Exclusive Track & Video Premiere: ‘Good Hurt,’ Chappell Roan

PHOTO COURTESY OF CATIE LAFFOON.

Little is known about the 19-year-old singer-songwriter from Willard, Missouri named Chappell Roan, but her first single, “Good Hurt”—which we are pleased to premiere below with its music video—is a strong indicator of her imminent popularity. Her pop sound is infused with a dark and unsettling tone that underscores her intense, somber lyrics, and she has the aesthetic to match it: gothic, feminine, and eerie—all safeguarding the young artist’s mystique.

Although in the video, Roan appears veiled in dark ambiance, undergoing various softly masochistic rituals, she says her music is about emotional honesty and the rawness of being. “When I sing, I want people to feel every emotion. I hope they get a better understanding of me as a human being and not just as a singer,” she confides. “Good Hurt” touches upon the particularly intimate subject of toxic love. Inspired by Roan’s personal experience, it addresses wanting something despite being aware of its detrimental effects. Together with Griffin Stoddard, the video’s director (and Roan’s friend), she found a way to encapsulate her ordeal in stunning, dream-like visions of self-inflicted anguish.

While being close to her heart, “Good Hurt” is also “part of a bigger story that I hope to tell,” says Roan. Her debut EP School Nights is set to be released by Atlantic Records on September 15—the label she’s been signed to since she was a junior in high school—and she cites alt-J, artist Abbey Watkins, and Sofia Coppola‘s new film, The Beguiled, as sources of inspiration. Given such a wide range of interests, combined with striking maturity and surprisingly deep vocals, we expect intriguing material from the blooming artist in the near future. “I want them to know who I am,” promises Roan, and surely, we will.

SCHOOL NIGHTS (ATLANTIC RECORDS) IS OUT SEPTEMBER 15, 2017. IS OUT TKFOR MORE ON CHAPPELL ROAN, VISIT HER FACEBOOK.