NME’s flagship franchise The Cover turns one this month! Join us in celebrating our cover series and the emerging talent it spotlights by going behind the scenes of select Cover stories – here, ascendant pop star Chappell Roan.

Whenever Chappell Roan creates anything – be that music, videos, or photoshoots – she thinks about her younger self. “I just think, ‘What would 10-year-old Kayleigh want, or want to dance to?’” she explains. It’s a question that has been incredibly powerful for the 26-year-old pop icon-in-waiting. Reflecting on what she would have wanted in her youth has allowed Roan to connect with her inner child. “Once I [did that], my whole career changed.”

When NME catches up with Roan, she’s on the road as the support act for Olivia Rodrigo’s ‘Guts’ tour – just one example of the big moves she’s making right now. She’s set to headline London’s 5,000-capacity Eventim Apollo later this year, scored huge acclaim for her 2023 debut album ‘The Rise And Fall Of A Midwest Princess’, and has landed her first cover girl moment with NME.

“I’ve never been on the cover of anything, and it’s such a cool first cover,” she says excitedly. “NME always has the cool girls, so it’s iconic to be part of that.” For the shoot, she took her usual desire to “look like a drag queen” and added a cheeky British twist. “I’m wearing the Union Jack shirt,” she says of one look. “I was just like, ‘Let’s make it camp and make a nod to the Spice Girls and Ginger Spice’s dress!’”

Back to that all-important question: what would 10-year-old Kayleigh make of The Cover? “I think she would be very shocked,” Roan laughs. “First thing, she’d be shocked that I dyed my hair red, and then she’d be shocked that I’m on a cover!”

The Interview

“Chappell is such an incredibly colourful artist to write about,” says Nick Levine, the journalist who profiled Roan for The Cover. His piece, though, not only captured the artist’s fun side, but explored more personal topics, including her upbringing and journey with her sexuality. “She’s a pretty open person, so I expected some discussion of her upbringing to come up naturally, but I’m always conscious of broaching personal matters in a sensitive way – we shouldn’t expect artists to ‘parcel up’ past trauma for our consumption.”

For Levine, Roan is “the most exciting new pop star in the world right now” and an artist who is having an impact on young, queer fans. “I also think it’s really interesting that she sees her peers as being drag queens as opposed to other LGBTQI+ pop artists,” he adds.

The Photos

Kristen Jan Wong describes her The Cover photoshoot with Chappell Roan as “spontaneous, dynamic, and theatrical”. While working together, the photographer and artist dove into the different personalities that combine to make Roan who she is. “It was really fun adjusting to and capturing how we felt each look’s character would be,” Wong says. “We shot in a studio with multiple set-ups, and it really felt like a play as we moved from each area, character to character, unfolding who makes up the artist Chappell Roan.”

Of all the images that came out of the day, the photographer says the shot of Roan flexing her arm, an imprint of her red lipstick smudged on her bicep, is her favourite. “It’s cheeky, and it gives off the energy of a nonchalant pop star ready to take on the world.”

The Art Direction

For Simon Freeborough, working on the Chappell Roan shoot was “an absolute dream” – so much so that choosing a photo for the cover image was incredibly hard, thanks to Wong’s shots and the artist’s styling. “Any one image could have made an amazing cover, but in the end, the confident throne-style shot just felt iconic,” he explains.

With the image selected, he created his own typography using studs that matched Roan’s belt and shot it in his studio, adding some red leather: “[It] tied in with her belt and gave it a playful edge to further reflect the personality and energy [in the shot],” he says. Freeborough’s verdict on the result is that it’s superlative: “One of my favourite covers I’ve ever had the pleasure of putting together.”

A version of this story appeared in NME Magazine’s March/April 2024 issue, which featured Chappell Roan on the cover