\n<\/p>\n
She writes chart-topping queer love songs, proclaims proud allegiance to the world of drag, draws huge crowds at festivals and is quickly gaining ground on the twin deities of parasocial fandom: Beyonc\u00e9 and Taylor Swift.<\/p>\n
And while Kayleigh Rose Amstutz (Chappell Roan to you) seems as if she came out of nowhere, flame-haired and defiant, it took almost a decade for the 26-year-old pop star, who went from posting pop covers on YouTube to drawing huge crowds at Coachella, to attain overnight stardom.<\/p>\n
Naturally, early shout-outs from Troye Sivan comparing Ms. Roan to Adele were a big help. Yet as adherents of her Pink Pony Club can attest, her upward trajectory has had as much to do with crafting a canny pop image as with garnering celebrity likes. This is clearly underlined in \u201cFaces of Music,\u201d<\/a> a new Hulu docuseries, created in collaboration with Sephora. The show highlights the mechanics of contemporary pop fame and the multiplatform strategies required to achieve it.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n The theme of the series \u2014 which also features the singers Victoria Monet and Becky G \u2014 is the link between beauty and music. That focus mostly entails taking viewers through one of the makeup routines that, in the social media era, are equivalent of oil strikes.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n For her episode, Ms. Roan recreates the makeup she devised for her album, \u201cThe Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess,\u201d which featured the hits \u201cPink Pony Club\u201d and \u201cHot to Go!\u201d More tellingly, she discusses the inner workings of fame creation and how she meticulously constructs her persona in much the way Lady Gaga, with her monster platform shoes and meat dresses, did roughly an eon ago in internet years.<\/p>\n \u201cI am inspired by artists who create ecosystems for their projects,\u201d Ms. Roan says, citing Lana del Rey as a prime example. Ms. Roan\u2019s view may lack some historical perspective (Blondie, Talking Heads and Parliament-Funkadelic, anyone?). Still, the point holds.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Unlike their pop culture predecessors, Ms. Roan and her cohort have an ability to send fans direct to merchandisers. Logically, this might be a cue for collaborations and brand tie-ins. Yet Ms. Roan, who uses her social media accounts to promote specific looks and themes of what fans should wear to her shows \u2014 in ripe and unpublishable language \u2014 has been notably resistant to turning the events into marketing opportunities.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n