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Casual (song)

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This article is about the Chappell Roan song. For the Doja Cat song, see Amala (album).

"Casual"
Single by Chappell Roan
from the album The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess
ReleasedOctober 28, 2022 (2022-10-28)
Genre
Length3:52
Label
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
  • Dan Nigro
  • Ryan Linvill
Chappell Roan singles chronology
"Femininomenon"
(2022) 		"Casual"
(2022) 		"Kaleidoscope"
(2023)
Music video
"Casual" on YouTube

"Casual" is a song by the American singer-songwriter Chappell Roan. It was released as a single on October 28, 2022 independently. It was later released as part of Roan's debut album, The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess, through Amusement Records and Island Records[2] as the fourth single from the album. She wrote the song along with Dan Nigro and Morgan St. Jean and Nigro is credited as producer along with Ryan Linvill.[3] It is a dream pop song with country influences about casual dating, in particular a situationship between Roan and a love interest who is unwilling to commit.

The song became a sleeper hit in 2024, as one of Roan's seven simultaneously charting songs on the Billboard Hot 100, along with "Good Luck, Babe!", "Hot to Go!", "Red Wine Supernova", "Pink Pony Club", "Femininomenon", and "My Kink Is Karma" in August of that year.[4]

Background

[edit]

Following the release of Chappell Roan's single "Pink Pony Club" in 2020 and her being subsequently dropped by Atlantic Records, she and producer Dan Nigro began working on "Casual". Much of the song's inspiration would come from a long-distance relationship she began online during the pandemic, where her partner online called her their "dream girl" and would soon make Roan attached to them. Yet, one week later, they texted Roan that they were seeing someone else, leaving her "devastated", and learning shortly thereafter that they had told her friend that their relationship was only casual. In a Rolling Stone interview, she stated that she internally responded to the situation with "'What the fuck do you mean it was casual? We were telling secrets and talking literally every day!'"[5]

Regarding the song’s main hook, which describes oral sex in a car ("knee-deep in the passenger seat, and you’re eating me out, is it casual now"), Roan revealed she was nervous prior to the release of the song, due to the line's sexually explicit nature.[6]

Critical reception

[edit]

The song was acclaimed by critics. Jem Aswald for Variety wrote that "Casual" was Roan's "most irresistible" single to date and likened the singer's "stately" delivery to the style of Lana Del Rey. Aswald also noted the song's explicit lyrics.[2] In another positive review for NPR, Stephen Thompson also highlighted the "explicit details" of Roan's song and posited that "all the smartly phrased specifics that make "Casual" sing: the blurry images of future domesticity, the re-contextualized conversation with a relative, the eternal miscalculation of clinging to sex as a stand-in for emotional intimacy."[7]

In two reviews for Pitchfork, Olivia Horn called "Casual" a "high point" of the album and wrote that the song was a "cocktail of sorrow and scorn at a romantic partner," elaborating that the song's outro "turns up the heat and raises the stakes,"[8] whereas Jane Bua praised Roan's "biting candor" and opined that the "stacked" vocals in the chorus added "the flavor of a Chicks song."[3]

Music video

[edit]

The music video for "Casual" was released on March 9, 2023 and was directed by Hadley Hillel.[9] In the video, Roan begins a casual relationship with a siren played by Mika Leshā. For Teen Vogue, Roan described the concept for the video as "Aquamarine, but like, gay".[10]

Charts

[edit]
Chart performance for "Casual"
Chart (2024) Peak
position
Australia (ARIA)[11] 83
Canada (Canadian Hot 100)[12] 64
Global 200 (Billboard)[13] 124
Ireland (IRMA)[14] 37
Philippines (Philippines Hot 100)[15] 52
UK Singles (OCC)[16] 44
US Billboard Hot 100[17] 59
US TikTok Billboard Top 50 (Billboard)[18] 8

Certifications

[edit]
Certifications for "Casual"
Region Certification Certified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada)[19] Platinum 80,000‡
New Zealand (RMNZ)[20] Gold 15,000‡
United Kingdom (BPI)[21] Silver 200,000‡
United States (RIAA)[22] Platinum 1,000,000‡

‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Libby, Giselle (November 1, 2022). "Chappell Roan's "Casual" Is a Stirring Pop Stunner That's Hard Not to Get Hooked On". Ones to Watch. Archived from the original on August 9, 2024. Retrieved August 9, 2024.
  2. ^ a b Aswald, Jem (October 28, 2022). "Rising Singer Chappell Roan Drops 'Casual,' a Gloriously Explicit Song About Young Lust". Variety. Archived from the original on November 12, 2022. Retrieved August 1, 2024.
  3. ^ a b Bua, Jane (November 3, 2022). "Chappell Roan: "Casual" Track Review". Pitchfork. Archived from the original on July 22, 2024. Retrieved August 1, 2024.
  4. ^ McIntyre, Hugh (August 1, 2024). "Chappell Roan's Incredible Hot 100 Sweep". Forbes. Archived from the original on August 5, 2024. Retrieved August 4, 2024.
  5. ^ Spanos, Brittany (October 27, 2022). "Chappell Roan Is the Independent 'Thrift Store Pop Star' Ready to Take Over the World". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on October 27, 2022. Retrieved August 5, 2024.
  6. ^ Chappell Roan reacts to spicy Casual lyric going viral 🌶️😅 #shorts. Retrieved December 5, 2024 – via www.youtube.com.
  7. ^ Thompson, Stephen (October 28, 2023). "#NOWPLAYING: Chappell Roan, 'Casual'". NPR. Archived from the original on July 26, 2024. Retrieved August 4, 2024.
  8. ^ Horn, Olivia (September 27, 2023). "Chappell Roan: The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess Album Review". Pitchfork. Archived from the original on January 1, 2024. Retrieved September 27, 2023.
  9. ^ Engstrom, Amelia (March 10, 2024). "Q&A: Director of Chappell Roan's 'Casual' music video discusses symbolism". The Daily Texan. Retrieved August 1, 2024.
  10. ^ Dodson, P. Claire (March 9, 2023). "Chappell Roan Talks "Casual" Music Video, Trans Rights, and Creating the Pink Pony Club of Her Dreams". Teen Vogue. Archived from the original on April 26, 2024. Retrieved August 4, 2024.
  11. ^ "The ARIA Report: Week Commencing 19 August 2024". The ARIA Report. No. 1798. Australian Recording Industry Association. August 19, 2024. p. 4.
  12. ^ "Chappell Roan Chart History (Canadian Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved September 24, 2024.
  13. ^ "Chappell Roan Chart History (Global 200)". Billboard. Retrieved September 24, 2024.
  14. ^ "Official Irish Singles Chart Top 50". Official Charts Company. Retrieved October 25, 2024.
  15. ^ "Chappell Roan Chart History (Philippines Hot 100)". Billboard. Archived from the original on August 20, 2024. Retrieved August 23, 2024.
  16. ^ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved November 15, 2024.
  17. ^ "Chappell Roan Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved August 23, 2024.
  18. ^ "Chappell Roan Chart History (TikTok Top 50)". Billboard. Retrieved December 1, 2024.
  19. ^ "Canadian single certifications – Chappell Roan – Casual". Music Canada. Retrieved September 30, 2024.
  20. ^ "New Zealand single certifications – Chappell Roan – Casual". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved December 16, 2024.
  21. ^ "British single certifications – Chappell Roan – Casual". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved September 27, 2024.
  22. ^ "American single certifications – Chappell Roan – Casual". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved December 9, 2024.
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