Oh, 2024. What a year it’s been. Just when we thought that pop music was beginning to sound a little stale and warmed up, along came Chappell Roan to remind us of the power of a big, bold chorus and some really quite off-the-wall costume changes. Not since Lady Gaga has there been an artist who’s entered megastar status with this much organic rizz in the space of one summer—although you know that already. Which is why there’s been a big question mark hovering over 2025: Is there going to be a follow-up to her debut album, The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess? And, if so, what will it look, sound, and feel like?
Obviously we don’t know a huge amount yet. The 26-year-old’s debut only came out toward the end of last year, and it took another half year for the record to properly gain momentum. But there have been a few clues dotted around for those who are really paying attention. Here, we’ve gathered everything we know about Roan’s as-yet-untitled second album thus far.
She’s working with producer Daniel Nigro again
You may not immediately recognize the name, but you’ll certainly have come across the songs that Nigro has worked on. The New York producer and songwriter has his fingerprints on everything from Carly Rae Jepsen’s Emotion (2015) to Caroline Polachek’s Desire I Want to Turn Into You (2023), and both Olivia Rodrigo records Sour (2019) and Guts (2023). He also co-wrote and produced Roan’s debut, so you know the man knows how to help craft a slice of pop perfection. Both Roan and Nigro have confirmed that they are working together again for the second record—which, thank God, because if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it, etc.
Five new tracks have been written, including “The Subway”
Back in September, Roan told Rolling Stone that she’d gotten down five or six songs already. “We have a country song. We have a dancey song. We have one that’s really ’80s, and we have one that’s acoustic, and we have one that’s really organic, live-band, ’70s vibe,” she said. “It’s super weird.” And then, earlier this month, in an interview with The New York Times, Nigro shared a similar update. He referenced one “fun, up-tempo country song” which includes “a fiddle. I’ll say that much. It’s a new version of Chappell.” Plus “a couple of ballads and a mid-tempo rock song.”
