I will forever be on a high horse about being an early Chappell Roan fan. It was spring of 2021 and my girlfriend (now fiancé) had just finished up grad school in another state. We moved in together into a junior one-bedroom in Brooklyn, and, as she does with every new season of life, she made a Spotify playlist. This is where I first listened to “Pink Pony Club,” and the second great lesbian love affair of my life began.
Over the last few months, Chappell Roan has skyrocketed to being perhaps the most famous pop star in the world. And those of us who were early fans of the self-identified Midwest Princess feel a certain level of prestige — and braggadocio — about it. But regardless of whether you became a Chappell Roan fan yesterday or in 2017, there’s one person who has got us all beat.
Queer Jewish pop star Troye Sivan lowkey discovered Chappell Roan in 2014.
Here’s the story: In November 2014, 16-year-old Chappell released a song called “Die Young” on her YouTube Channel. (At the time, she was releasing music under Kayleigh Rose, her first and middle names.) Soon after, Troye Sivan, a 19-year-old Jewish YouTuber who was just beginning a singing career of his own, tweeted, “i’ve had a 16 year old girl on repeat for 2 months. you HAVE to listen to this, guys – go send some love.” The 16-year-old girl was Chappell Roan and the song he linked was “Die Young.”
The same day, he tweeted again, sharing her Twitter account.”LETS BLOW KAYLEIGH UP BC I HAVENT HEARD A VOICE LIKE THIS SINCE ADELE, NO EXAGGERATION,” he wrote.
The next day, Chappell shared on Instagram that “Die Young” had received a huge bump in views and thanked Troye. “Thank you so much to all who have supported my music and I! Also, thank you so much Troye Sivan,” she wrote in the caption. The pair later met up at some point in 2015 (at an undisclosed location, presumably having a summit on the future of international queer pop stardom), providing us with this photo of baby Chappell, baby Troye and baby Troye’s ex-boyfriend Connor Franta.
Both Chappell and Troye of 2024 are H-O-T-T-O-G-O, but this photo is just plain adorable.
Granted the history of visionary Jews in the music industry — think of the influence of producers like Rick Rubin, Mark Ronson, Jack Antonoff and, unfortunately, even Phil Spector — it’s not totally surprising that a megastar like Chappell Roan had a Jewish musician in her corner early on. But it is pretty special that the biggest gay Jewish pop star in the world right now played a small part in the making of the biggest lesbian pop star in the world right now.
So, todah rabah, Troye. All we need now is a Chappell Roan x Troye Sivan collaboration to bring it full circle.
