Chappell Roan has finally blessed the world with a studio version of “The Giver” after debuting it on Saturday Night Live last year.
The “Hot to Go” singer, 27, debuted her new single on Thursday, March 13, after weeks of teasing it via billboards across America.
“Dan Nigro and I wrote this together and it was so fun!!! We’ve never done a country song and I have such a special place in my heart for country music,” Roan explained in an email to fans announcing the single’s release date earlier this month. “I grew up listening to it every morning and afternoon on my school bus and had it swirling around me at bon fires, grocery stores and karaoke bars.”
The Grammy winner went on to address speculation that “The Giver” means her next LP will be more country than pop.
“Many people have asked if this means I’m making a country album???” she wrote. “My answer is.. hmm right now I’m just making songs that make me feel happy and fun and The Giver is my take on c—ry xoxo may the classic country divas lead their genre, I am just here to twirl and do a little gay yodel for yall.”
Roan further discussed her inspiration in an interview with Apple Music set to air Friday, March 14.
“I think I have a special relationship to where I’m from because of country music,” she said in a teaser clip, referring to her Missouri hometown. “And so to kind of honor that part of myself by making a country song, where it’s like, ‘You know what? Yes, I’m gay. And yes, I am ultra pop. Yes, I am a drag queen.’ That can also be who can also perform a country song.”
Roan also acknowledged the rich history of drag performers singing (and lip-synching) to country classics.
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“There are a lot of drag queens who do country music all over the world,” she said. “Name a girl who hasn’t done [Carrie Underwood’s] ‘Before He Cheats.’ Name a girl that hasn’t done [Shania Twain’s] ‘Man! I Feel Like a Woman!’”
Roan debuted “The Giver” for the first time during her stint as the musical guest on the November 2, 2024, episode of SNL. Fans have since been eagerly awaiting the song’s official version, her first release since last year’s single “Good Luck, Babe!”
Last month, Roan won her first Grammy, taking home the trophy for Best New Artist during the February 2 ceremony. While accepting the award, the pop star gave a rousing speech calling out record labels.
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“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 and health care, especially to developing artists,” she said. “Because I got signed so young, I got signed as a minor. When I got dropped, I had zero job experience under my belt, and like most people, I had a difficult time finding a job in the pandemic and could not afford health insurance.”
She continued, “It was so devastating to feel so committed to my art and feel so betrayed by the system. If my label would have prioritized artists’ health, I could have been provided care by a company I was giving everything to.”
“Labels, we got you,” Roan said in conclusion, “but do you got us?”
