"Casual" is a song by American singer-songwriter Chappell Roan. It was released as a single on October 28, 2022 independently. It was later released as part of Roan's debut album The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess through Amusement Records and Island Records.[2] She wrote the song along with Dan Nigro and Morgan St. Jean and Nigro is credited as producer along with Ryan Linvill.[3] It is a dream pop song about casual dating, in particular a situationship between Roan and a love interest who is unwilling to commit.
| "Casual" | ||||
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| Single by Chappell Roan | ||||
| from the album The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess | ||||
| Released | October 28, 2022 | |||
| Genre | Dream pop[1] | |||
| Length | 3:52 | |||
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| Songwriter(s) |
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| Chappell Roan singles chronology | ||||
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| Music video | ||||
| "Casual" on YouTube | ||||
The song became a sleeper hit in 2024, as one of Roan's six simultaneously charting songs on the Billboard Hot 100, along with "Good Luck, Babe!", "Hot to Go!", "Red Wine Supernova", "Pink Pony Club", "Femininomenon" in August of that year.[4]
Background
editFollowing the release of Chappell Roan's single "Pink Pony Club" in 2020 and her being subsequently dropped by Atlantic Records, she and producer Dan Nigro began working on "Casual". Much of the song's inspiration would come from a long-distance relationship she began online during the pandemic, where her partner online would call her their "dream girl" and soon make Roan attached to them. Yet, one week later, they texted Roan that they were seeing someone else, leaving her "devastated", and learning shortly thereafter that they had told her friend that their relationship was only casual. In a Rolling Stone interview, she stated that she internally responded to the situation with "'What the fuck do you mean it was casual? We were telling secrets and talking literally every day!'"[5]
Critical reception
editThe song was acclaimed by critics. Jem Aswald for Variety wrote that "Casual" was Roan's "most irresistible" single to date and likened the singer's "stately" delivery to the style of Lana Del Rey. Aswald also noted the song's explicit lyrics.[2] In another positive review for NPR, Stephen Thompson also highlighted the "explicit details" of Roan's song and posited that "all the smartly phrased specifics that make "Casual" sing: the blurry images of future domesticity, the re-contextualized conversation with a relative, the eternal miscalculation of clinging to sex as a stand-in for emotional intimacy."[6]
In two reviews for Pitchfork, Olivia Horn called "Casual" a "high point" of the album and wrote that the song was a "cocktail of sorrow and scorn at a romantic partner," elaborating that the song's outro "turns up the heat and raises the stakes,"[7] whereas Jane Bua praised Roan's "biting candor" and opined that the "stacked" vocals in the chorus added "the flavor of a Chicks song."[3]
Music video
editThe music video for "Casual" was released on March 9, 2023 and was directed by Hadley Hillel.[8] In the video, Roan begins a casual relationship with a siren played by Mika Leshā. For Teen Vogue, Roan described the concept for the video as “Aquamarine, but like, gay.”[9]
Charts
edit| Chart (2024) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australia (ARIA)[10] | 87 |
| Canada (Canadian Hot 100)[11] | 77 |
| Ireland (IRMA)[12] | 96 |
| US Billboard Hot 100[13] | 76 |
References
edit- ^ Libby, Giselle (November 1, 2022). "Chappell Roan's "Casual" Is a Stirring Pop Stunner That's Hard Not to Get Hooked On". Ones to Watch. Retrieved August 9, 2024.
- ^ a b Aswald, Jem (October 28, 2022). "Rising Singer Chappell Roan Drops 'Casual,' a Gloriously Explicit Song About Young Lust". Variety. Archived from the original on November 12, 2022. Retrieved August 1, 2024.
- ^ a b Bua, Jane (November 3, 2022). "Chappell Roan: "Casual" Track Review". Pitchfork. Archived from the original on July 22, 2024. Retrieved August 1, 2024.
- ^ McIntyre, Hugh (August 1, 2024). "Chappell Roan's Incredible Hot 100 Sweep". Forbes. Archived from the original on August 5, 2024. Retrieved August 4, 2024.
- ^ Spanos, Brittany (October 27, 2022). "Chappell Roan Is the Independent 'Thrift Store Pop Star' Ready to Take Over the World". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on October 27, 2022. Retrieved August 5, 2024.
- ^ Thompson, Stephen (October 28, 2023). "#NOWPLAYING: Chappell Roan, 'Casual'". NPR. Archived from the original on July 26, 2024. Retrieved August 4, 2024.
- ^ Horn, Olivia (September 27, 2023). "Chappell Roan: The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess Album Review". Pitchfork. Archived from the original on January 1, 2024. Retrieved September 27, 2023.
- ^ Engstrom, Amelia (March 10, 2024). "Q&A: Director of Chappell Roan's 'Casual' music video discusses symbolism". The Daily Texan. Retrieved August 1, 2024.
- ^ Dodson, P. Claire (March 9, 2023). "Chappell Roan Talks "Casual" Music Video, Trans Rights, and Creating the Pink Pony Club of Her Dreams". Teen Vogue. Archived from the original on April 26, 2024. Retrieved August 4, 2024.
- ^ "The ARIA Report: Week Commencing 12 August 2024". The ARIA Report. No. 1797. Australian Recording Industry Association. August 12, 2024. p. 4.
- ^ "Billboard Canadian Hot 100: Week of August 10, 2024". Billboard. Retrieved August 6, 2024.
- ^ "Irish-charts.com – Discography Chappell Roan". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved August 6, 2024.
- ^ "Billboard Hot 100: Week of August 10, 2024". Billboard. Retrieved August 6, 2024.