Chappell Roan proves she's a pop superstar at Osheaga 2024, as Montreal's 'Pink Pony Club' parties in sweltering heat

This year's Osheaga Music and Arts Festival might have been set with big-name artists as headliners, but it's clear the weekend spotlight shone on one initially-underestimated star — Chappell Roan. The 26-year-old Missouri-born singer has been on a meteoric rise to success in the music industry, and looking back at the turnout for her Saturday afternoon set in Montreal, it's clear she's something of a pop superstar.

That was quickly made obvious at Parc Jean-Drapeau on Aug. 3 — even before she was set to perform at 3:30 p.m. While the festival opened a couple of hours prior, fans of the drag-inspired songstress rushed toward her stage after passing through security in hopes of getting a close spot to watch her set. Despite Montreal facing a heat warning with temperatures reaching the high-30s with humidity, many fans braced through the sweaty conditions in hopes of dancing and singing along to the artist's hits.

While that day had scheduled performances from music icons like Green Day, Martin Garrix and Reneé Rapp, it was hard to miss the sea of pink outfits wandering throughout the festival grounds; those fashion choices were a nod to Roan's entire aesthetic, but also acted as a visual signal of acceptance for many LGBTQ+ attendees.

Even before stepping on stage, a majority of the reported 40,000 Osheaga attendees were cheering with excitement in preparation for a set many people had been waiting for since the festival released its lineup in February. Roan was booked for the festival last fall, according to Billboard Canada, snagging an afternoon slot and third-line billing that, now, seems unsuited in relation to her popularity.

Once Roan stepped out to start her show with "Femininomenon," fans entered a frenzy of excitement, as the singer pranced around the stage wearing a pink rhinestoned fairy costume complete with iridescent wings. Word for word, fans shouted along to the star's catchy lyrics, matching her energy and dancing along as she moved into "Naked In Manhattan" and "Super Graphic Ultra Modern Girl."

Taking a break and showing the love back to her fans, Roan tried her hand at a bit of French, saying, "Hello, bienvenue. Je m'appelle Chappell Roan." She then let the audience know she was going to teach them a dance. But as soon as she broke into the chorus of her mega-hit "Hot to Go!," the lesson quickly dissolved into a full-blown celebration, as thousands of people spelled out the song's title with their arms in a trend that's been called this generation's "Y.M.C.A." dance.

That might've been a high point of the show for many audience members, but with 45 minutes on stage, Roan was far from finished. She effortlessly landed in the splits before kicking off "After Midnight," which was followed by more French, a band introduction as well as performances of "My Kink Is Karma" and "Casual."

With three songs left, Roan decided to close out her set with some of her most popular hits. The singer showed off her vocal chops on "Red Wine Supernova," as fans belted along to the chorus' lyrics: "Baby, why don't you come over? / Red wine supernova, falling into me." Then, Roan had the crowd even more energetic, as fans got teary-eyed singling along to "Good Luck, Babe!," her most recently-released single that made her a Billboard Hot 100-charting artist in April.

By the time Roan closed out with "Pink Pony Club," it almost felt like she was leaving the stage too early. After performing at Lollapalooza in Chicago a couple of days prior to what might have been that festival's largest set of all-time, it's exciting to see what level of success Roan will achieve — and whether the mania around her music and artistry will fizzle out or grow to unprecedented heights.