American singer/songwriter Chappell Roan is once again flirting with the possibility of coming to the land of the living skies for a show one day. In a conversation with Zane Lowe for Apple Music, the artist recounted how “Saskatchewan” came to appear in her latest single, “The Subway.” “It rhymed,” she laughed. “I can’t remember if there was other options … we’d already used Boston in Femininomenon, and I was like, ‘We need something ‘on.’” A short snippet of Lowe and Roan’s conversation was posted to social media Tuesday. The conversation revolved around reaction from the province in the wake of “The Subway’s” release and the use of location names in music. In the days leading up to the single’s release, Tourism Saskatchewan had more than 230 new social media mentions and nearly 40,000 new social media interactions. Roan ended off the conversation by restating she has to perform in Saskatchewan – one day. “I’ve never been there, but I promise I will perform there one day,” she said, before joking about the name of the provincial capital. Roan first performed “The Subway” live last summer. However, Saskatchewan’s shoutout gained attention in late July after Roan hired Regina production company Captive Media to create a teaser video for the song’s official release. Last December, prior to the release of “The Subway,” Roan told celebrity interviewer Nardwuar that she was looking at venues to try and play a show in the province. Roan’s debut album, The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess did not enjoy immediate commercial success – but rather gained a cult following by early 2024 and was even nominated for Album of the Year at the 67th Grammy Awards. Roan’s musical style has been described as being inspired by 1980s synth pop and 2000s pop, with heavy influences from her experiences in the queer scene. The same experiences have shaped her on-stage persona, modeled after drag queen aesthetics. - With files from Allison Bamford.
