Who is and who’s not
Everybody has at least two faces right? One that you show the world and one that is reserved for you and other people personal to you. You may show a different side to you when you’re at work vs when you’re with your friends. It shows the diversity of who you are and the many skills you possess. If you are a creative, being diverse is a skill that is needed. For example, I (QUILLA.) grew up singing and dancing and eventually went on to study Performing arts which incorporates singing, dancing and acting. In order to fulfill my acting career, I had to wear the face of my character and personify them perfectly. Acting is a skill where I have to slip in and out of my character and distinguish my personality from theirs. That can be increasingly difficult especially if the character is complex. To prepare for a role, you’d have to live and breathe your character, walk in their footsteps, eat what they would eat and feel what they would feel on a daily bases. This allows the actor to personify and develop their role with ease. However, the aftermath can be detrimental. Of course this varies with the complexity of the character but it is common that most actors who has endured a lengthy time of their character’s lifestyle would need therapy afterwards. To name a few, Miley cyrus & Hanna Montana, Evan Peters & Jeffery Dahmer and loads of musical theatre actors!
Moving into the music industry in 2025, we typically have to have an online presence to get across your music to labels and the world. This persona would be a different side to how you usually are in your day to day life. It is supposed to be your artistic expression and even an extension of you. Some people go as far as separating that person from the real them, only showcasing the persona online, where they would have a completely different daily schedule. Whilst some other people merge the two, only separating them by different characteristics such as hairstyles, makeup etc.
As we mentioned before, slipping in and out of different characters can get progressively more difficult. Having to do this on a daily basis can take a toll on your mental health and this is due to : having to upkeep this persona when people who know you online sees you in person. This week, Hair And Comb released a reaction video based on Chappell Roan’s music video, ‘The Subway’ where we explored the idea of Chappell using her bare face as symbolisation of this song being more heart-felt opposing to her other lively music where her heavy drag-like makeup is praised. The lack of makeup used, shows the listeners that this is not a typical commercial Chappell Roan song, rather yet, an acoustic, raw song. The music video starts off as her covered in thick, long brown hair chasing someone else (who seems to be the person she is singing about) down to the subway, where she then reveals her face without makeup which sets off the vibe in which she is presenting. It gives the feeling of her stepping out of the popstar everyone knows Chappell Roan to be and pouring out what was resting heavy in her heart as Kayleigh-rose. There is quite a big moment on one of the subway scenes where she flips her head away from the subway pole and transitions into Chappell with vibrant, expressive eye makeup, that could symbolise that regardless of how she is processing her pain, she is still thriving in her identity, she did not lose herself throughout this. It could also be a great way of combining both the raw, pure feelings she feels (and that she wrote this song because of) and her presence of her developed musicality, the ability of being able to portray realness whilst still being fab and positively self-aware.
Chappell shows diversity by flipping back and forth from makeup to no makeup, possibly displaying inner turbulence. There are beautiful scenes where you can see both Chappell Roan and Kayleigh as one. The final scenes creatively hints at the fact that she is actively trying to move on and detach herself from that circumstance. Remember when I mentioned the excessive hair at the beginning? it as almost like that hair represented how this situation is weighing heavy on her. Another scene showed her leaning on a staircase balcony in New York, with her heavy hair tamed and sitting on one of her shoulders, which could show her being comfortable with that weight, attached to what feels familiar, even if it was toxic. After the build up from the bridge to the ending chorus, Chappell Roan was rejoicing on the windy streets of New York with short hair and in a business-like suit. It seems as though she finally released herself from all the negative feelings surrounding her situation, feeling free even if she still isn’t feeling 100% okay. That can be portrayed by her cutting off her lengthy hair and the rubbish flying all around her. The last thing I would love to point out is that she was climbing up a beanstalk and it seemed like she was halfway through, showing that she is growing and still halfway with her journey!
I love how she beautifully displayed different sides to her and ended the video on what seems to be a positive and semi-optimistic ending. What are your thoughts on this topic? Have you watched Hair And Comb’s reaction to Chappell Roan’s music video? Leave a comment below!
