Chappell Roan grabs attention as a popular artist when she announces her opening slot for Olivia Rodrigo’s GUTS World Tour in this TikTok post. The post went viral: she gained 174,100 likes and 6,486 comments. 

In the video, Chappell Roan claims that she is a drag queen—she is a “very campy artist who makes anthemic pop.” She later claims that her “lyrics are pretty raunchy in a campy, fun, slumber party way.” In the background of this video, Roan showcases different outfits from her career, including that of her in angel wings, her dressed up in devil ears and a red outfit, and a pink cowboy outfit. All in the meantime, though, Roan herself talks directly to the camera, without any makeup. 

With this video in mind, Chappell Roan seemingly relies on spectacle to sell herself as a consumer product to audiences on TikTok. She utilizes exaggerated outfits, such as devil ears and a pink cowboy suit, to showcase her artistry, and she even declares herself as a “very campy artist.” The juxtaposition between her cowboy fashion and pink, neon coloration of her hat feels stylistically theatrical and ironic, while the devil ears certainly add to a level of exaggeration and aestheticism. These outfits certainly contribute to her camp style in line with this project’s framework of the term. All in the meantime, though, Roan’s direct-to-camera speech without makeup highlights a contrast between her exaggerated persona and her real human self. She feels more relatable and perhaps ‘authentic’ to her audience through looking like an average human and social media user. Perhaps, this ‘natural’ look enforces life-as-theatre, allowing fans to see that Chappell Roan is playing a role as a musical artist. This irony and theatricality further reflects my definition of camp within her TikTok page. 

Thus, in sum, Chappell Roan’s GUTS Tour announcement video, through utilizing exaggeration and spectacle, transforms her into a consumer product. She specifically strategizes and crafts her social media presence to appear camp in the video, as shown by her outfits, direct-to-camera discussion, and her proclamation of being a “campy artist.” 

In this TikTok post, Chappell Roan sings one of Lady Gaga’s most famous songs, “Bad Romance.” The video gained around 36,000 likes, 264 comments, and over 900,000 views, and it highlights both a unique tie between Gaga and Roan and an example of her use of spectacle to strategically calculate her social media profile. 

The video mainly features Chappell Roan moving around the stage singing Lady Gaga’s song, starting with the verse “I want your horror / I want your design.” Roan stuns in a black and white outfit, along with her familiar red hair. Meanwhile, the caption claims that Lady Gaga is Chappell Roan’s “idol,” hinting that Roan feels a specific connection to Gaga as a musician and person. 

Here, Chappell Roan relies upon Lady Gaga’s image to build upon her own within her TikTok profile. Considering Gaga’s “Bad Romance” is known as a very popular and campy song, Chappell Roan’s cover of the song hints that Roan wants to have an exaggerated, spectacle-based image of her own, inspired by Lady Gaga. Roan, therefore, feels a logical progression from Lady Gaga as an artist. With this specific calculation from Roan, the artist transforms into a consumer product that can be sold to a broader audience. 

In this TikTok post, Chappell Roan’s fans share responses to her music. Although not an obviously viral post, considering it gained 19,900 likes and 77 comments, the video represents how Roan utilizes spectacle within her social media presence to build fandom. 

In the video, the cameraman asks fans, “If Chappell were here right now, what would you say to her?”. Fans had many different responses: some claimed that they are “in love with her,” praise Chappell for being “unapologetically [herself],” and they feel that she is “comfortable with herself and inspires [them] to do the same.” Roan does not appear in the video at all; instead, it exclusively features fans. 

This fan video represents how Chappell Roan builds fandom within her TikTok page, often through direct interaction with her audience—similar to her GUTS Tour announcement video discussed above. The fans’ proclamation that Roan is comfortable being herself highlights how fans appreciate her exaggerated persona built throughout the rest of her TikTok page, in videos such as the “Bad Romance” performance video. She relies on the use of fan responses to validate and assert both her pop star status and camp brand; her feature of a devoted audience garners a sense of community and fandom that can make more consumers interested in Roan and her music. Perhaps, the fans’ claim that Roan inspires them can motivate more audiences to become a supporter. 

As a result of this fan video, Chappell Roan calculates her TikTok page using her camp persona to build fandom. And clearly, the strategy works: the fans seem to love both her and her music.