Chappell Roan is having a moment right now, but she really started her career years ago and has been putting in the hard work to get to where she is now. While she may seem like an overnight success, it takes years to get to that point. To give Chappell her much-deserved props, here are her best covers from her early career.
Videos by American Songwriter
[RELATED: Chappell Roan Kind of “Hoping” She Doesn’t Win a GRAMMY: “I Won’t Have to Do This Again!”]
Chappell Roan Covers Fleetwood Mac, Elton John, the Cranberries, and More
“Yesterday” — The Beatles
Chappell Roan accompanies herself on the keyboard for these covers from 2018, and begins with the subdued and solemn “Yesterday.” She showcased her higher register vocals and the emotion she’s able to bring out in her voice. This is also an early introduction to her vocal flip technique, where she switches abruptly from her chest voice to her head voice. This stylistic embellishment sounds a little like a yodel. While some listeners have criticized her for this, claiming that her voice “breaks,” it’s actually a consciously stylized technique that takes practice and skill.
“Dreams” — Fleetwood Mac
Chappell, once again on keyboard, abandoned the swaying groove of the original “Dreams” and transformed it into a mellow, almost sad version. It’s interesting to think that maybe Chappell’s interpretation of this song was how Stevie Nicks felt emotionally when she wrote it. Nicks wrote the lyrics to “Dreams” in about 10 minutes, as a response to Lindsey Buckingham’s “Go Your Own Way” while they were breaking up. She has spoken about “Go Your Own Way” as being “horrifying,” highlighting the way Buckingham portrayed her as just wanting to “shack up.” However, on “Dreams,” Nicks wanted there to be a moment where things come clean and they could move on—”When the rain washes you clean you’ll know.”
“Dreams” — the Cranberries
In this video, Chappell Roan looks right at home performing a gig to a small crowd. She performed “Dreams” by the Cranberries here, which beautifully showed off her prowess and that distinct vocal flip. Dolores O’Riordan also dabbled in the vocal flip, especially during her wordless vocalizations in the middle of “Dreams.” Chappell’s backing band added more of a steady drumbeat to the cover, which pumped it up from the hazy, dreamy original into something more structured.
“Your Song” — Elton John
This song is timeless, but Chappell breathed youthful life into it with her cover. There’s a delightful joy in her voice as she sings. While she’s simply accompanying herself on keyboard which usually creates a solemn backdrop for a slower song, she brings out the happiness in this love song. The sound in this video isn’t as good as her other covers, and it feels like she was just getting the hang of her recording setup, but she still manages to create a beautiful cover of “Your Song” that would make Elton John proud.
Featured Image by Richard Isaac/Shutterstock
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