In September 2023, a highly anticipated pop debut landed at a nearly invisible number 127 on the Billboard 200, normally a death sentence. Less than a year later it became a cultural juggernaut and made Grammy history. This deep dive on Chappell Roan's The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess explores how an artist built her own ecosystem to survive a machine that tried to discard her.

We trace Kayleigh Amstutz from her shelved Atlantic Records album and being dropped after releasing California, through moving back to Missouri and taking odd jobs, to producer Dan Nigro launching his own label to bet on her vision. We break down the slow organic burn fueled by drag culture and online fandom, the catalysts of the Guts tour and Good Luck Babe, and the theatrical Chappell Roan persona modeled on Ziggy Stardust.

• What shelving an album  ...