Chappell Roan Releases New Single, “The Subway,” One Year After Its Live Debut

Written by Heidi K. Schoderbek

After teasing it for over a year, Chappell Roan finally dropped her highly anticipated single, “The Subway,” on Thursday night. Just a few hours later, the song’s music video was released on YouTube on Friday morning. 

Roan first performed the ballad during her viral performance at the 2024 Governor’s Ball, where she dressed as the iconic Statue of Liberty before changing into a taxicab-inspired outfit. The song features all the things Roan does best—heartbreaking lyrics, dreamy visuals, and dramatic instrumentation that’s as expressive as her vocals. The Missouri-native introduced the song as the “cousin” of “Casual,” the fourth single released from her debut album, The Rise and Fall of the Midwest Princess.

“The Subway” debuted at the No. 1 spot on the Global Spotify chart, earning her biggest streaming debut on Spotify and surpassing Sabrina Carpenter’s “Manchild” as the biggest debut for a female artist’s song in 2025. 

Shot in New York City and directed by Amber Grace Johnson, the music video captures Roan in full heartbreak mode—running through NYC’s iconic subway stations and streets in a floor-length red wig, searching for the girl that got away. 

In April, Chappell opened up to Bowen Yang and Matt Rodgers of “Las Culturistas” about her struggle to perfect the song’s studio recording. She said, “I’ve been banging my head against the wall with ‘The Subway’ because… some songs just work live—certain things can work live, and they do not work in the studio.” 

The singer wrote on Instagram, “I’m very proud of this song & what a journey she has been on… I def ripped my hair out trying to figure out the puzzle of how this song should feel musically and visually and emotionally, luckily there are some to spare.” 

The dreamy pop ballad is the third single to be released ahead of Roan’s untitled sophomore album (unofficially dubbed CR2 by fans). Earlier this year, the 27-year-old surprised fans with her first country song, “The Giver,” which debuted at No. 5 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. CR2’s lead single, “Good Luck Babe,” became her breakout hit, peaking at No. 4. 

Since then, Roan has been on the rise. The Missouri native blew up last spring with her epic performances at festivals like Coachella, Gov Ball, and Lollapalooza. Videos of the singer performing in her signature drag-inspired outfits and makeup, embellished with butterfly wings, gold-fringed shoulder pads, and Lady Liberty-inspired headpieces, went viral. Her impressive vocals, attention-grabbing stage presence, and catchy songs filled with cheeky X-rated one-liners won over fans and catalyzed her rise to stardom. Soon after, songs from her debut album, released in 2023, like “Hot To Go,” “Red Wine Supernova,” and “Femininomenon,” climbed the Billboard Hot 100 chart. 

The “Pink Pony Club” singer recently announced a series of pop-up shows in New York, California, and her home state, Missouri. The mini tour, dubbed Visions of Damsels & Other Dangerous Things, will run this fall, from September 20th to October 11th. 

Stream “The Subway” on Spotify.