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What is Chappell Roan's 'Pink Pony Club' really about?
Chappell Roan; Audience at a Chappell Roan concert.
And if the the Pink Pony Club really exists, where is it? We've got the answers!
"Pink Pony Club" has become an official gay anthem
Chappell Roan has had a meteoric rise, and part of the reason for that is that she is so great at creating a sense of community at her shows, in her music, and in her fandom.
One thing that queer fans have been drawn to most is her song "Pink Pony Club," an anthemic bop about a magical place the singer visits where she feels like she can be herself and be totally free from her strict upbringing. It's a powerful song that nearly anyone in the queer community can relate to (and it's even better for singing along to).
But what is the song actually about? We've got some answers!
Chappell Roan's song "Pink Pony Club" is one of her many hits from 2024, peaking at number 26 on the Billboard Hot 100. But what is the song actually about?
"Pink Pony Club" tells the story of a girl from a small town who leaves her hometown to go to the big city of Los Angeles. There, she finds the magical Pink Pony Club, a place where she feels free to be herself because everyone else there is being their most authentic self.
While her mom is back home in Tennessee worrying for her daughter's soul, the singer is living her best life and being her best self with a community that loves and celebrates her.
It's a song about self-acceptance, self-love, community, chosen family, and queer joy.
Many queer people come from small towns across America and the world, and many more of us have left those places looking for somewhere that understands us and feels more like home.
Themes of escape and breaking free are common in queer music, and here, Chappell Roan has perfectly encapsulated what it feels like to find where you really belong after being brave enough to leave your home.
Back in 2018, Roan packed up and left her Missouri hometown to go to Los Angeles. Not long after, she went into a gay bar, The Abbey, and found her community.
"All of a sudden I realized I could truly be any way I wanted to be, and no one would bat an eye,” she said in an interview with Headliner Magazine. "It was so different from home where I always had such a hard time being myself and felt like I’d be judged for being different or being creative. I just felt overwhelmed with complete love and acceptance, and from then on I started writing songs as the real me."
One of those songs was "Pink Pony Club," which marked a change in her songwriting to be more upbeat and hopeful.
"I needed to be myself and I wanted to feel theatrical; I wanted it to feel like a show for people. That's what I feel like 'Pink Pony Club' is doing and what my other music that will come out will do as well," she said.
The song was originally released in 2020, but she was dropped from her record label just four months later. The song was re-released in 2023 and was included on her critically-acclaimed debut album The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess.
While there isn't a gay bar or club in Los Angeles currently named "Pink Pony Club," the song is based on a real-life LA gay bar where Chappell would go and realized she could be herself.
"I went to a gay bar called The Abbey in West Hollywood and was completely changed by the entire experience," she said in a 2020 interview. "I was enthralled by the go-go dancers and thought about how amazing it would be to be one, so I wrote a song about it."
It was founded in 1991 as a coffee shop and changed ownership in 2023. In 2024, it had a relaunch.
The Abbey is still one of the most popular gay bars in West Hollywood today, and is still a place where queers come from around the world to feel at home.With the success and cultural impact of "Pink Pony Club," several artists have done covers of the song! This includes Kacey Musgraves, Alex Warren, and Orville Peck!
At the 2025 Grammy Awards, Chappell Roan was nominated for six awards and won the trophy for Best New Artist. She also performed "Pink Pony Club" as a part of the ceremony's tribute to Los Angeles after the recent wildfires.
"I grew up in southwest Missouri in a small town called Willard. I felt very isolated. I felt like I was never good enough because I was gay," the singer said in a video before her performance. "I think my younger self really needed a girl like me to look up to. 'Pink Pony Club' is my love letter to LA. I love this city. LA gave me the courage to be myself because, ultimately, it is where I feel the most free."
There was a short-lived Pink Pony Club pop up photo op in WeHo in December 2024. Set up as a part of Spotify's 2024 Wrapped celebration, the pop up featured "dazzling neon art" of a big Pink Pony Club sign complete with stars and a prancing pony.
The pop up, located across the street from The Abbey, read "This year, 300k+ people streamed Chappell Roan in LA after midnight. Welcome to the club."
"After Midnight" is the name of a track on Roan's album The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess.
Mey Rude is a journalist and cultural critic who has been covering queer news for a decade. The transgender, Latina lesbian lives in Los Angeles with her fiancée.
Mey Rude is a journalist and cultural critic who has been covering queer news for a decade. The transgender, Latina lesbian lives in Los Angeles with her fiancée.
