2024 saw phenomenal new artists sprout up, like TikTok rap sensation Doechii and pop-rock crooner Benson Boone, but one in particular made an impact greater than all the others –Chappell Roan. Few can claim the prestige of having seven singles on theBillboardHot 100 at the same time, which she did in August (viaBillboard), and her Grammy win for Best New Artist in February 2025 made it clear that her blend of campy pop anthems and heartbreakingly queer coming-of-age ballads are resonating with music fans everywhere, from drive-time radio to the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences.
Roan is alsoso much more than a pretty face or phenomenal voice. Her strong stance on dismantling celebrity culture and having healthy boundaries with fans even goes so far as her repeated (and understandable) insistence thatfans only refer to her by Chappell Roan, not any other name, reinforcing the idea that there is space between the public persona and the private individual. Her acceptance speech for her Grammy also rightfully pointed a much-needed finger at the severe wealth disparity among artists of all stripes, especially after streaming platform Spotify slashed artist royalties back in 2023.
With her iconoclastic, unapologetically queer public persona and staunch advocacy for privacy, Roan could be a divisive figure in the music industry, yet insteadshe continually receives respect and recognition from fellow artists. Plans forRoan’s second albumare vague, although a March 4 Instagram post byRoanteased that a track called “The Giver” is coming on March 13. In the meantime, Roan was the subject of a surprising tribute from an even more surprising source: on March 3, 80s pop legendRick Astleyuploaded a beautiful solo cover of Roan’s “Pink Pony Club” to his YouTube channel.
Rick Astley Is A Better Musician Than Anyone Gives Him Credit For
Astley’s Cover Of “Pink Pony Club” Is Earnest, Heartfelt, And Masterful
Rick Astley’s name, at this point, is synonymous with Rickrolling – the practice of tricking someone by linking them to the video for Astley’s hit 1988 single, “Never Gonna Give You Up.” And sure, everyone loves to laugh at “Never Gonna Give You Up,” because it’s a classic meme. Yet decades of tricky YouTube links aside,it’s also a great pop tune with a catchy hook equal to any of 1988’s other chart-toppers– and I’m not just saying that because it was also the #1 song on the charts on the day I was born.
Initially released on July 27, 2025, “Never Gonna Give You Up” spent five weeks at the top of the UK Singles Chart; by the end of 1988, it had topped the charts in 25 countries. Since its upload to YouTube in 2009, the music video has been viewed over 1.6 billion times, possibly making it one of the most listened-to songs on the Internet.
A Rick Astley song, especially his classic 80s sound, is almost guaranteed to get your head bobbing and your toe tapping. Since 2020, he’s also released videos of cover songs on his YouTube channel, and there’s beautiful music to be found in their straightforward, stripped-down acoustic style.Astley’s artistic intuition is genuinely underrated, and it has been serving him well for years.
It’s just him, his guitar, and his microphone, which clearly struggles to catch up to the raw emotion present.
Astley’s “Pink Pony Club” is played beautifully and sincerely, with his signature, soulful voice. After all, Rickrolling’s humor has little to do with “Never Gonna Give You Up” as a song, which is as sincere and well-performed as any other chart-topping 80s love song. Yet there’s even more musicality and skill in Astley’s performance here, because there’s no studio to hide behind; it’s just him, his guitar, and his microphone, which clearly struggles to catch up to the raw emotion present.He’s a consummate performer and an underrated singer, and he knows how to deliver a committed performance.
Rick Astley Knows How To Commit To The Bit
Astley’s Self-Aware And Surprise Performances Show He Doesn’t Take Himself – Or Music – Too Seriously
Not only is Astley a talented musician in his own right, he also clearly enjoys and even appreciates the way that “Never Gonna Give You Up” has become a fixture of popular culture. He’s performed it live with numerous other artists, including the particularly noteworthy time in 2017 when,after just having met Dave Grohl of the Foo Fighters backstage, he joined the band for a Nirvana-sounding version of “Never Gonna Give You Up” for a packed house at Japan’s Summer Sonic Festival.
He had some initial concerns about how the then-novel meme might make him the butt of the joke…
There was also the time that Astley personally rickrolled the entire Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade in 2008. While he had some initial concerns about how the then-novel meme might make him the butt of the joke, his sudden appearance on Cartoon Network’sFoster’s Home for Imaginary Friendsfloatwas met with genuine joy and hilarity.
It’s important to keep in mind that musicians, even Grammy-nominated and memeified ones like Astley, are real people with feelings about their art. Astley has clearly been able to find the humor in “Never Gonna Give You Up”’s rebirth as a meme, and also allowed its return to the spotlight to help him return to music after his hiatus in the late 90s and early 2000s. Yethe also has a serious side to his art, and that’s the side that’s clearly visible in his cover of “Pink Pony Club.”
Rick Astley Covering Chappell Roan Is A Huge Sign Of His Respect For The Younger Artist
Astley Covering Chappell Roan After Her Grammy Win Is A Gorgeous Tribute To The Aspiring New Queen Of Pop
Not enough older musicians cover younger ones; it’s usually the other way around, as younger and newer artists leverage cover songs as known quantities for audiences to judge them by. It’s a huge show of respect for Astley, a career musician of global repute, to perform such a tribute to a rising star like Chappell, who has been an outspoken and even iconoclastic figure in speaking out against celebrity culture and advocating for social change.Astley’s endorsement speaks volumes at a pivotal time in Roan’s career, and indeed for the entertainment industry as a whole.
Astley also isn’t the only renowned musician to pay this kind of tribute to Roan in the past few months. At a benefit concert in November 2024,legendaryMy Little Pony: Friendship is Magicvoice actor and renowned polka apologist “Weird Al” Yankovic, backed by thedisappointingly canceledCoyote vs. Acmestar Will Forte, performed a joyfully raucous (if a bit out of tune) rendition of Roan’s “HOT TO GO!”
It’s long been considered a sign of deep respect and success when Yankovic deigns to parody an artist.
It’s long been considered a sign of deep respect and success when Yankovic deigns to parody an artist, and it’s extremely rare for him to do a straight cover, buthe, Forte, and the band fully commit, right down to flailing their way through the song’s iconic dance with smiles on their faces. Of course, with “HOT TO GO!"’s queer, over-the-top anthemic-pop vibes, it’s no wonder that Yankovic and Forte play the stage banter for laughs, but it’s as evident as the sweat on their faces that that silliness is an expression of their love for the song.
With the backing of respected musicians like Astley and Yankovic, it’s clear thatChappell Roanhas that certain special musical something that transcends genre and generation, and she’s one of the most refreshing voices in pop music, both on and off the stage. As rumors continue to fly about what her next album may be, one thing remains clear: this Midwestern princess has an unspeakable amount of talent and potential, and she’s only begun to rise.
