We are blessed to be living in the era of Chappell Roan

I’ve seen my fair share of shows at Forrest Hills Stadium in Queens, but the energy for Chappell Roan’s was electric. It felt as if every single queer person (and a few of their straight friends) descended upon this venue in deep Queens, where the singer played a four-show residency during her Vision of Damsels & Other Dangerous Things Tour. This new set of shows marks her first live performance in New York since her appearance at Governor’s Ball last year, which many people will remember as one of the shows that catapulted her to stardom, and where she first sang “The Subway.” In addition to her shows in New York, Roan is also set to perform two nights in Los Angeles and Kansas City, Missouri.

Roan hasn’t been in the States much, mostly putting on shows overseas at festivals like Primavera Sound and the Leeds festival earlier this year. But now, she’s made her way back for the first time in a while and it’s clear that her fans were clamoring for her return—especially me, who hasn’t seen her since she performed at Brooklyn Steel, a venue that has a max capacity of 1,800 people, whereas Forest Hills holds up to 13,000. The dichotomy between the two venues is staggering, just like the energy in the room.

Standing on the general admission floor in the stadium, I thought about the difference—not only in venue size but the people that came to see her perform. Since I saw her last, she’s won a Grammy for Best New Artist; performed on Saturday Night Live; made her Met Gala debut; and released three songs: “Good Luck, Babe,” “The Giver,” and “The Subway.”

Her meteoric rise is inspirational not only because she’s out and is being showered with praise for her explicitly queer music, but because she’s been able to weather the storm of utter bullshit that gets thrown her way when it comes to the pitfalls of being a celebrity. Social media users have tried to tear her down for opinions that, while they might have liked the way she phrased it, is not harmful. She’s been seen as abrasive for standing up for herself when a photographer accosted her on a red carpet, but many celebrities including JADE, who performed as an opener for a few of Roan’s shows in Europe, told Out in a recent interview that she feels more celebrities should stand up for themselves and emulate more of her confidence. “I’ve spent so many years of paps and photographers shouting so much shit at me and I just wanted to be able to say, ‘Fuck off,'” the girl group member turned solo artist said.

She continued, “I think sometimes people’s critique of Chappell is doused in a little bit of misogyny, because if that was a guy saying those things, I don’t think anyone bat an eyelid. I just have a huge amount of respect for her.”

Roan has always stuck to her guns on her morals and being in the position she is—one of the most in-demand pop stars currently working—she gets to be selective about picking what she does and doesn’t want to do so that she can make sure her heart is always in it. If you’re able to catch her at one of the four shows in the U.S. that she has left on the docket, do what needs to be done to secure those tickets. Watching her sing her music with thousands of people screaming the lyrics back to her at full volume is worth the cost of admission alone.

Moises Mendez II is a staff writer at Out magazine. Follow him on Instagram @moisesfenty.

Voices is dedicated to featuring a wide range of inspiring personal stories and impactful opinions from the LGBTQ+ community and its allies. Visit out.com/submit to learn more about submission guidelines. We welcome your thoughts and feedback on any of our stories. Email us at [email protected]. Views expressed in Voices stories are those of the guest writers, columnists, and editors, and do not directly represent the views of Out or our parent company, equalpride.

This article originally appeared on Out: We are blessed to be living in the era of Chappell Roan