Chappell Roan recalls auditions for The Voice and America’s Got Talent: “It was the scariest thing ever”

"The producer or whoever the fuck was watching did not even look up from his phone" The post Chappell Roan recalls auditions for The Voice and America’s Got Talent: “It was the scariest thing ever” appeared first on NME.

May 1, 2025 - 10:36
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Chappell Roan recalls auditions for The Voice and America’s Got Talent: “It was the scariest thing ever”

Chappell Roan (2024), photo by Kristen Jan Wong

Chappell Roan has opened up on her previous auditions with The Voice and America’s Got Talent.

The singer recounted her memories to W Magazine, where they asked her what she sang for her auditions.

In response, Roan shared that she she was 15 when trying out for The Voice, and sang ‘Stay’. She went on to add: “That was when the Bruno Mars song ‘When I Was Your Man’ was really big, and I thought I was so unique in switching it around and singing ‘When you were my man’ and making it about gender. But every girl was like, ‘I’m switching it around.'”

However, Roan also said that her performance was ignored at the audition, claiming that “the producer or whoever the fuck was watching did not even look up from his phone. He was like, ‘Okay, next.’ And I went up there and sang a cappella, the scariest thing ever. He never really looked at me.

Roan also told the magazine about her audition for American’s Got Talent, where she was aged just 13. “We flew to Austin, Texas, and waited in line with thousands of people at 4 a.m.,” she recalled. “I sang ‘True Colors’, by Cyndi Lauper. Did not make it either.”

Chappell Roan (2024), photo by Kristen Jan Wong
Chappell Roan. Credit: Kristen Jan Wong for NME

Roan recently announced a huge outdoor summer show in Scotland, which will take place at the Royal Highland Showgrounds in Edinburgh – visit here for tickets.

The show will follow her Reading and Leeds headline slot alongside Travis ScottBring Me The Horizon and Hozier, and will precede her Electric Picnic slot over in Ireland.

See all of Chappell Roan’s UK and Ireland dates for this summer below:

Chappell Roan’s outdoor UK and Ireland shows for this summer are:

AUGUST
22 – Reading, Richfield Avenue
23 – Leeds, Bramham Park
26 – Edinburgh, Royal Highland Showgrounds [NEW]
29 – County Laois, Electric Picnic

We last caught up with Chappell Roan when she graced The Cover, where she told us about her sold-out shows at London’s iconic LGBT+ venue Heaven: “That was so affirming for me because Heaven is famously so joyous,” she says. “And I felt honoured to be playing where Freddie Mercury used to party.”

Roan would go on to return for a triumphant three-night residency at O2 Academy Brixton last year, where we wrote in a five star review of the opening night: “The knowledge that Roan could reasonably sell out Wembley at this point makes tonight even more of a special privilege to see her in such an intimate space. From the moment she struts in, it’s undeniable that Chappell Roan is the ultimate pop star.”

Recently, Chappell Roan was praised by Amyl and the Sniffers’ Amy Taylor as a “queer drag icon”. 

Along with Charli XCX, who Taylor said was “lyrically super strange and unusual”, Roan was hailed for “breaking so many boundaries for pop”.

“At the moment, pop is in a really interesting space,” Taylor said. “Like we were talking about, the world is so crazy and it is a weird state of affairs, to say the least. And I think sometimes, tuning out with some pop music is kind of relieving. It’s like watching TV that isn’t like a documentary, but more like watching The Simpsons.”

In other news, watch Ed Sheeran cover Chappell Roan while disguised as an emo in New York subway.

The post Chappell Roan recalls auditions for The Voice and America’s Got Talent: “It was the scariest thing ever” appeared first on NME.