Beating out a stacked lineup that included Sabrina Carpenter, Doechii, and Shaboozey, Chappell Roan snagged her first Grammy in the Best New Artist category on Sunday night. Taking the stage in a dunce cap, music’s favorite Midwest princess chewed gum and read from a little journal as she accepted her trophy. Of course, Roan used her speech to advocate for better health care for artists just starting out in the industry — labor advocacy in drag? This is about as Chappell as it gets.
“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, especially to developing artists,” Roan said, recounting how she lost health insurance after she was dropped by her label.
“Record labels need to treat their artists as valuable employees with a livable wage and health insurance and protection,” she continued. “Labels, we got you — but do you got us?”
While this is Roan’s first Grammy win — she is also nominated for Album of the Year, Song of the Year, Record of the Year, Best Pop Vocal Album, and Best Pop Solo Performance — the singer’s seemingly overnight rise to fame was years in the making. The 26-year-old toiled in obscurity for the better part of a decade and has since struggled to cope with the demands of a pop career. But as she made clear at the MTV Awards, Roan is dead set on making sure the next wave of pop artists receives better care, compensation, and privacy for their labor.
Life really does seem good down at the “Pink Pony Club.”