The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess

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The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess
Studio album by
Chappell Roan
ReleasedSeptember 22, 2023 (2023-09-22)
Recorded2020–2023
GenrePop
Length49:08
Label
Producer
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
  1. "Pink Pony Club"
    Released: April 3, 2020
  2. "California"
    Released: May 29, 2020
  3. "Naked in Manhattan"
    Released: February 18, 2022
  4. "My Kink is Karma"
    Released: May 6, 2022
  5. "Femininomenon"
    Released: August 12, 2022
  6. "Casual"
    Released: October 28, 2022
  7. "Kaleidoscope"
    Released: March 31, 2023
  8. "Red Wine Supernova"
    Released: May 18, 2023
  9. "Hot to Go!"
    Released: August 11, 2023
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
DIY[1]
The Line of Best Fit9/10[2]
NME[3]
Pitchfork7.2/10[4]

The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess is the debut studio album by American singer and songwriter Chappell Roan, released on September 22, 2023, through Amusement Records, an imprint of Island Records owned by the album's producer, Dan Nigro. Roan wrote the album alongside Nigro beginning in 2020. The album received positive reviews from critics, who acclaimed its pop sound.

Background and recording[edit]

Roan was signed to Atlantic Records and living in Los Angeles by 2017, when she released the EP School Nights, a "folk-leaning" project that she later admitted she "hated". In 2020, Roan started working with Dan Nigro, releasing the album's first single, "Pink Pony Club", in April of that year. Atlantic Records had said "no" to the song "for a year", before she was dropped by them later in 2020. In addition to breaking up with her boyfriend of over four years and the COVID-19 pandemic, Roan moved back to her home state of Missouri. She worked jobs 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.[5] Roan said that The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess allowed her to "come to accept [her] queerness".[6]

Critical reception[edit]

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".[4] 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".[1]

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".[3] 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".[2] Robert Moran of The Sydney Morning Herald described it as "pop at its most fun and life-affirming".[7]

Accolades[edit]

The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess was included in several best-albums-of-2023 year-end lists, ranking notably in those by The A.V. Club (2nd),[8] TIME (4th),[9] Nylon (8th),[10] Dork (11th),[11] Rolling Stone (12th),[12] Billboard (13th),[13] The Skinny (19th),[14] Uproxx (1 of 74 unranked albums),[15] Alternative Press (1 of 50 unranked albums),[16] and Vogue (1 of 27 unranked albums).[17] It was also listed as one of Pitchfork's 22 Best Pop Albums of 2023[18] and was named Pop Buzz's Number One Album of 2023.[19]

Track listing[edit]

The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess track listing
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."Femininomenon"
3:39
2."Red Wine Supernova"
  • Amstutz
  • Lisa Hickox
  • Amy Kuney
  • Nigro
  • Annie Schindel
3:12
3."After Midnight"
  • Amstutz
  • Nigro
  • Casey Smith
Nigro3:24
4."Coffee"
  • Amstutz
  • Maya Kurchner
  • Eric Leva
  • Nigro
Nigro3:25
5."Casual"
  • Amstutz
  • Nigro
  • Morgan St. Jean
  • Nigro
  • Ryan Linvill
3:52
6."Super Graphic Ultra Modern Girl"
  • Amstutz
  • Annika Bennett
  • Nigro
  • Jonah Shy
  • Nigro
  • Wise
  • Shy[a]
3:03
7."Hot to Go!"
  • Amstutz
  • Nigro
Nigro3:04
8."My Kink Is Karma"
Nigro3:42
9."Picture You"
  • Amstutz
  • Nigro
Nigro3:07
10."Kaleidoscope"AmstutzNigro3:42
11."Pink Pony Club"
  • Amstutz
  • Nigro
Nigro4:18
12."Naked in Manhattan"
Nigro3:31
13."California"
  • Amstutz
  • Nigro
Nigro3:18
14."Guilty Pleasure"
  • Amstutz
  • Marcus Andersson
  • Nate Campany
  • Nigro
Nigro3:44
Total length:49:08

