Chappell Roan, centre, performs Pink Pony Club during the 67th annual Grammy Awards in February.Chris Pizzello/The Canadian Press
American pop star Chappell Roan is creating excitement in an often-overlooked Canadian province, with her latest single supercharging fans in Saskatchewan’s LGBTQ community.
In Roan’s new song about post-breakup frustration, set for release late Thursday, the singer-songwriter name-drops Saskatchewan.
“I made a promise, if in four months this feeling ain’t gone … I’m movin’ to Saskatchewan,” she sings in a snippet of The Subway.
Politicians, drag queens and the province’s tourism agency have taken note – hoping the Midwest Princess will put on a show in the land of living skies.
“I’m a huge Chappell Roan fan,” said Blake Tait, co-chair of Saskatoon Pride.
“It’s so healing to a younger me that I can listen to the radio and hear queer voices. I think Chappell Roan does it in a really interesting way that merges different genres.”
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Tait said he made a bumper sticker with Roan’s Saskatchewan lyric last year, after she sang the song live at the Governors Ball Music Festival in New York.
“I think every drag queen in Saskatoon has emailed her management saying, ‘Come, please,’” he said.
Roan, who identifies as a lesbian, is known for her camp and drag queen-influenced style. Last year, the Pink Pony Club singer told celebrity interviewer, Nardwuar, she owes the province a show.
“I can’t sing a song about Saskatchewan and not go there and play a show,” she said.
A representative for Roan didn’t respond to a request for comment.
Andromeda Eremondi, chair of Prince Albert Pride, said she would welcome a Roan performance in Saskatchewan. Lyrics in the Roan song Red Wine Supernova inspired Eremondi to dress up as a werewolf for Halloween.
“There’s been talk in my circles of seeing Saskatoon becoming a queer mecca, in at least Western Canada, so what better way to make that step than one of the most openly queer pop artists making a stop here?” she said.
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In a promotional online video for The Subway, red hair flies out the window of a U-Haul truck as it passes a Welcome to Saskatchewan sign, with a bright yellow canola field in the distance.
Tourism Saskatchewan said in a statement it’s planning content that explores the province based on favourite Chappell Roan songs.
“It’s a fun way to connect fans with the landscapes and experiences that echo the emotion and energy of her music,” the agency said.
“Whether it’s heartbreak or just a craving for wide-open skies and warm-hearted people, we’re always ready to be the perfect escape.”
Tait said the single comes as those in the transgender community have felt under attack by the Saskatchewan government.
In 2023, Premier Scott Moe’s Saskatchewan Party government passed legislation preventing children under 16 from using different names and pronouns at school without parental consent. In the law, Moe invoked the notwithstanding clause, a provision that allows governments to override certain Charter rights for five years.
Moe also said during the 2024 provincial election campaign that it would be his first order of business to ban “biological boys” from being with “biological girls” in school change rooms. He later backtracked.
“[Roan visiting Saskatchewan] would do a ton for the queer community,” Tait said.
“It’s hard to watch our queer youth get forced back into the closet or be forced out of the closet.”
A spokesperson from Moe’s office declined to comment on Roan’s new song.
Nathaniel Teed, the Opposition NDP critic for LGBTQ issues, wrote to Roan’s management this week asking her to visit.
Her Saskatchewan lyric has “sparked unexpected joy” and “a real sense of connection,” Teed said in his letter.
The NDP has criticized the province’s pronoun legislation, arguing it should be scrapped.
“Our vision is a collaboration with Chappell that offers an unapologetic middle finger to bigotry and signals to queer and trans people across this province – especially youth – that they are not alone,” Teed wrote.
