Now that Chappell Roan is done with live shows for the year (save for an SNL performance), she has the time to start working on her follow-up to 2023’s The Rise And Fall Of A Midwest Princess.
Producer and co-writer Dan Nigro told The New York Times that she already has five new tracks, including “The Subway,” which she’s performed live, and a “fun, up-tempo country song” that includes “a fiddle.” There’s also “a couple of ballads and a mid-tempo rock song.” Nigro added, “It’s a new version of Chappell.”
But it won’t be a “I’m going to write about being famous because it’s all I know now” version of Chappell, as is so often the case with sophomore albums. “That hasn’t come up in any songs,” Nigro said. “We’re still writing from a really fun place. We’ll see what happens.”
Nigro has also worked with Olivia Rodrigo, who became friends with the “Red Wine Supernova” singer through him. “I’ll help them if they want my opinion on how to word something, but it’s their story to tell,” he said. “Sometimes it’s not my place to say anything. Both Olivia and Chappell, they’re in charge.” Roan added, “I think the age gap and generation gap [she’s 26, he’s 42] work to our advantage because Dan and I come from different perspectives on music and culture. It only strengthens the world that we build.”