The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | September 22, 2023 | |||
Recorded | 2020–2023 | |||
Genre | Pop | |||
Length | 49:08 | |||
Label |
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Producer |
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Chappell Roan chronology | ||||
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Singles from The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess | ||||
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Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
DIY | [1] |
The Line of Best Fit | 9/10[2] |
NME | [3] |
Pitchfork | 7.2/10[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.
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]
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]
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]
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
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1. | "Femininomenon" | 3:39 | ||
2. | "Red Wine Supernova" |
| 3:12 | |
3. | "After Midnight" |
| Nigro | 3:24 |
4. | "Coffee" |
| Nigro | 3:25 |
5. | "Casual" |
|
| 3:52 |
6. | "Super Graphic Ultra Modern Girl" |
|
| 3:03 |
7. | "Hot to Go!" |
| Nigro | 3:04 |
8. | "My Kink Is Karma" |
| Nigro | 3:42 |
9. | "Picture You" |
| Nigro | 3:07 |
10. | "Kaleidoscope" | Amstutz | Nigro | 3:42 |
11. | "Pink Pony Club" |
| Nigro | 4:18 |
12. | "Naked in Manhattan" |
| Nigro | 3:31 |
13. | "California" |
| Nigro | 3:18 |
14. | "Guilty Pleasure" |
| Nigro | 3:44 |
Total length: | 49:08 |
Musicians
Technical
Chart (2024) | Peak position |
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Australian Albums (ARIA)[20] | 50 |
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[21] | 193 |
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 |