Chappell Roan has won a Grammy, performed in front of one of the biggest Lollapalooza crowds of all time and finds no problem establishing boundaries as a rising star. However, one of the “scariest thing[s]” she’s endured was auditioning for The Voice.
In a profile with W Magazine, “The Giver” songstress opened up about her experience as a developing artist before she shot to acclaim last year, which included her throwing her hat in the ring for popular competition TV shows. Roan said she auditioned for The Voice and America’s Got Talent (neither audition was televised), further adding that her tryout on The Voice in particular was less than stellar as a producer didn’t pay her much mind.
“When I auditioned for The Voice, I was 15,” the Grammy winner said. “By the way, when I did the Voice audition, the producer or whoever the f*** was watching did not even look up from his phone.”
During her audition, the best new artist Grammy winner sang Rihanna’s “Stay” a cappella, which she described as “the scariest thing ever.” She added that “he never really looked at me.”
In a March appearance on Call Her Daddy, Roan previously said she was satisfied not being selected to appear on the show. “I didn’t make it on the show, obviously,” she said at the time. “Thank god!”
As for America’s Got Talent, Roan recalled traveling to Austin, Texas when she was 13 to try out for the show, but the results weren’t much better. “[We] waited in line with thousands of people at 4 a.m,” she said. “I sang ‘True Colors,’ by Cyndi Lauper. Did not make it either.”
After years of attempts, Roan finally found prosperity in the industry on her own last year after joining Olivia Rodrigo’s GUTS tour as an opener. After that, she made history at Lollapalooza with one of the “biggest daytime set[s]” for the festival, picked up six Grammy nods and won for best new artist. A superstar in her own right, she’s used her platform to call on of the industry to push for change.