Pop sensation and Grammy Award winner Chappell Roan has shared how to pronounce her name correctly.
The 27-year-old songwriter shot to fame with viral hits like Hot to Go and Good Luck, Babe. Pronouncing her name, however, appeared to be a bit of a problem for some fans. Those attending Chappell Roan's gig at West Des Moines in the US on March 17, 2024, may have seen the Red Wine Supernova singer explain how to pronounce her name. Footage of the concert has since been shared to Instagram.
A clip of Roan explaining how to pronounce her name, has since gone viral, racking up over 120,000 likes. The post is captioned: "Chappell Roan teaching you how to properly pronounce her name. March 17th, 2024."
She can be heard saying: "If you've been saying 'shappell rowe-anne,' this is your final warning. It's 'Chappell Roan,' babe." The name pronunciation has split members of the public, with some relieved Roan shared how to pronounce her stage name.
One wrote: "I don't see anything wrong with her correcting the way people pronounce her stage name."
But others suggested Roan was wrong to correct those pronouncing her stage name in any other way. One user suggested: "She actually cares about the pronunciation of her made up name." A user has since pointed out the "made up name" takes inspiration from Roan's grandfather, with David K. Chappell paid tribute to with the stage persona.
Another added: "Why wouldn't she? People get mad when other people mispronounce their usernames or their pet names." A third wrote: "It’s not made up, she named herself after her grandparent. Please don’t be disrespectful. Regardless of where a name comes from, it’s important that people know who you are as an artist."
Chappell's real name is Kayleigh Rose Amstutz, and in a 2022 interview with Oxford student newspaper Cherwell, she confirmed: "I have never felt super connected to my real name Kayleigh. My grandfather's name was Dennis K. Chappell, so I took Chappell in his honour. Before he passed away in 2016 due to brain cancer, I told him that I was going to be Chappell for him."
Other users have confirmed they used to pronounce the name "Shapelle". A Reddit thread from members of the public realising they had been saying the name wrong saw them share how they previously said her name.
One wrote: "I pronounced her name like Shapelle for so long and I don't want to blame myself so I'll blame my grade school French classes."
Another added: "I hate how much I love when the masses pronounce a celebrity’s name wrong. Like when people say Timothée Chalamet like Timothy but he’s said it’s like Tim-oh-tay (sorry if I can’t break down phonetics). And we’ve all been saying Taylor Lautner wrong for decades."
A third said it took attending her concerts to realise they had been saying Roan's name wrong. They wrote: "I got the Roan part right but I am trying to train myself out of saying Shappell lol. I've been calling her that for two years. I didn't even know I was pronouncing her name wrong until I went to the Columbus concert a few weeks ago lol."
English (US) ·