Personnel[edit]

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[edit]

Chart performance for The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess
Chart (2024) Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[20] 50
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[21] 181
Canadian Albums (Billboard)[22] 44
Irish Albums (OCC)[23] 37
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[24] 21
UK Albums (OCC)[25] 54
US Billboard 200[26] 30

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b Robinson, Otis (September 22, 2023). "Chappell Roan – The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess review". DIY. Retrieved September 27, 2023.
  2. ^ a b Franzini, Sam (September 21, 2023). "Chappell Roan: The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess – big pop smashes lead the way | Pop". The Line of Best Fit. Retrieved September 27, 2023.
  3. ^ a b Mylrea, Hannah (September 22, 2023). "Chappell Roan – The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess review: unabashedly fun anthems". NME. Retrieved September 27, 2023.
  4. ^ a b Horn, Olivia (September 27, 2023). "Chappell Roan: The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess Album Review". Pitchfork. Retrieved September 27, 2023.
  5. ^ Shafer, Ellise (September 22, 2023). "Confessions of a 'Midwest Princess': How Chappell Roan's Debut Album Arose From the 'Deep Pits of Hell' to Become a 'Dream Come True'". Variety. Retrieved September 27, 2023.
  6. ^ Mier, Tomás (September 21, 2023). "How Chappell Roan Found 'Complete Freedom and Euphoria' Making Her Debut Album". Rolling Stone. Retrieved September 27, 2023.
  7. ^ Moran, Robert (September 22, 2023). "Dropped by her label, she's now made the funnest (and queerest) pop album of the year". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved September 27, 2023.
  8. ^ "The 27 best albums of 2023". The A.V. Club. December 13, 2023. Retrieved December 27, 2023.
  9. ^ "The 10 Best Albums of 2023". TIME. December 5, 2023. Retrieved December 27, 2023.
  10. ^ "NYLON's Top Albums Of 2023". Nylon. December 20, 2023. Retrieved December 27, 2023.
  11. ^ Dork (December 18, 2023). "Dork's Top 50 Albums of 2023: 50-41". Dork. Retrieved December 27, 2023.
  12. ^ "The 100 Best Albums of 2023". Rolling Stone. November 30, 2023. Retrieved December 27, 2023.
  13. ^ Glicksman, Josh (December 6, 2023). "The 50 Best Albums of 2023: Staff List". Billboard. Retrieved December 27, 2023.
  14. ^ "The Skinny's Albums of 2023". www.theskinny.co.uk. Retrieved December 27, 2023.
  15. ^ "These Are The Best Albums Of 2023". UPROXX. December 4, 2023. Retrieved December 27, 2023.
  16. ^ Schade, Anna Zanes, Neville, Alessandra (December 12, 2023). "50 best albums of 2023". Alternative Press Magazine. Retrieved December 27, 2023.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  17. ^ "The Best Albums of 2023". Vogue. October 23, 2023. Retrieved December 27, 2023.
  18. ^ "The Best Pop Music of 2023". Pitchfork. December 12, 2023. Retrieved December 27, 2023.
  19. ^ "The best albums of 2023".
  20. ^ "ARIA Top 50 Albums Chart". Australian Recording Industry Association. May 6, 2024. Retrieved May 3, 2024.
  21. ^ "Ultratop.be – Chappell Roan – The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved May 5, 2024.
  22. ^ "Billboard Canadian Albums: Week of May 4, 2024". Billboard. Retrieved April 30, 2024.
  23. ^ "Official Irish Albums Chart Top 50". Official Charts Company. Retrieved April 26, 2024.
  24. ^ "NZ Top 40 Albums Chart". Recorded Music NZ. May 6, 2024. Retrieved May 3, 2024.
  25. ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved April 26, 2024.
  26. ^ "Billboard 200: Week of May 4, 2024". Billboard. Retrieved April 30, 2024.
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