Chappell Roan has “no idea” what her “next era” will sound like

Chappell Roan has revealed that she has “no idea” what her next album will sound like.

• READ MORE: Chappell Roan on The Cover: the pop supernova who feels like one of the ‘Drag Race’ girls

Fans have been clamouring for the pop star and former NME Cover star‘s sophomore album ever since the release of 2023’s hit debut ‘The Rise And Fall Of A Midwest Princess’. Speaking to Zane Lowe for Apple Music, the musician has now shared that the follow-up isn’t anywhere near where fans might want it to be.

Speaking on her three singles since ‘The Rise And Fall Of A Midwest Princess’, Roan said: “They’re all kind of so different. So that’s why I’m just like, ‘I have no idea what the next era is.’ That’s the scary part of putting out new music and then people not liking it, because it’s not like the music you made before.”

However, she did allude to “‘The Subway’ being a very safe segue” to what the next record could sound like.

She also shared that she hasn’t felt comfortable enough to write the upcoming album as she’s had such a hectic schedule: “I haven’t felt settled. It’s been a very unsettling year and a half, and I think once I really feel calm in a new house and have a routine, I just can’t wait to have a routine. And then I can think about writing a song once I have a routine.”

“I finally got a new place and I’ve only been there for 10 days. And then I came on this big tour,” she continued, going on to add that she’s also had to deal with the fallout of the Los Angeles wildfires earlier this year. “So it’s been a journey on how do I release music within the state of everything?”

She also shared that she’s looking forward to having a break sometime in April next year before she can even think about writing new music: “I think that once this is done and the US shows are done, it’ll definitely feel like a big breath of weight off my shoulders just so I can chill for a sec and actually think about writing. But we’re almost done with the victory lap. Next April I’ll be done with the victory lap.”

Last week, Chappell Roan opened up about the hopes for a new album, where she clarified that the follow-up to ‘The Rise And Fall Of A Midwest Princess’ may still be a while off yet. “The second project doesn’t exist yet,” she said. “There is no album. There is no collection of songs.”

Comparing it to the process for ‘The Rise And Fall…”, Roan added: “It took me five years to write the first one, and it’s probably going to take at least five to write the next. I’m not that type of writer that can pump it out.”

Back in March, Roan said that she was “so beyond far away from” her second album, adding that she “could not even tell you” when it would come out.

She followed up her debut album in 2024 with the hit song ‘Good Luck, Babe!’, and later with the “full ass country song” ‘The Giver’. Her latest standalone track arrived earlier this month in the form of the highly anticipated single ‘The Subway’.

The former NME Cover star is due to headline Reading & Leeds 2025 this month. These shows will be held on August 22 and 23 respectively, and see her top this year’s bill alongside Travis Scott, Bring Me The Horizon and Hozier.

After Reading & Leeds, she’ll play two shows for the Summer Sessions concert series at the Royal Highlands Showgrounds in Edinburgh, and appear at Electric Picnic in Ireland. Visit here for tickets.

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