If you’re anything like me, once you find a musical artist you resonate with, their music alone will be on repeat for the foreseeable future. Chappell Roan, Maisie Peters and Kacey Musgraves are three artists who are going to dominate my Spotify Wrapped and should be included in your listening rotation stat.
Chappell Roan
Where to begin? Chappell Roan is a pop/alternative artist whose music focuses on the queer experience and exploring self-love. Chappell’s debut album “The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess” was released in September 2023 and truly is a “Femininomenon.”
The songs range from upbeat sassy anthems like “HOT TO GO”, which features a YMCA-inspired spelling riff, to heartbreaking ballads like “Coffee”, which details the experience of being unable to see an ex-partner without it leading to something physical.
“Pink Pony Club,” one of Chappell’s most popular hits with 26,128,988 streams on Spotify, is a raw and moving song focusing on Chappell’s experience with finding herself, both as an artist and as a member of the LGBTQIA+ community.
While this is a no-skip album for me, my current favorites have been “Red Wine Supernova” and “Super Graphic Ultra Modern Girl”; two songs infused with energy, fun and the feeling of not taking life too seriously. Chappell’s aesthetic takes inspiration from drag queens and she has cited this persona as a major reason she has been able to form her identity as a performer.
Chappell is currently opening for Olivia Rodrigo on her “GUTS” tour but when performing at her own sets, she always has three drag performers from the area open for her.
Maisie Peters
“Nobody actually happy or healthy has ever been so desperate to prove it.” Ouch, Maisie! This line comes from “Watch”, a track off of pop singer Maisie Peters’ second album “The Good Witch”. Peters is a British pop singer who has a high-energy rock-inspired pop sound.
“The Good Witch” features catchy break-up tracks like “You Lost The Breakup”, which describes a girl coming into her own after the end of a toxic relationship, and my personal favorite, “You’re Just A Boy (And I’m Kinda The Man)”, depicting a similar theme of reaching your full potential after a growth-stifling relationship ends.
Peters also explores heartbreak through the song “Want You Back” which explores the concept of knowing someone is bad for you but missing them nonetheless. “The History of Man” illustrates Peters’ songwriting skills with various historical and biblical allusions throughout the song, depicting various women who deeply loved a man only to be betrayed.
Honorable mentions from this album include “Holy Revival”, “Body Better” and “Guy On A Horse.” Each of these tracks grapples with a breakup in a different way, from insecurity to anger to eventual acceptance. I’m so glad Peters is getting recognized more and more in the music industry for her catchy melodies and incredible lyricism.
Kacey Musgraves
“Deeper Well”, pop country artist Kacey Musgraves’ newest album, released in March 2024 and is the perfect album for spring. Musgraves excellently blends country influences with a folksy mystique that draws the listener in. The track “Cardinal” sounds almost enchanting, seeming to take influence from a Fleetwood Mac seventies sort of sound.
Of course, I have to discuss the title track, “Deeper Well”, a beautifully reflective song about what and who should take up space or hold weight in your life. “But you’ve got dark energy, somethin’ I can’t unsee / and I’ve got to take care of myself”, Musgrave sings, perhaps referring to her ex-husband Ruston Kelley whom she split with in 2020.
This song does not feel like a classic “break-up” song, it is simply Musgraves realizing that the person she wants to become cannot exist in the partnership she was in, she’s found a “deeper well”.
Many of the tracks on this album feel nostalgic to me, such as “The Architect”, which features warm guitar and introspective lyrics about the origins of the natural world. For my overthinkers out there, Musgraves’ song “Sway” is the song for you. “Most of the time, all the thoughts in my mind keep me runnin’ / Show me a place I can just think of nothing,” Musgraves sings. This song is sweet as it doesn’t present as co-dependent or reliant on another person but suggests that simply by being around someone who is able to take things in their stride, you can learn how to as well.
Each of these women brings something different to the music scene and has left it better than they found by creating these albums. From upbeat breakup pop ballads to whimsical country to somber ballads reflecting on identity or heartbreak, these three musical artists are at the top of their game and will continue to create more beautiful art in the future.
