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The rising pop star Chappell Roan, who recently vocalized her struggles with fame, has returned to the stage after canceling festival appearances at All Things Go in New York and Maryland last week.
On Tuesday, Roan launched into an animated set at the FirstBank Amphitheater in Franklin, Tennessee, just outside of Nashville. She didn’t address the cancellations directly, rather, focused her attention to the queer community in the crowd, thanking them for allowing her to do her job.
“I know how hard it is to be queer in the Midwest and South. And I understand. And so, I’m very grateful that I can be here and show up — and clock into my job,” she said on stage. “And I just have to remind myself that this is why I do it. … I can see you and feel you. I needed this so bad when I was 15. I felt so completely misunderstood and alone.
“I hope you know that you are wanted here, and welcome here, however you are,” she continued. “You are cherished, and you are loved. I’m gonna say it again, because I have a feeling that sometimes it's hard to hear these things, or maybe you don’t hear them at all. But if you’re here, then you are loved and you are cherished.”