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Chappel Roan Makes Saturday Night Live Debut With Queer Country Song

Fans were eagerly waiting to see what songs Chappell Roan would sing in her first performance Saturday Night Live this weekend and got a big surprise when she took the stage.

Introduced by host John Mulaney for her first performance of the night – and her debut appearance on the late-night sketch show ever – Roan delivered a high-energy rendition of her song “Pink Pony Club,” which, fittingly, is about her rise to fame I'm itching to become an artist.

When she took the microphone for the second time during the show, the next song she chose wasn't her catchy hit “Hot To Go” or her deeply emotional songs like “Casual” or “Good Luck, Babe.” Instead, Roan used the big moment to introduce a new, queer country song.

As Mulaney gestured toward the stage again, Roan stood in front of her plaid and western-themed band, also wearing an outfit that could have come straight from Dolly Parton's closet. A violin played while the stage was decorated like a Disney version of the Wild West. Cartoon animals played on a screen in the background as Roan danced around and sang the lyrics to “The Giver.”

The queer song is an ode to pleasure and roans give Nature, with the lyrics saying, “You don't have to tell me/It's just in my nature/So take it like a taker/Cause baby, I'm a giver.” The single's country touch could be an ode to her roots may be in Missouri, where she originally comes from. The pop star takes a cue from the books of other legends before her like Beyoncé and Lady Gaga, both of whom have made music in different genres – including country.

Saturday's show was a big one, not only because of fan favorites John Mulaney and Chappell Roan, but also because Vice President Kamala Harris stopped by to be part of the cold open. Just three days before the 2024 election, Harris had fun “mirroring” Maya Rudolph, who Harris plays on the show almost every week.

Chappell Roan's debut on SNL is one of the many novelties she has experienced this year. Her performances at various music festivals attracted large crowds, her album The Rise and Fall of a Midwestern Princess was number one on vinyl and made its first appearance at the VMAs. The musician recently teased that new music was on the way in an Instagram post featuring her album, with the caption: “The album has kind of fizzled out in my opinion but it's time to welcome a hot new bombshell to the villa .”