The Giver

Chappell Roan shakes up the country scene with "The Giver," a playful yet provocative track that turns traditional tropes on their head. 

Available via IG @chappellroan © All rights belong to their respective owners. No copyright infringement intended.

Last November, at the peak of a stellar year dominating the charts, Chappell Roan stunned America with her performance on Saturday Night Live. She debuted The Giver, an unreleased track that remained a mystery until just a few days ago. Blending country-western sounds with ironic, non-heteronormative lyrics, the song instantly went viral on TikTok, generating massive anticipation for Roan’s next moves.

Chappell Roan performing The Giver at SNL. Source: Will Heath/NBC via Getty Images © All rights belong to their respective owners. No copyright infringement intended

Rather than capitalizing on the hype immediately, Roan—who has consistently rejected the rigid structures of the music industry—made her fans wait a full four months before they could hear The Giver again. The strategy paid off: when the track finally hit streaming platforms on March 13, listeners already knew its infectious chorus by heart. This led to over 6 million streams in its first 24 hours, and to a top 5 debut on the Billboard Hot100 chart,  solidifying Roan’s status as one of pop’s fastest-rising stars.

But it wasn’t just the delayed release that made The Giver a risky move. Roan’s decision to dive into country—a genre deeply rooted in American conservatism—was a bold choice that left some skeptical.

Some might see Roan’s foray into country as a calculated move rather than a risky one, especially given that major artists like Beyoncé and Calvin Harris have recently embraced Nashville’s influence. However, unlike those experimenting with country for trend-driven reasons, Roan’s deep-rooted connection to the genre makes this shift feel natural rather than opportunistic.

Having grown up in Missouri, Roan was surrounded by country music, making it an intrinsic part of her identity rather than just a passing experiment. She even chose "Roan" as part of her stage name in tribute to The Strawberry Roan, her grandfather’s favorite western song. Claiming the title of "Midwest Princess" comes with an unspoken responsibility to acknowledge country’s roots, but rather than merely paying homage, Roan playfully deconstructs the genre’s conventions. The Giver embraces country staples—twangy banjo, lively fiddle solos, and barroom singalong na-na-nas—but injects them with her signature irreverence and an unmistakably queer perspective.

Perhaps what makes Roan’s take on country so compelling—despite her claim that this is likely a one-time detour rather than a full genre switch—is her ability to subvert its most entrenched stereotypes. Traditional country music often evokes images of hypermasculine men in pickup trucks, cowboy hats, and taxidermy-filled log cabins. The Giver leans into those visuals but flips them on their head, satirizing them with the same irreverence Roan brought to previous tracks like Femininomenon and Super Graphic Ultra Modern Girl. Instead of reinforcing toxic masculinity, The Giver is a full-fledged lesbian anthem that playfully explores queer sexual dynamics.

Hilariously, despite the song’s obvious subtext, not everyone immediately understood its meaning. Many listeners didn’t catch on to Roan’s "giver vs. taker" reference or realize that she was cheekily asserting that women are simply better than men—especially in bed. ('Cause you ain't gotta tell me / It's just in my nature / So take it like a taker / 'Cause, baby, I'm a giver). It wouldn’t be surprising if The Giver becomes a mainstream girl-power anthem, with straight women belting out "She gets the job done" without realizing the song’s true intent.

Chappell Roan as the Lawyer for The Giver billboard campaign. Courtesy of Island Records and Universal Music Group. © All rights belong to their respective owners. No copyright infringement intended

Roan clearly had fun teasing this lesbian country song. Leading up to its release, she launched an eye-catching billboard campaign featuring herself in various professions—construction worker ("she can fix you"), detective ("I know what you are"), and lawyer ("you'll love my briefs")—along with a hotline number, 620-HOT-TO-GO. 

At first glance, The Giver may seem like just a fun, feel-good track—so much so that some have jokingly called it “county” (a play on "c**t") rather than country. But for the sapphic community, it carries a deeper significance. Roan continues to craft a narrative where queer love stories aren’t hidden in subtext or vague allusions—they’re front and center. Her ability to celebrate LGBTQ+ experiences so boldly makes her music a safe haven for many queer listeners.

Of course, Roan isn’t the first pop star to champion queer visibility. And while The Giver doesn’t reinvent the wheel, it fuses a range of influences to create something uniquely hers—something that has been true throughout her career. The track echoes the sounds of mid-'90s and early-2000s country icons like The Chicks and Shania Twain, but with Roan’s unmistakable twist.

With its infectious fiddle-driven melody, The Giver is the kind of song that makes you want to sing at the top of your lungs while stomping your feet. That alone makes it a standout country anthem—but the fact that it flips the script with its unapologetically queer perspective? That’s what makes it a hit.

In the end, The Giver is a testament to Roan’s ability to challenge both music and heteronormativity while having fun in the process. With this track, she doesn’t just dabble in country—she reimagines it from a new and fun perspective. And in doing so, she cements her place as one of today’s most irriverent pop stars.