Chappell Roan Creates Pop Perfection With “Good Luck, Babe!”
Thalia Eyles
Chappell Roan is blessedly back with another highly anticipated hit, “Good Luck, Babe!” In this track, Roan reflects on a past secret relationship with a woman who was struggling with compulsory heterosexuality, resulting in their break up. This song is a continuation of Roan’s characteristic extreme honesty in her work, and of the fun pop-perfection she can inject into that honesty with her music. She is an expert at distilling her emotions into gut-wrenching, scream-in-your-car-inducing music.
Photo by Ryan Clemens
“Good Luck, Babe!” has lush and exuberant instrumentals in a display of synthy 80s rebirth. This nod to 80s musical techniques persists as the song comes to a close with a slow down that distorts the pitch as if the speed were turned down afterward with analog recording devices. She is the future of pop while bringing back the fun and the heart of retro pop.
Roan shows off her vocal range in this track, soaring to soprano notes in the chorus and breaking up the delicate, airy heights with the weight of her powerhouse belt in the bridge. Beyond this, the bridge is dreamy and lyrically scathing but sacrifices none of its catchiness in its brutal honesty. Roan prophesizes a desolate future of grief and regret for the song’s muse. She says everything anyone wants to say when they’ve been wronged: “I told you so.” All I can say is thank god Chappell Roan refuses to bite her tongue.
In “Good Luck, Babe!” Chappell shows herself to be unafraid of putting it out there, and incredibly capable of building the exact musical wonderland she wants. She described the writing process here as “a perfect storm” that culminated in the “big anthemic pop song” that she was seeking as catharsis. Chappell Roan is the most exciting performer out right now, gifting the world with campy heartbreak candy pop, and a level of theatricality that has been largely missing from the music scene today. Her rise is incredible to witness: sold-out shows as support for Olivia Rodrigo, over a million views on her NPR Tiny Desk Concert, and an outstanding debut at Coachella just this weekend.
