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Chappell Roan wins Best New Artist—delivers historic Grammys speech

Chappell Roan wins Best New Artist—delivers historic Grammys speech

Chappell Roan accepting the 2025 Grammy Award for Best New Artist.
Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for The Recording Academy

Chappell Roan accepting the 2025 Grammy Award for Best New Artist.

Victoria Monét, who won this Grammy Award in 2024, handed out the trophy to Chappell Roan.

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Chappell Roan won the Best New Artist award at the 67th Grammy Awards — a category that, this year, was one of the most competitive in recent memory. During her acceptance speech, Roan called out record labels and their treatment of up-and-coming artists.

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Victoria Monét, who won this category last year and is also a queer woman, presented the 2025 Grammy Award for Best New Artist. As Monét handed the Grammy trophy to Roan, both of them were beaming with happiness.

After thanking her fans, her music label, and the Recording Academy for the award, Roan delivered an acceptance speech that will go down in Grammys history for its advocacy of artists.

"I told myself, if I ever won a Grammy and I got to stand up here in front of the most powerful people in music, I would demand that labels in the industry profiting millions of dollars off of artists would offer a livable wage in health care, especially to developing artists," Roan said. "Because I got signed so young, I got signed as a minor. And when I got dropped, I had zero job experience under my belt. Like most people, I had a difficult time finding a job in the pandemic and could not afford health insurance."

Roan continued, "It was so devastating to feel so committed to my art and feel so betrayed by the system, and so dehumanized, to not have health [care]. If my label would have prioritized artists' health, I could have been provided care by a company I was giving everything to. Record labels need to treat their artists as valuable employees with a livable wage, and health insurance, and protection."

"Labels, we got you, but do you got us?" the pop star concluded.

The Grammy Award for Best New Artist has become a major platform for queer female artists in recent years. Four of the past six years — Billie Eilish (2020), Megan Thee Stallion (2021), Victoria Monét (2024), and Chappell Roan (2025) — all identify as queer. The two exceptions were Olivia Rodrigo (2022) and Samara Joy (2023).

This year, Roan competed against Doechii, Raye, Shaboozey, Benson Boone, Sabrina Carpenter, Khruangbin, and Teddy Swims for the 2025 Grammy for Best New Artist. With so many massively popular stars in the category, this was a huge triumph for Roan in her meteoric rise in pop stardom.

It was a big night for Roan at the Grammys. She advocated for trans rights on the red carpet, delivered a gay "love letter to L.A." with a performance of "Pink Pony Club," and even lent her voice to a teaser for the upcomingM3GAN 2.0, a queer fan favorite.

The Advocates with Sonia BaghdadyOut / Advocate Magazine - Alan Cumming and Jake Shears

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Bernardo Sim

Deputy Editor

Bernardo Sim is the deputy editor of Out, as well as a writer and content creator. Born in Brazil, he currently lives in South Florida. You can follow him on Instagram at @bernardosim.

Bernardo Sim is the deputy editor of Out, as well as a writer and content creator. Born in Brazil, he currently lives in South Florida. You can follow him on Instagram at @bernardosim.