As an entertainment journalist, I’ve come to accept that there are many celebrities I wouldn’t want to be friends with. They tend to be out of touch, self-absorbed, or just painfully corny. But one of my favorite guilty pleasures is uncovering famous people’s secret playlists and judging them based on their taste in music. When Ayo Edebiri’s Spotify leaked this summer, with playlists featuring amazing titles like “having a mental breakdown but I’m like 11” and “ode to a perfect flop era,” I was overjoyed to find out she listens to Nourished by Time and Chanel Beads, two of my faves. She’s also into Liturgy, Fievel Is Glauque, and L’Rain, putting her automatically in the “would befriend” category.
Now, the latest celebrity to have their private playlists exposed is Chappell Roan—and unsurprisingly, the Midwest Princess has impeccable taste. I stumbled upon Chappell’s Spotify leak after a TikTok by Bess Atwell popped up on my FYP, in which the singer-songwriter shared that Roan had included her song “Co-op” in a playlist titled “production inspo,” created back in January 2020 under an account named karorun. Whether Chappell intentionally displayed her personal account under her artist page or not, getting a peek behind the curtain at the creative process of one of pop’s biggest voices is astounding.
I’ve long suspected that Chappell’s meteoric rise comes from her knack for drawing inspiration from beyond the confines of mainstream pop. Her “production inspo” playlist confirms it. The eclectic artists she listens to prove she has a voracious appetite for music, paying attention to obscure acts (or at least unknown to the average person) that I am willing to bet the likes of Tate McRae and Addison Rae have never even heard of. It’s wild to see experimental indie acts such as Nicolas Jaar, Porches, Blue Ranger, and Spirit of the Beehive show up as sources of inspiration for a major pop act. Chappell also seems to have an affinity for folk-leaning artists like Jana Horn, Andy Shauf (also featured in Chappell’s “Writers Me Likes” playlist), and early Bon Iver. And if her inclusion of film scores by Italian composers Alessandro Alessandroni and Stelvio Cipriani is any indication, Chappell might be on her way to revealing herself to be a cinephile like Charli XCX. There are some expected—and unexpected—classics in the mix, too: The Replacements, The The, Visions-era Grimes, The Magnetic Fields, Joni Mitchell, Liz Phair, and post-Pinkerton Weezer.
She has other interesting playlists, like “SGUMG IDEAS,” which appears to feature a collection of tracks that had the vibe Chappell wanted to tap into while making “Super Graphic Ultra Modern Girl” for The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess. Unsurprisingly, given that it’s a dancey pop banger, that playlist doesn’t go the indie route, instead featuring Lady Gaga, Tove Lo, The Weeknd, Ariana Grande and Demi Lovato.
My favorite discovery from Chappell’s playlists, besides finding out about shared love for SPIRIT OF THE BEEHIVE, was her inclusion of kitty ray (fka kitty pride) in a playlist devoid of a title—instead only featuring emojis of a monkey, a rainbow, and sparkles. Kitty is an internet legend who’s been out of the spotlight solo as she joins her husband, Sam Ray (aka Teen Suicide), on his projects but made sheer, campy pop perfection of her own, and she deserves the recognition.
Chappell hasn’t added anything to her Spotify since 2024, making me hopeful that she’s dropped the streaming service following their multiple controversies, including its CEO Daniel Ek’s involvement in AI military software company, Helsing, and running ads supporting ICE. But her account’s easy visibility on her artist account leads me to believe she wants fans to have access to it, whether to let them into the behind-the-scenes of her creative journey or to merely introduce them to new music outside cookie-cutter pop. Regardless of the why, some kid’s world is about to be rocked by ENTERTAINMENT, DEATH. Thank you for your service, Chappell.
Tatiana Tenreyro is Paste‘s associate music editor, based in New York City. You can also find her writing at SPIN, NME, PAPER Magazine, The A.V. Club, and other outlets.
