Pop star Chappell Roan has released the official studio version of her long-awaited single The Subway, a ballad fans have been requesting since she first began performing it live in summer 2024. The track, co-written and produced by Daniel Nigro, is available through Amusement / Island Records, accompanied by a cinematic music video shot in New York City.
The song explores themes of heartbreak, missed connections and the lingering reminders of love lost. Roan’s performance ranges from soft, vulnerable vocals to dramatic crescendos, with one of the track’s most quoted lines already circulating widely among fans: “I made a promise, if in four months this feeling ain’t gone, well f** this city, I’m moving to Saskatchewan.”
Anticipation for the single grew in recent weeks after posters, murals and Roan’s signature red wigs began appearing across New York. A viral video of a moving truck in Saskatchewan further fueled speculation. Ahead of the release, Roan also issued a limited-edition copper metallic 7-inch vinyl featuring The Subway on Side A and a demo track, I Hate It Here, on Side B. The vinyl sold out quickly.
The official video, directed by Amber Grace Johnson and shot on 35mm film, portrays Roan navigating iconic New York backdrops while confronting ghosts of her past. At times whimsical and at others chaotic, the video is both a love letter to the city and an expression of heartbreak, featuring imagery of garbage, rats, and fleeting subway visions.
Roan said in a statement:
“The cliché of ‘the girl that got away’ barely scratches the surface for me with this song. I wrote it as I was stumbling around New York with a broken heart and I kept envisioning us on every street, fire escape, coffee shop, park and yes… the subway.”
The release comes as Roan continues to cement her reputation as one of pop’s fastest-rising stars. She recently headlined Primavera Sound in Barcelona and headlined Reading & Leeds Festivals and Edinburgh Summer Sessions this year, alongside appearances at Øya Festival, Way Out West and Pukkelpop.
The Subway follows her 2025 single The Giver, a queer country track that debuted at No. 2 on the UK’s Official Singles Chart. Both songs build on the success of her 2023 debut album The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess, which earned Roan a Grammy for Best New Artist and International Artist of the Year at the BRIT Awards.
Critical praise for Roan has been widespread. The New York Times called her “one of the biggest breakout pop stars of the past year,” while Rolling Stone described her ascent as “the kind of rise that makes words like ‘meteoric’ feel quaint.”
Listen to the studio version of The Subway now on all major streaming platforms.
Header image by Ryan Lee Clemens
