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Chappell Roan says her second album ‘doesn’t exist yet’: ‘It’s probably going to take at least five’ years
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- Authors
- Ellise Shafer
- Published
- Aug 4 2025
- Word count
- 352 words
It feels a bit parasocial for me to say this, but I'd much rather she take the time to write & produce a full album if it means she makes something 'authentic'. I enjoy her music (in part) because it seems to stem from her personal life experiences- if what she has going on now doesn't lead to a whole album's worth of songs, then so be it.
It worked out well for Adele, why not Chappell Roan?
Not to sound like an old man, but I kind of miss the days when a cool new artist/band would hit the scene and put out a new album every 12-24 months. Nowadays it seems like 5 year waits are just normal.
Full interview/actual article here.
Thread about this news over on reddit here, top comment calling it "career poison" to wait that long. Don't know much about the music industry but I feel like maybe they are right?
They're sort of right in terms of mainstream appeal and the charts, but plenty of artists have survived with long gaps between releases. Lorde has consistently released an album every 4 years, for example.
I personally cannot fathom why everyone is so negative about this and acting like they're her manager. She has constantly stated that she dislikes fame and fame clearly dislikes her as well from the amount of negativity she's been getting. She's clearly had enough of a successful run that she's comfortable with winding down for a while; not everything has to be optimized and calculated to squeeze as much money and fame as possible.
Also, she just released some great singles (I had Good Luck Babe and The Subway on repeat while reading this) and she'll likely release some more in the years before her next album so I'm not too worried. :-)
Good Luck Babe is the greatest song of the 1980s and I will never stop loving it—if I was 27 and had that as a credit, plus making $10M in the past few years, and didn't really love interviews & fans & touring? yeah I wouldn't be in a big hurry either.
Yes. She 100% does not care and that is her vibe. I would assume her true fans would be fine with that, and they’ll listen to her music on repeat for the next half decade.
She has more money now than almost anyone ever sees in their lifetime. She has no need to ever work again. If her goal was to make as much money as humanly possible as quickly as possible, then yeah her choice probably isn't optimal, but lots of choices she's made aren't optimal for that path.
It should be pretty clear that's not her goal.
No matter how long she waits, at this point any album she releases will make more money than both of my parents made during their entire careers combined. She'll be alright.
Maybe she has nothing to say. Even historically great artists have 2, maybe 3 great albums over an entire career. Usually you find their songs failing to connect because they just don’t have anything to say anymore. Maybe money and fame removes some of the hunger and drive or whatever.
You have your whole life to write your first album and six months for your second, right? I think that's what they told Coldplay at least—turned out they had two good ones but they haven't let that stop them lol
I was going to comment almost the exact same quote (the version I heard is "you have a lifetime to create your first album, and a year to create your second"). I also had no idea that that quote was associated with Coldplay. That mentality has lead to a lot of mediocre second albums that do not live up to the first. I have noticed a growing trend that bands are having larger gaps between the first and second album, and I think that is healthy.
Post-Parachutes is just the first time I heard it; it's been around longer than that, but was definitely apt when no one could imagine how they could top "Yellow." But yeah, if I get to listen to forgettable schmutz in six months or a seminal album in five years, I'm going with that one.
The trick then is surely to pen two albums worth before you release.
Modern albums tend to have a few more tracks on them than in the days of the LP too.
The problem is that sometimes after making it big with your first album, is it opens up new opportunities for both good and bad.
A good example: The Lumineers. After their first album, they waited 4 years to put out their second album, and it is really good. It also has a much higher production quality compared to their debut album, which is probably a result of them getting big and investing in higher production. Also, their lead vocalist probably also invested in some vocal coaching, as his vocals are better on the second album, and maybe they wrote more complex vocal parts as a result (this last bit is purely speculative).
A bad example: Half Alive. Their first album was really good. However, their subsequent works did not have the constraints, and so became very unfocused. In some of their subsequent works, some songs do not feel cohesive and instead just stringing together fun rifts (and I think the tiktok-ifaction of music is on full display). While having access to more gear to create new sounds has potential to create really good new music, it feels more like them having a jam session and trying all the new synths rather than a focused album.
I rank London Grammar's first album as one of my favourite albums. I wore the grooves out of that thing, metaphorically. Their second though? Didn't do anything for me. I've tried, really hard, to like it but I just can't.
Their third? Well, that's much more listenable to me. Didn't hit the heights of the debut album, but I listen to "Californian Soil" (3rd album) when I want to listen to London Grammar now. I'm terrified I'll wear out my love for "If You Wait" (their debut).
I don't know what special occasion or emotional hole I'm waiting for to re-listen to "If You Wait". It's strange, now that I'm writing this down.
OK Go went ten years between albums, so five years doesn't seem like an awful lot.
True. OK Go are also geniuses at marketing. Mostly people know them from their viral music videos so every time they want to drum up publicity, all they have to do is release a new insane music video. They don’t necessarily need a new full album.