Femininomenon
| "Femininomenon" | ||||
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| Single by Chappell Roan | ||||
| from the album The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess | ||||
| Released | August 12, 2022 | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 3:39 | |||
| Label |
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| Songwriter(s) | ||||
| Producer(s) |
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| Chappell Roan singles chronology | ||||
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"Femininomenon" is a song by American singer Chappell Roan, released on August 12, 2022 as the third single from her debut studio album, The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess (2023). It was produced by Dan Nigro and Mike Wise. The song became a sleeper hit in 2024, as one of Roan's seven simultaneously charting songs on the Billboard Hot 100, along with "Good Luck, Babe!", "Casual", "Red Wine Supernova", Hot to Go!", "Pink Pony Club", and "My Kink Is Karma".[1]
Background
[edit]Chappell Roan worked with Dan Nigro on the song, writing sections on different days and piecing them together. In an interview with Earmilk, she stated "I've been dreaming of releasing a song like this my whole career. It took years to build up the confidence to even sing in that style." Roan added, "I always try to push myself and how I write pop music. I want to see if I can get away with being as ridiculous as I possibly can. I wanted a dance song. Something people could do drag to. A Queer anthem that had a sad undertone of what really happened to me, but with a beat."[2]
Speaking with Cherwell, Roan described the song as "slumber party pop". When asked about the song's meaning, Roan said, "It's about the confusion I have in relation to my sexual relationships with men. Something is not connecting. I feel like every man I've been with is never satisfying. With a woman, it's easy and different and wonderful. It's a phenomenon. It's a queer song – hidden in there...It's a phenomenon that this magical, perfect scenario somewhere out there exists, and it's probably a woman in my case."[3]
Composition
[edit]The song opens with production consisting of strings[4][5] and piano,[6] as Chappell Roan reflects on an ex-partner who could not satisfy her.[6][5][7] Before each chorus, she gradually increases the melodrama in tone and demands for a song to be played "with a fucking beat".[4][6][5][8] During the chorus, the sound of a dirt bike revving is used in the background,[2] before synthesizers are played.[4] In the spoken-word bridge, Roan encourages women in a similar situation as her ("Ladies, you know what I mean, and you know what you need!").[4][7]
Critical reception
[edit]Emily Treadgold of Earmilk remarked "the song somehow goes in a million different ways but fits together so well" and "It's all so fun and loud but so intricate."[2] Reviewing The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess for AllMusic, Neil Z. Yeung wrote the song "perfectly captures the album's ethos as it transforms from a sweet, string-laden ballad into a pulse-pounding empowerment anthem punctuated by a mid-song pep talk and hilariously escalating adlibs".[4] Hannah Mylrea of NME commented the song as having a "serious earworm of a chorus."[6] Olivia Horn of Pitchfork called it "a Frankenstein's monster that splices stacked vocals à la Lorde, ad libs à la Kesha, a synth that sounds like a groan tube, and the inane lyric 'Get it hot like Papa John!'—perhaps the pizza franchise's biggest pop crossover moment since they plastered Taylor Swift's face on their boxes."[9]
Charts
[edit]| Chart (2024) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Canada (Canadian Hot 100)[10] | 69 |
| US Billboard Hot 100[11] | 66 |
Certifications
[edit]| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| Canada (Music Canada)[12] | Gold | 40,000‡ |
| United Kingdom (BPI)[13] | Silver | 200,000‡ |
|
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone. | ||
References
[edit]- ^ Unterberger, Andrew (2024-08-14). "Is Chappell Roan About to Catch Up to Taylor Swift on the Billboard 200?". Billboard. Retrieved 2024-12-05.
- ^ a b c Treadgold, Emily (August 17, 2022). "Chappell Roan wants to create a "Femininomenon" [Interview]". Earmilk. Archived from the original on 5 September 2022. Retrieved 20 August 2024.
- ^ Ribner, Sonya (2022-08-12). "Slumber Party Pop: A New Authenticity with Chappell Roan". Cherwell. Archived from the original on 2022-09-05. Retrieved 2024-08-20.
- ^ a b c d e Yeung, Neil (September 22, 2023). "Chappell Roan – The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess review". AllMusic. Archived from the original on August 20, 2024. Retrieved August 20, 2024.
- ^ a b c Bennett, Eric (December 28, 2023). "Chappell Roan: No Album Left Behind: Chappell Roan Introduces Her Brazen, Theatrical Self on The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess". Paste. Archived from the original on June 2, 2024. Retrieved August 20, 2024.
- ^ a b c d Mylrea, Hannah (September 22, 2023). "Chappell Roan – The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess review: unabashedly fun anthems". NME. Archived from the original on September 27, 2023. Retrieved August 20, 2024.
- ^ a b Franzini, Sam (September 21, 2023). "Chappell Roan: The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess – big pop smashes lead the way | Pop". The Line of Best Fit. Archived from the original on September 27, 2023. Retrieved August 20, 2024.
- ^ Robinson, Otis (September 22, 2023). "Chappell Roan – The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess review". DIY. Archived from the original on November 16, 2023. Retrieved August 20, 2024.
- ^ Horn, Olivia (September 27, 2023). "Chappell Roan: The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess Album Review". Pitchfork. Archived from the original on January 1, 2024. Retrieved August 20, 2024.
- ^ "Chappell Roan Chart History (Canadian Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved August 23, 2024.
- ^ "Chappell Roan Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved August 23, 2024.
- ^ "Canadian single certifications – Chappell Roan – Femininomenon". Music Canada. Retrieved September 30, 2024.
- ^ "British single certifications – Chappell Roan – Femininomenon". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved November 22, 2024.
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