Chappell Roan made the most of her Best New Artist acceptance speech at the 2025 Grammys. “I told myself if I ever won a Grammy and I got to stand up here in front of the most powerful people in music, I would demand that labels and the industry profiting millions of dollars off of artists would offer a livable wage and healthcare, especially for developing artists,” she said.
Seems reasonable! However, the “Good Luck, Babe!” singer was criticized by former music executive Jeff Rabhan in an op-ed for The Hollywood Reporter. He called the speech “hackneyed” and “wildly misinformed,” writing, “Artists like Roan aren’t changing the game; they’re repeating the old one — young stars getting a taste of success, turning into critics of the machine that elevated them, and ultimately, continuing to profit from that very system.”
Halsey defended Roan, and Roan herself responded in a series of Instagram Stories. “Wanna match me 25k to donate to struggling dropped artists?” she wrote in one, tagging Rabhan. In another, she added, “Mr. Rabhan I love how in the article you said ‘put your money where your mouth is’ Genius!!! Let’s link and build together and see if you can do the same.”
Roan also shared the names of four artists who she thinks “deserve more love and a bigger platform”: Hemlocke Springs, Sarah Kinsley, Devon Again, and Baby Storme. You can listen to songs from each below.