The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess is the debut studio album by the American singer-songwriter Chappell Roan, released on September 22, 2023, by Amusement Records, in partnership with Island Records. 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.

The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess 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 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, and she became the fifteenth artist in history to receive nominations in all four main General Field categories in a single night, winning for Best New Artist.

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 finished an original debut album for Atlantic Records, but it was shelved by the label. She started again from scratch, working with producer Dan Nigro and 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 Records 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. In 2023, to support Roan's career and projects, Nigro launched the label Amusement Records. She was the first artist on the label, also working with Island Records to provide support as a major label. 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 [her] queerness". Roan has said that her stage name and persona is a character and compared it to Ziggy Stardust, the character that David Bowie portrayed on his album The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars (1972), the title of which inspired the title of Roan's album.

Musically, The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess has been described as a pop album with elements of synth-pop, folk-pop, new-wave and disco.

Critical reception

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". Robert Christgau described the album as "shamelessly catchy" and observed that "her demonstrative soprano, captivating tunes, and runaway grooves come to seem inextricable from the encounters and relationships that occasioned them".

NMEs 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". The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess has been described as a synth-pop, alt-pop, bubblegum, dance-pop, and electro record.

Year-end lists + Select 2023 year-end rankings Publication/critic Accolade RankBillboard 50 Best Albums of 202313Coup De Main Best Albums of 20233Dork 50 Best Albums of 202311Nylon 10 Best Albums of 20238PopBuzz Best Pop Albums of 20231Rolling Stone 100 Best Albums of 202312The A. V. Club 27 Best Albums of 20232The Alternative Top 55 Albums of 20235The Skinny The Skinny's Albums of 202319TIME 10 Best Albums of 20234 + Select 2024 year-end rankings Publication/critic Accolade RankAnd It Don't Stop 2024 Dean's List9 Time Out The Best Albums of 20242

Commercial performance At the time of its release in September 2023, the album was not an immediate commercial success, and did not appear on any mainstream charts.

However, the album started to garner a cult following in the months after its release and became regarded as a "sleeper hit" by early 2024, eventually debuting at number 127 on the US Billboard 200 on the chart date April 6, 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, the UK, and within the top five on the US Billboard 200 at number two. 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 ever, not charting upon their initial release.

Accolades + Awards and nominations Organization Year Category Result ARIA Music Awards 2024 Best International Artist Danish Music Awards 2024 International Album of the Year Grammy Awards 2025 Album of the Year Best Pop Vocal Album American Music Awards 2025 Album of the Year Favorite Pop Album

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), Korg MS-20 (1), drum programming (2, 7, 9, 14), acoustic guitar (4, 9, 14), piano (4, 10), keyboards (6, 13), Moog (7, 14), drums (9, 14), Mellotron (10), Juno-60 (14) 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) Kathleen – 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)

Credits adapted from album liner notes.

Charts

Weekly charts + Chart (2023–2025) Peakposition Argentine Albums (CAPIF) 3 Croatian International Albums (HDU) 2 Greek Albums (IFPI) 5 Icelandic Albums (Tónlistinn) 13 Lithuanian Albums (AGATA) 24 Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan) 20

Year-end charts + Chart (2024) Position Australian Albums (ARIA) 14 Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria) 48 Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders) 50 Canadian Albums (Billboard) 29 Croatian International Albums (HDU) 17 Dutch Albums (Album Top 100) 50 German Albums (Offizielle Top 100) 95 Global Albums (IFPI) 12 Icelandic Albums (Tónlistinn) 52 New Zealand Albums (RMNZ) 5 Portuguese Albums (AFP) 41 Spanish Albums (PROMUSICAE) 95 Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade) 78 UK Albums (OCC) 6 US Billboard 200 18

+ 2025 year-end chart performance for The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess Chart (2025) Position Australian Albums (ARIA) 17 Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria) 57 Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders) 38 Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia) 188 Canadian Albums (Billboard) 12 Dutch Albums (Album Top 100) 58 French Albums (SNEP) 137 German Albums (Offizielle Top 100) 81 Hungarian Albums (MAHASZ) 100 Icelandic Albums (Tónlistinn) 60 New Zealand Albums (RMNZ) 15 Spanish Albums (PROMUSICAE) 85 Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan) 77 UK Albums (OCC) 13 US Billboard 200 10

Certifications and sales

Release history + RegionDateFormatLabelRef.VariousSeptember 22, 2023September 20, 2024Cassette

See also List of number-one albums from the 2020s (New Zealand) List of number-one albums of 2024 (Ireland) List of UK Albums Chart number ones of the 2020s

References