Chappell Roan hits gold again with her latest single "Good Luck, Babe!" released on April 5. The song follows a queer relationships downfall and coming to terms with your own identity, in your own ways.
Background
This is Roan's first single since her debut album last year, “The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess.” Roan wrote the song with Daniel Nigro and Justin Tranter. The song references wishing good luck to someone who is simply denying fate.
“I needed to write a song about a common situationship within queer relationships — where someone is struggling with coming to terms with themselves. It’s a song about wishing well to someone who is avoidant of their true feelings,” Chappell said in a written statement.
Overview
This song screams 80s gay pop, with Roan playing with vocal range flawlessly throughout the song. The lyrics throughout find a situationship where one person is trying to combat their feelings by avoiding reality. Roan sings “You can a hundred boys in bars, shoot another shot, try to stop the feeling,” but throughout the song, it paints the story of wishing someone the best, even when they are avoidant of reality.
Falsettos throughout the chorus keep it vocally interesting, while the bridge knocks the entire song out of the park. We move from airy vocals too strong breathy vocals, that climax at the lyrics “You know I hate to say it, but, I told you so,” being belted by Roan into a riff.
The production of the song is great throughout. In the beginning, you get airy powerhouse vocals that turn into a call in response with background vocals, “Well, good luck babe! (Well, good luck!)," with the ending of the song fading into dizziness. The production of the song sets the scene of the world spinning and then it stops the world from spinning with the lyrics, “You’d have to stop the world just to stop the feeling,” that echoes into the void of Roan's voice.
Verdict
This song wraps a common queer experience into a hug that never lets go, and you can't help but keep it on loop.
I give “Good Luck, Babe!” a 10 out of 10.
