Chappell Roan Sets Fire To VMAs Stage With ‘Good Luck, Babe!’ Performance

Chappell Roan lit up the stage, literally, at the 2024 MTV Video Music Awards on Wednesday night.

Her debut performance at the show featured her single “Good Luck, Babe!” and began with Roan locked behind the gates of a medieval castle clad in a suit of armor, holding a crossbow loaded with a flaming arrow.

The scene, which the artist hinted to in her arrivals outfit, was very much in the vein of Joan of Arc — or, should we say, Roan of Arc.

After sending the arrow flying into the gates of the castle, setting them ablaze, Roan launched into the first verse of the single she released earlier this year. The performance was capped by a choreographed sword fight between Roan’s dancers as she kneeled in the middle of the chaos during the viral chorus of the song.

Roan is in the running for Best New Artist at Wednesday’s show, competing against the likes of Gracie Abrams and Tyla. She was also up for three other Moon Men including Song of the Summer for “Good Luck, Babe!” though that award went to Taylor Swift and Post Malone for “Fortnight.”

Her attendance at the VMAs was much anticipated after Roan scrapped scheduled shows in Paris and Amsterdam and rescheduled a concert in Berlin due to “scheduling conflicts,” which likely had to do with her performance at the award show.

She faced significant backlash on social media for the move, though it is common for artists to move tour dates for the VMAs and similar shows.

While she didn’t speak about that controversy Wednesday, she did talk with several reporters on the VMAs carpet about navigating her newfound stardom, specifically setting boundaries with fans amid some concerning encounters that she recently detailed in a profile for Rolling Stone.

She told Entertainment Tonight she feels “very heard” after speaking out about the incidents, saying: “I do think people really listened…I think that it’s hard for artists to speak up because they’re so scared of their fans hating them, but we’re not actually talking about fans. We’re talking about people who are harassing.”

Roan’s rise to fame has been swift, gaining popularity on TikTok over the summer after opening for Olivia Rodrigo’s GUTS world tour. She recently embarked on her own tour and, after some European dates throughout September, she is due back to the United States for several appearances, including a set at Austin City Limits Festival.