MUNA covered Chappell Roan‘s ‘Good Luck Babe’ during their set at All Things Go, after the singer cancelled her performance at the festival.
- READ MORE: Chappell Roan live in London: a joyous celebration of queerness, community and fun
Roan was slated to play at the twin festivals in New York City and Washington D.C. this weekend (September 28 and 29), however, she announced on Friday (September 27) that she would no longer be performing due to an “overwhelming” past few weeks.
In a statement shared to her Instagram story, Roan wrote: “I feel pressures to prioritize a lot of things right now and I need a few days to prioritize my health.”
Paying homage to the singer, MUNA carved some time out in their set at the festival on Saturday (September 28) to cover her hit ‘Good Luck, Babe!’. Accompanied only by acoustic guitar, MUNA offer a distinctively toned-down, folk-imbued version of the pop anthem. Check out fan-recorded footage of the moment below.
🎥| MUNA performing a cover of “Good Luck, Babe!” at All Things Go today pic.twitter.com/T80LtqJ2uR
— Chappell Roan Now (@ChappellRoanNow) September 28, 2024
muna covering ‘good luck, babe!’ by chappell roan at @AllThingsGo today 💜pic.twitter.com/Mi1Q4UQDve
— best of chappell roan (@bestofchappell) September 29, 2024
All Things Go later shared a statement on Twitter/X, supporting Roan’s decision to pull out of the festival. “If you see this, we love & stand by you Chappell. It’s okay you needed a break. You should know the All Things Go community is a safe space for you, just like your art has been a safe space for us,” they wrote.
If you see this, we love & stand by you Chappell. It’s okay you needed a break. You should know the All Things Go community is a safe space for you, just like your art has been a safe space for us. The oomfs and I are sending you a big ATG hug as this MAGICAL weekend continues!
— All Things Go (@AllThingsGo) September 29, 2024
Roan’s cancellation of her performance follows her revelation earlier this month that she’d been diagnosed with “severe depression”. In an interview with the Guardian, she attributed her sudden rise to fame and the subsequent drastic changes to her life as the cause of her symptoms.
“I think it’s because my whole life has changed. Everything that I really love to do now comes with baggage,” she told the paper. “If I want to go thrifting, I have to book security and prepare myself that this is not going to be normal. Going to the park, pilates, yoga – how do I do this in a safe way where I’m not going to be stalked or harassed?”
The ‘Red Wine Supernova’ singer has made headlines with her stance on fame and fandom in recent months, with her comparing fame to “an abusive ex-husband” in an interview with The Face. Roan vented about the normalisation of extreme fan behaviour including “stalking, talking shit online, [people who] won’t leave you alone, yelling at you in public.” She added: “I didn’t know it would feel this bad.”
Prior to that, in August she took to TikTok to share her thoughts on “weird” and “creepy” followers, and called out the “predatory behaviour” of so-called “superfans” that includes “nonconsensual physical and social interactions”.
After her initial comments about fan behaviour, and the subsequent backlash, a handful of female artists came to Roan’s defence, including Billie Eilish, Katy Perry, MUNA, Miley Cyrus, boygenius and Sabrina Carpenter. Roan also shared that Lorde had reached out to share her own experiences dealing with fame and negativity at a young age.
MUNA later called out the “truly scary” behaviour in their own fanbase, saying they “cannot be silent” about it anymore. They went on to outline some of the issues they have encountered: “Cyberstalking, hackings, bullying other fans & our loved ones, plus spreading falsehoods about us and our loved ones for clout and attention online.”
In other MUNA news, the band’s Katie Gavin is preparing to release her solo debut album ‘What A Relief’ on October 25, which you can pre-order / pre-save here. She has already shared the singles ‘Aftertaste’ and ‘Casual Drug Use’.
