Chappell Roan's Official biggest songs in the UK revealed

Chappell Roan's rise has been extraordinary to witness over the last year. 

We've written at length in the past about Chappell's organic (and startling) ascent to glory on the Official Chart last year, one of the best instances last year of seeing pop music's slow-burn finally pay off for artists like Chappell, Charli xcx and Sabrina Carpenter -  who had worked hard in the background for that breakthrough moment. 

And oh, what a breakthrough moment it was. One that shows no signs of slowing down, nearly a year on. Not only is Chappell aiming for her first UK Number 1 single this week with Pink Pony Club (a song that is quickly approaching its fifth birthday) but she's also getting ready to release a long-hyped follow-up single to Good Luck, Babe! the sapphic country banger The Giver. 

So, for the first time ever, we are revealing Chappell's biggest songs ever in the UK. But before the full reveal, let's take a closer look at her Top 5.

5. Casual

Released: 2022
Official Singles Chart peak: Number 44
Total UK chart units: 395,000

Many people may point to the release of Good Luck, Babe! as the point where the needle began to move on Chappell's big pop girl status. But real Chappell heads know that post her dropping by Atlantic in 2020, the release of Casual two years later was the first time that the newly-independent Chappell began to acquire serious viral hype.

One listen to Casual will tell you why - with its eye-grabbing sexual imagery ('knee-deep in the passenger seat and you're eating me out...is it casual now?') and yearning acoustic production that makes it sound like the lost lesbian link between Joni Mitchell and Taylor Swift, originally written by Chappell after an intense online courtship during COVID ended quickly after they met in person for the first time.

4. Red Wine Supernova

Released: 2023
Official Singles Chart peak: Number 31
Total UK chart units: 518,000

One of the pleasures in Chappell's growth as an artist was her steady inclusion of her queer identity in her songs post-Pink Pony Club. Red Wine Supernova was the most overt lesbian anthem in her discography at the time of its release, written all about capturing the 'magic' of Chappell falling in love with another girl. 

Although Red Wine Supernova fizzes with a silly, kinetic energy, it's so throwaway kitsch statement. According to Chappell herself, the song took about three years to perfect. Like so many of her singles, though, it only started to find success on the Official Chart after the release of Good Luck, Babe! last April. 

3. Pink Pony Club

Released: 2020
Official Singles Chart peak: Number 2
Total UK chart units: 620,000

When the epic synth-pop ballad Pink Pony Club was released in 2020, it marked a notable change for its artist. Prior to this Chappell Roan had made moody laments, comparable to the work of Lorde and Lana Del Rey, but this was something much more different. It sounded, and still does sound, like a revelation; Chappell realising, finally, who she really was as an artist.

Pink Pony Club feels epic in its emotional scope; relaying how Chappell, fresh off the proverbial boat from her home state of Missouri to LA, went on a night out to the West Hollywood gay club The Abbey and felt inspired by what she saw there. You could certainly draw parallels between Pink Pony Club and Lana Del Rey's stately, grandiose Ride; although Lana undertakes a physical journey across state lines, Chappell's road-trip is more insular, she's not trekking across country, but coming into herself a queer woman.

Released now nearly five years ago, there's a heavy irony that Pink Pony Club (the song's initial muted reception upon release was a contributing factor to Chappell being dropped by Atlantic) could now be the song that signals Chappell's undeniable superstar status as her first UK Number 1 single. 

2. HOT TO GO!

Released: 2023
Official Singles Chart peak: Number 4
Total UK chart units: 816,000

Easy to learn dance routines - everybody has them! Or at least, they should!

Riffing off Hey Mickey just as much as it does YMCA, HOT TO GO! is an unabashedly fun pop track. The infectious cheer chant chorus is something of a childhood dream realised in the present for Chappell too, it draws on her teenage desire to become a cheerleader. 

A core part of her live show, the HOT TO GO! dance has now become a staple move that everyone can pick up with relative ease. It's also her second-most streamed song in the UK, clocking in nearly 93 million streams at the time of writing.

1. Good Luck, Babe!

Released: 2024
Official Singles Chart peak: Number 2
Total UK chart units: 1.5 million

Nearly a year removed from its initial release, and it's clear to see now that Good Luck, Babe! is the kind of pop song that only comes along a few times in every generation. An anthem that doesn't just have to power to change the trajectory of its artists' career, but transform it entirely. 

The things that made Good Luck, Babe! such an easy phenomenon - the heart-swooning chorus, Chappell's endearing vocal performance, where she sounds like a mix of Kate Bush, Cyndi Lauper and Liza Minnelli, the bridge with enough power to make the world stop while you're listening to it - stand out even further listening to it still. How could anyone have thought that this song wouldn't turn Chappell into a superstar? Any other outcome doesn't seem possible now. 

As you could guess, Good Luck, Babe! is the biggest song of Chappell's career by far in the UK. Peaking at Number 2 on the Official Singles Chart, it's collected 1.5 million total chart units to date. It's most her most-streamed (163 million streams) and most-downloaded (18,000) song too.

Chappell Roan's Official biggest songs in the UK