Chrissy Chlapecka is stepping into her power again. On Friday, the Girlie Pop diva released her single “Apollo,” which she penned following a year of darkness and self-reconstruction. Now, the song is a radiant cyberpop anthem of queer resilience.
“I wrote Apollo about the darkness I had felt throughout this year, and how I longed to chase the light I once knew myself as,” Chlapecka tells Rolling Stone in a statement. “Battling a tough road of depression, the insanity of the music industry as an independent artist, trauma therapy from previous relationships, and the rollercoaster of life… had not only stopped me in my tracks, but it also allowed me to speak directly from my heart.”
She continues, “This song is about the return to oneself, knowing who you truly are on inside, even when darkness consumes you. This music video was made to represent how I had to completely build myself back together into the fierce diva I’ve always known that I am. By the end, I’m a chromatic superhero ready to leave the planet… to my next song.”
The Mikey Harmon-directed video opens with Chlapecka walking out of a plastic tube at a junkyard as if she landed as a cyborg princess from outer space, before transporting to a spaceship-like backdrop. “Know where you run, go where you go/Lead and I follow, follow/Into the sun, out of the cold,” sings Chlapecka in the chorus. “I chase Apollo-pollo/Hit me with your light in the dark/I’d die to be where you are/Into the hollow of every little piece of your heart.”
Chlapecka co-wrote the song with Dallas Caton, Alexandra Veltri, and Jesse Saint John. The singer’s delivery on the track and Alec Cohen’s choreography in the video have inspired fans to compare it to some of Lady Gaga’s early music, in particular, Gaga’s “Judas.”
“Today I learned that Lady Gaga had given birth to a pink-haired offspring,” commented one fan on YouTube. “This woman is literally Lady Gaga 2.0 and I’m here for it,” added another.
The new single is set to be a part of an upcoming EP, Christine, her follow-up to last year’s Girlie Pop. So far, she’s released singles “Passionfruit,” “Clam Casino,” and “Cherry Do You Love Me” — all as an independent artist. The new project drops Nov. 21.
“The EP recognizes the hurt I have dealt with and gracefully sits with it for a moment, letting it be true and raw. On the other hand, it opens a world to imagination: the girl I was as a child, dancing and singing in my bedroom, pretending it was a stage… The girl who was brave enough to follow her dreams. All of who I am comes from her,” she says. “She is why I was strong enough to pick myself up again, dream as big as I could, and let the world back in.”
Chalpecka first made a splash with her debut single “I’m So Hot,” and led a movement to reclaim the term “bimbo” to be one of self-empowerment on social media. She has been open about her queer identity and has built a fierce fanbase that connects with her authenticity.
“We need queer artists to be as loud, as colorful, and as fierce as possible,” Chlapecka says. “For all the queer kids who feel small right now, I hope to make you see yourself as you are. Brave, fierce, strong, and as shiny as possible. When you fall down, you can only get up stronger.”