Chappell Roan Claims ‘The Voice’ Producer ‘Did Not Even Look Up From His Phone’ During Her Audition

Grammy Award-winning artist Chappell Roan recently disclosed her disappointing experience auditioning for popular reality singing competitions before achieving mainstream success. The “Pink Pony Club” vocalist shared particularly unflattering memories about her attempt to join NBC’s talent competition The Voice.

During an interview with W Magazine published Wednesday, Roan revealed her discouraging encounter with a seemingly disinterested production team member at her Voice audition. “When I did the Voice audition, the producer or whoever the f— was watching did not even look up from his phone,” Roan explained. “He was like, ‘OK, next.’ And I went up there and sang a cappella, the scariest thing ever. He never really looked at me.”

The 27-year-old singer, who was merely 15 at the time, performed Rihanna’s emotional ballad “Stay” without accompaniment. Despite the vulnerability required for such a performance, the encounter left her feeling invisible to the decision-makers.

Roan, whose legal name is Kayleigh Rose Amstutz, expressed that she now feels fortunate about the rejection. During a March appearance on the Call Her Daddy podcast, she stated, “I didn’t make it on the show, obviously. Thank god!” suggesting her career ultimately benefited from forging her own path outside reality television.

The Missouri-born vocalist’s journey through talent competitions began even earlier, with a previous attempt at another major franchise. “With America’s Got Talent, I was 13, and we flew to Austin, Texas, and waited in line with thousands of people at 4 a.m.,” she recalled to W Magazine. “I sang ‘True Colors,’ by Cyndi Lauper. Did not make it either”.

Roan also shared how she believed her Voice audition approach was more original than it actually was: “That was when the Bruno Mars song ‘When I Was Your Man’ was really big, and I thought I was so unique in switching it around and singing, ‘When you were my man’ and making it about gender. But every girl was like: ‘I’m switching it around.’”

The artist’s early setbacks eventually gave way to significant career momentum. After initially signing with Atlantic Records and later being dropped, Roan found new opportunities through a publishing agreement with Sony in 2022. Her supporting tour with fellow pop star Olivia Rodrigo introduced her music to broader audiences.

Her success has since skyrocketed, with her debut album The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess achieving tremendous acclaim following its 2023 release. In August 2024, she attracted record-breaking attendance during her daytime performance at the Lollapalooza festival, and earlier this year, she secured her first Grammy Award for Best New Artist.

Roan’s most recent single, “The Giver,” released in March, continues her upward trajectory in the music industry – ironically positioning her as someone who might now qualify to serve as a coach alongside current panel members Michael Bublé, Kelsea Ballerini, John Legend, and Adam Levine on the very show that once rejected her.