Chappell Roan Teases “The Giver” Is Her “Campy and Fun” Version of “Save a Horse (Ride a Cowboy)”

Chappell Roan has always been a rhinestone cowgirl—she is from the Midwest, after all. The drag persona-meets-pop star is gearing up for the release of “The Giver,” AKA the high-energy country track she debuted on Saturday Night Live last November.

During an interview for Today’s Country Radio with Kelleigh Bannen on Apple Music, Chappell got candid about the inspiration behind her new single. “I wanted to write a country song because I just thought it would be funny,” she said, per E! News’s exclusive clip of the show’s March 14 episode. “It’s campy and fun.”

As for her pivot from pop to country? She’s not making the switch forever. “I’m from southwest Missouri,” Chappell explained. “Grew up on Christian and country, and then found ‘Alejandro’ by Lady Gaga and I was like, ‘I think I like this, too.’ So, I have kept country in my heart.”

Apple Music

The Midwest Princess also shouted out some fan-favorite artists in the genre, saying, “And it’s so incredibly nostalgic to drive in West Hollywood and [play] Jason Aldean or Alan Jackson’s ‘Chattahoochee.’”

According to the Grammy winner, Big & Rich’s 2004 track “Save a Horse (Ride a Cowboy)” was the main inspiration for her service top anthem. Its origin story is similar to how her hit, “HOT TO GO!,” which was inspired by The Village People’s “YMCA,” came to be.

“I was like, ‘I want to feel that way on stage. I want to feel that,’” she said of “The Giver.” “Because that’s how I write. I’m like, ‘How do I want to walk around on stage and sing?’ And I was like, ‘I want to write that song, but Chappell’s version.’”

While the track is merely a taste of her country roots, she hasn’t written off the possibility of making more music in the genre. In a September 2024 interview with Rolling Stone, she teased that her sophomore album explores a range of genres. “We have a country song. We have a dancy song. We have one that’s really ’80s, and we have one that’s acoustic, and we have one that’s really organic, live-band, ’70s vibe. It’s super weird,” she said at the time.

So, grab your pink pony western hats and slip on your favorite pair of boots, because Chappell’s full conversation with Apple Music’s Keleigh Bannen airs at 10 a.m. EST on Friday, March 14.