When Regina’s Captive Media got a call from representatives of world-renowned singer Chappell Roan, it was an unexpected but welcome surprise. Universal Music Group Canada, who represent Roan, reached out to Captive Meida about filming some Saskatchewan based iPhone footage to help promote her new single, ‘The Subway.’ Roan mentions the province in the song, “If in four months this feeling ain’t gone, well **** this city, I’m moving to Saskatchewan.” “We took it back to the team and were like, ‘We need to do more with this and give them the best that we possibly can.’ So, yeah it was pretty exciting and the whole team was pretty revved up about it,” said Captive Media content creator Jill Dukart. David Senthavong, a recently hired content creator, says he lucked out with this shoot getting to be one of his first with the company. The final product was filmed at the Saskatchewan / Manitoba border, and involved a moving truck, a red wig, a fake Saskatchewan licence plate, and a Welcome to Saskatchewan sign. “It’s something you don’t come across that often, a well-renowned artist around the world, saying Saskatchewan in her song, and saying it correctly, which is great!” Senthavong said. Nathaniel Teed, the Opposition NDP critic for 2SLGBTQ+ issues, has also taken an interest in the Saskatchewan lyric. This week. he penned a letter to Roan’s team about visiting the province. Her Saskatchewan lyric has “sparked unexpected joy” and “a real sense of connection,” Teed said in the letter. “We really just thought this was such a great moment to bring someone with such an international scope to Saskatchewan. So, she wants to move here, we’ll help her buy the house, we’ll show her around, we’ll show her what Saskatchewan folks are made of,” Teed said. Tourism Saskatchewan is also capitalizing on the hype, pairing up local landmarks with some of the pop stars songs. Examples include Pink Pony club featuring Danceland, Hot To Go featuring Mosaic Stadium, and Red Wine Supernova featuring Cypress Hills Interprovincial Park. “Just in the last few days, we’ve had over 230 new mentions in the social media world, and almost 40,000 new social interactions. So, that’s a lot of people thinking about Saskatchewan, a place they may never have heard of before,” said Amy McInnis, Tourism Saskatchewan VP of marketing and communications. The question on many minds now is whether Roan will make an appearance in Saskatchewan. In a 2024 Nardwuar interview, she mentioned that she owes it to the people of Saskatchewan to play a show in the province. Senthavong thinks she will be true to her word. “I fully believe that she will come to Saskatchewan, you have Saskatchewan in your lyrics, so you have to. It honestly would [be] a great opportunity or experience to see her live, especially in Regina, the capital city of Saskatchewan. Having her play here would be a huge thing for us,” he expressed. Time will tell if the Midwest Princess from Missouri will make a stop in the land of the living skies.
