Chappelle Roan debuts new lesbian country song on Saturday Night Live

Its kink is… a country?

Chappell Roan went from the Pink Pony Club to the country club on Saturday Night Live, surprising fans by choosing country in both look and sound for her second number on the show, the premiere of a brand new song, “The Giver.” ” which brings C&W together with LGBTQ+.

“I’m doing my job,” Roan sang in the chorus of the new song, which shares a theme with “Femininomenon,” arguing that pleasing a woman sometimes (or is it always?) is a job best left to another woman.

“All you country boys say you know the right way to threaten a woman,” Roan said during the conversation in the song. “Well, only a woman knows how to treat a woman properly. She gets the job done.”

For her second appearance at the end of the show, Roan was still wearing the large red wig with white stripes that featured her original look when she previously performed her signature song, “Pink Pony Club.” Beyond that, things were different, to the point where Roan’s backing singers and girl band switched to old-school jeans and western shirts, while Roan reappeared in a plaid halter top, short shorts and ​​boots that could almost be straight out of The Dukes of Hazzard.

Except that “Dukes” had little to do with it: Roan clearly celebrated the Duchesses of Hazzard, using mildly risqué lyrics about partners who give and receive, and assurances that “it’s just in my nature to see it as a taker” and “you don’t need to rush.”

Cartoon bears and other animated forest animals watched as Roan’s band, suddenly playing a violin, drove the village bully home.

Although the title of the song was not revealed prior to its “SNL” debut, the show subsequently posted part of the performance on social media with a caption saying it was called “The Giver.”

Last week, Roan posted a photo of herself wearing the LP cover of her debut album and suggested in the caption that it was about to be replaced by a new one, although no hints were offered as to its recording or release schedule. But her producer and co-writer Dan Nigro gave a clue to how the second album is going in a recent interview with the New York Times, saying they’ve recorded five tracks so far and noting that one of them was “fun and fun.” -uptempo country song” featuring “fiddle… a new version of Chappell.”

Previously on “SNL,” Roan performed “Pink Pony Club” and muted the microphone for the final chorus so the studio audience could sing along on her behalf. The show’s sound engineers may have turned up the ambient sound more than usual, but judging by the volume of the sing-alongs coming through the televisions, it sounded like the entire audience might have been dedicated Roan fans.

Roan’s performance was 13 years in the making, or at least dreamed of. Earlier this week, she posted on her social media a screenshot of a Facebook post she made in April 2011, when she was 13, under her pre-stage name Kaylee Amstutz, prophetically reading: “I’m determined to be on SNL.”

Roane’s move towards country is likely a one-off rather than a significant change in direction, as Nigro indicated in his New York Times interview that only one of the songs they worked on for the second album was a country number. Either way, she’s one of several major pop acts to dip their toes into the genre recently: Beyoncé and Post Malone released country-themed albums this year, and Lana Del Rey has been working on one for a while. .

Roan’s new song is certainly not the first lesbian country song. Among them is the Highwomen’s “If She Ever Leaves Me,” and points of comparison in this growing subgenre may be a talking point when Brandi Carlile moderates a discussion with Roan and Nigro in Los Angeles this week.

Now the big question is: will Roane be invited to do his job on the Grand Ole Opry?