Chappell Roan might be your favorite artist’s favorite artist, but some fans are convinced that her upcoming VMAs performance will channel another iconic pop girl: Britney Spears, and more specifically, her look in the video for her 2000 hit “Lucky.”
Fans started to speculate about the possible inspiration after L.A.-based designer and creative director, Ramisha Sattar, one of Roan’s frequent creative collaborators, posted a carousel of “Lucky”-related images to Instagram. The post featured stills from the music video for the pop single, like a screenshot of Spears perched atop an enormous sparkling star in a pink ball gown and an image of the singer curled up on a couch, mascara smeared on her face, alongside the lyrics, “If there’s nothing missing in her life / Why do tears come at night?”
Sattar captioned the post, “On the moodboard 🖤🖤🖤.”
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Naturally, fans on Reddit began theorizing about what a potential “Lucky”-inspired performance from Roan could entail. As one Reddit user noted, Spears is nominated this year in the MTV Video Music Awards’ Most Iconic Performance category for her 2003 medley of “Like A Virgin” and “Hollywood” during which she took the stage with Christina Aguilera and Madonna, with Missy Elliott joining for an interlude of “Work It.” (And yes, that was the same performance in which Spears and Madonna kissed on stage). Could Roan be paying an homage to her fellow nominee? Possibly!
“Lucky” itself is about a star who struggles with the lonely, dark side of fame after being catapulted into the spotlight, so perhaps it’s also a fitting inspiration for Roan’s own overnight A-list stardom. Given that the “Good Luck, Babe!” singer recently called out “predatory behavior (disguised as ‘superfan’ behavior) that has become normalized” following her meteoric rise, it seems safe to assume that the overall theme of the song is relatable to her at the moment.
But again, this is all speculation! Whatever she wears onstage, I expect it will follow in her grand tradition of sporting drag-inspired, high-concept looks.
Roan is nominated in four major VMA categories this year: Best New Artist, Best Trending Video (for “Hot To Go”), MTV Push Performance of the Year (for “Red Wine Supernova”), and Song of the Summer (for “Good Luck, Babe!”).
The star recently canceled her Paris and Amsterdam tour stops — planned for September 3 and 4 respectively — citing “scheduling conflicts,” which presumably referred to her preparation for the VMAs.
“I am so sorry & very disappointed :(,” Roan tweeted upon announcing the concert cancellations. “I promise I will be back. I’m heartbroken 💔 Thank you for understanding.”
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