This year nearly 500,00 people came to Austin’s ACL. The headliners of this year included Chappell Roan, Benson Boone, Tyler, the Creator, Chris Stapleton, and Dua Lipa. Their music displays a wide range of voices, sounds, and production. But what about the music itself?
Chappell Roan has certainly made a name for herself in the last year, only really gaining popularity with her single Good Luck, Babe! in 2024 and has since exploded in the media since.
Her music is popular for a reason. It’s fun, dynamic, and somehow manages to balance the resurgence of pop music and the deep feeling she conveys in her music. It’s such an important time for fun. We’ve experienced times of division and isolation, stemming from the early days of lock-down. Music is, and always will be, a way to unite cultures and lifestyles.
Chappell Roan’s boom in popularity is evidence of a society that has been taking itself too seriously for too long. The need to perform, to be bigger than you are, is illustrated in her first album, The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess. It’s impossible to truly take into account the quick rise in popularity or Chappell Roan.
In April, Roan had one million mostly listeners on Spotify. Now, she has 45 million. This rapid rate of success would have a detrimental effect on anyone’s mental health. We’ve heard stories of the rise to fame, and, more importantly, the fall. Roan isn’t without her fair share of criticism, but her music reflects the human qualities that she shares with her listeners. Her popularity stems from implied understanding, a unity that we relate to.
So, when the collective sees Roan as acting against them, anger is amplified. But when we fail to see celebrities as humans, we fail to truly accept the nuance of their work. Chappell Roan is a musician for the people, and her music exemplifies the need we all feel. The need for connection.
Benson Boone is another artist that we’ve seen grow in fame and influence over a short period of time. A fan favorite at the Dispatch, Boone is a one-man-boy band who took the stage on Saturday on the first weekend of ACL.
Controversially, I’m not the biggest Benson Boone fan. I find his songs repetitive and frustrating. That’s not to say that I don’t understand the appeal. Boone is forging an identity in the music industry, and his newest album reflects that. And yet, it lacks substance. It has character that’s borrowed from some other song on the tip of your tongue. The vocals are impressive yet underwhelming, and the weepy tone of his songs doesn’t do anything for me.
His placement in ACL makes sense. He’s a rising star, not without reason, but I found myself just as unimpressed with my third listen as I did my first.
Dua Lipa is an artist that has maintained her relevance for an impressive amount of years. She rose to fame in 2017 with her self-titled first album. Her music is an inescapable kind of dance pop. I can sing her most popular songs word for word but couldn’t tell you who wrote them.
One difference in Dua Lipa isn’t her lack of popularity, but her lack of a cult-following that we see with so many mainstream celebrities. This is due, in part, to her lack of interaction with fans or world-building beyond her music. She is a popular celebrity that remains mostly out of the public eye.
Her music has a tendency to sound repetitive especially after the first listen, but this doesn’t take away from the overall enjoyment. Dua Lipa is a great artist in moderation. She exists as an artist that’s fun enough, disco enough, and celebrity enough. Her set-list is fun, memorable, and nostalgic. What she creates beyond that mold is to be determined.
When I was ten years old, my hamster Avocado died. I played Chris Stapleton’s Tennessee Whiskey at his funeral. I hadn’t really listened to his music since then.
Honestly, I was surprised. I really enjoyed Stapleton’s set-list. It has a solid beat to it, and an interesting theme that isolates it from other modern country music. On principle, I don’t love modern country music. Being raised on Willie Nelson and Brooks and Dunn has made me a somewhat intense country music purist. And yet, this was a fun mix of music. It felt deep, soulful, and interesting. It reminded me of the San Antonio rodeo and cooked salmon.
Tyler, the Creator, will always be a crowd favorite. He’s like licorice and Wes Anderson movies, you either love him or you hate him. You either get it or you don’t. He’s one of those artists that still feel underground. When I listen to his music, I feel like the only person on earth. That’s what I love about his music. It’s immersive. I’ve spent countless hours watching fan theories on his albums, piecing together the narrative he creates. All of his albums are interesting, and what else can a musician hope to be but interesting? Tyler, the Creator is a captivating example of both a musical and social oddity. He wears colorful statement pieces, has an affinity for waffles, and creates enriching music that millions of people love. His persona is almost as relevant as his music.
Well, this year’s line up is nothing if not diverse. It’s a good mix of new voices and familiar favorites. It’s also impossible to truly take into account how important social media is in the discovery and fame of musicians.
Chappell Roan and Benson Boone are great examples of this. Both artists spread like wildfire after their music started trending on social media. This attention has both created and destroyed artist’s careers and the ever present influence of “spreading the word” can be both a blessing and a curse. These rapid rises in fame are a product of this attention, contributing to the overnight success stories that were displayed in ACL 2024.
This most recent ACL weekend shows the excitement that pop lovers worldwide are feeling. As new names emerge and old names come back in style, it’s no surprise that dance music is making a resurgence.
We aren’t just seeing this in pop genres, though. This year we’ve seen new music from artists like Kendrick Lamar, Beyoncé, Ye & Ty Dolla $ign. Despite your individual opinions of these projects, each new single and album contributes to an evolution of music that we’re seeing at double speed.
Music has recently felt bigger than ever, creating movements like Brat Summer and viral stars like Chappell Roan. Still, I’m left wondering how it’s possible for artists to seemingly slip under the radar. What truly defines an instant pop star?
It’s no secret that we are divided, not even just as a country or a state or a school. There’s an inner division within our own character. Social media has brought us beautiful things, but the constant surveillance can feel all-consuming. There’s a sort of stigma around pop music, an elitism that we can all fall victim to.
Ultimately, music has the ability to change that. What may seem like a random assortment of trending artists is, in reality, a reflection of new voices that break away from the framework of what is considered “good music.”
Another shift is in the tone of new music. As a society, we aren’t in the mood for heartbreak or sappy love songs. New artists are coming out with exciting new music that shows a cultural shift in the type of music we yearn for. We see Chappell Roan wearing dramatic drag looks and marvel at Sabrina Carpenter’s exciting new shows. This is what we crave.
I may hate Benson Boone. His music may irritate me, his publicity may irk me. And yet, people gain popularity for a reason. Benson Boone was once a young artist that wanted to make it big. Despite my somewhat harsh criticism, Benson Boone was chosen by the people that saw something in him.
And how can you be a hater of progress?
