/10
Metacritic	85/100
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic
And It Don't Stop	A
DIY
Dork
Exclaim!	7/10
The Line of Best Fit	9/10
NME
Paste	8.4/10
Pitchfork	7.2/10

The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess received critical acclaim upon release. According to the review aggregator Metacritic, the album received "universal acclaim" based on a weighted average score of 85 out of 100 from 7 critic scores. Olivia Horn of Pitchfork called the album "a bold and uproarious introduction, buoyed by sturdy songcraft and steely indifference to good taste", also writing that Roan is "blessed with a powerful and versatile voice". Otis Robinson of DIY summarized it as "thoughtful, a little unhinged and entirely contradictory, merging the alt-pop seriousness of Lana Del Rey with the untethered preppy charm of Lorde to go full throttle into messy, emotional fun".

The album and Chappel herself won the Best Album of the Year and Best Overall Artist at the 2024 Snammys, a fan run award show organized by the Evolution of a Snake podcast.

NME's Hannah Mylrea dubbed it a "bratty, wacky record of huge pop bangers" as well as an "album that combines Roan's electrifying pop stylings with her funny, irresistible songwriting". Sam Franzini of The Line of Best Fit opined that Roan "is a blazing tour-de-force on her debut album. She tackles every corner of human sexuality, psychology, desire, and lust, all on some of the hookiest choruses of this year". Robert Moran of The Sydney Morning Herald described it as "pop at its most fun and life-affirming". LA Times called it "one of the year’s most exuberant dance-pop albums.

Year-end lists

Commercial performance

Although not an immediate commercial success, The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess garnered a cult following in the months after its release and became regarded as a "sleeper hit" by early 2024. The album's commercial breakthrough was largely influenced by Roan's supporting act on Olivia Rodrigo's Guts World Tour, her performances at music festivals like Coachella and Governors Ball, and the success of her follow-up single, "Good Luck, Babe!". By June 2024, The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess had climbed the charts, peaking at number one in Ireland, New Zealand and the UK, plus within the top five of the US Billboard 200. Subsequently, several of its singles ("My Kink Is Karma", "Femininomenon", "Casual", "Pink Pony Club", "Red Wine Supernova", and "Hot to Go!") entered the Billboard Hot 100 for the first time since their release.

Accolades

Track listing

Note

• signifies an additional producer

Personnel

Musicians

• Kayleigh Amstutz – lead vocals (all tracks), background vocals (tracks 3, 4, 6, 7, 9, 14)
• Dan Nigro – background vocals (1–7, 9, 14), bass guitar (1, 2, 4, 5, 10, 12), guitar (1–3, 6, 8, 9), programming (1), drum programming (2, 7, 9, 14), acoustic guitar (4, 9, 14), piano (4, 10), keyboards (6, 13), drums (9, 14), Mellotron (10)
• Emily Williams – background vocals (1)
• Mike Wise – programming (1), keyboards (6)
• Paul Cartwright – strings (1); viola, violin (9, 10, 13)
• Cara Salimando – background vocals (2)
• Giana Shabestari – background vocals (2)
• Sterling Laws – drums (3, 6, 7, 13)
• Jared Solomon – bass guitar (3)
• Sam Stewart – guitar (4, 7, 11)
• Ryan Linvill – flute (4), bass guitar (8), drum programming (9, 12), saxophone (9), programming (11), horn arrangement (13)
• Arianna Powell – acoustic guitar (4)
• Kate Brady – background vocals (11)
• Benjamin Romans – piano (11)
• Danny Ward – French horn (13)
• Erick Serna – guitar (13)
• Ido Meshulam – trombone (13)
• Austin Drake – trumpet (13)
• Julian Dessler – trumpet (13)

Technical

• Randy Merrill – mastering
• Mitch McCarthy – mixing (1, 4, 7, 11–13)
• Serban Ghenea – mixing (2, 3, 6, 8)
• Michael Coleman – mixing (5)
• Nathan Phillips – mixing (9)
• Tom Elmhirst – mixing (10)
• Geoff Swan – mixing (14)
• Daniel Nigro – engineering
• Mike Wise – engineering (1)
• Noah Conrad – engineering (2)
• Chris Kasych – engineering (4)
• Ryan Linvill – engineering (5, 9)
• Jonah Shy – engineering (6)
• Bryce Bordone – mix engineering (3, 8), mixing assistance (2, 6)
• Austen Healey – engineering assistance (2, 3, 7, 9, 10, 14)

Charts

Certifications and sales

Release history

References

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• 2023 debut albums
• Albums produced by Dan Nigro
• Chappell Roan albums
• Island Records albums
• LGBTQ-related albums