After much teasing, Chappell Roan has finally released her new song “The Giver.” Inspired by classic pop-country hits like Big & Rich’s “Save a Horse (Ride a Cowboy)” and Alan Jackson’s “Chattahoochee,” the song is Roan’s first new music since releasing the massively successful one-off single “Good Luck, Babe!” last year. Listen to it below.
“I have such a special place in my heart for country music,” Roan said in a press release. “I grew up listening to it every morning and afternoon on my school bus and had it swirling around me at bonfires, grocery stores, and karaoke bars. Many people have asked if this means I’m making a country album??? My answer is…right now I’m just making songs that make me feel happy and fun and ‘The Giver’ is my take on cuntry xoxo may the classic country divas lead their genre, I am just here to twirl and do a little gay yodel for y’all.”
Roan originally debuted “The Giver” as the musical guest on an episode of Saturday Night Live last year. During that performance, Roan wore a pink gingham leather set by designer Zara Bayne—a riff on cowboy buckskins—and performed in front of a green screen with a giant tree and small critters dancing along to the song. A full backing band, including a fiddle player, joined in behind her while dressed in matching western shirts.
Earlier this week, Roan stopped by the podcast Country Heat Weekly to clarify that “The Giver” doesn’t signify a bigger pivot into country full time. “I wrote a country song not to invade country music, but to really capture what I think the essence of country music is for me, which is nostalgia, fun in the summertime, the fiddle, and the banjo feeling like country queen,” she said. “It makes me feel a certain type of freedom that pop music doesn’t let me feel.”
At the 2025 Grammy Awards, Roan performed her The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess song “Pink Pony Club” and took home the trophy for Best New Artist. While on the stage, she used her acceptance speech as an opportunity to call for healthcare reform in the music industry.
Read about “Good Luck, Babe!” at No. 3 in “The 100 Best Songs of 2024.”
