"Hot to Go!" (stylized in

all caps In typography, text or font in all caps (short for "all capitals") contains capital letters without any lowercase letters. For example: All-caps text can be seen in legal documents, advertisements, newspaper headlines, and the titles on book co ...

) is a song by the American singer and songwriter

Chappell Roan Kayleigh Rose Amstutz (born February 19, 1998), known professionally as Chappell Roan ( ), is an American singer and songwriter. She is known for her Camp (style), camp and drag queen–influenced aesthetic. Her debut EP, ''School Nights'' (201 ...

, from her debut studio album, ''

The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess ''The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess'' is the debut studio album by the American singer-songwriter Chappell Roan, released on September 22, 2023, by Amusement Records, an imprint of Island Records. It was met with widespread acclaim and pra ...

'' (2023). It was released through

Island Records Island Records is a multinational record label owned by Universal Music Group. It was founded in Jamaica by Chris Blackwell, Graeme Goodall, and Leslie Kong in 1959, and was eventually sold to PolyGram in 1989. Island and A&M Records, another ...

and Amusement Records on August 11, 2023, as the album's seventh and final single. She co-wrote the track with its producer

Dan Nigro Daniel Leonard Nigro ( ) is an American record producer and songwriter. He was previously the lead vocalist and guitarist of the indie rock band As Tall as Lions. Nigro has produced, written, and co-written songs for Sky Ferreira, Joe Jonas, K ...

. "Hot to Go!" is a

synth-pop Synth-pop (short for synthesizer pop; also called techno-pop; ) is a music genre that first became prominent in the late 1970s and features the synthesizer as the dominant musical instrument. It was prefigured in the 1960s and early 1970s b ...

electropop Electropop is a popular music fusion genre combining elements of the electronic and pop styles. It has been described as a variant of synth-pop with emphasis on a hard electronic sound. The genre was developed in the 1980s and saw a rev ...

indie pop Indie pop (also typeset as indie-pop or indiepop) is a music genre and subculture that combines guitar pop with a DIY ethic in opposition to the style and tone of mainstream pop music. It originated from British post-punk in the late 1970s and s ...

dance-pop Dance-pop is a Music genre, genre of electronic dance music that originated in the late 1970s to early 1980s. It is generally uptempo music intended for nightclubs with the intention of being danceable but also suitable for contemporary hit ra ...

, and

dance Dance is an The arts, art form, consisting of sequences of body movements with aesthetic and often Symbol, symbolic value, either improvised or purposefully selected. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoir ...

track taking influence from

electroclash Electroclash (also known as synthcore, retro-electro, tech-pop, nouveau disco, and the new new wave) is a Music genre, genre of popular music that fuses 1980s Electro (music), electro, New wave music, new wave and synth-pop with 1990s techno, re ...

. Described as a

queer ''Queer'' is an umbrella term for people who are non-heterosexual or non- cisgender. Originally meaning or , ''queer'' came to be used pejoratively against LGBTQ people in the late 19th century. From the late 1980s, queer activists began to ...

cheer song A fight song is a rousing short song associated with a sports team. The term is most common in the United States and Canada. In Australia, Mexico, and New Zealand, these songs are called the team anthem, team song, or games song. First associated ...

similar to the

Village People Village People is an American disco group known for its on-stage costumes and suggestive lyrics in their music. The group was originally formed by French producers Jacques Morali and Henri Belolo and lead singer Victor Willis following the re ...

's " Y.M.C.A.", it was inspired by Roan's childhood dream of wanting to become a

cheerleader Cheerleading is an activity in which the participants (called cheerleaders) cheer for their team as a form of encouragement. It can range from chanting slogans to intense physical activity. It can be performed to motivate sports teams, to ent ...

. The song enjoyed acclaim upon its release for its musical composition and its story, which describes a woman wishing to have sex with another woman. Its accompanying dance, which consists of spelling out the song's title using a person's arms, went viral on social media, with videos of large festival crowds performing it. It was seen by some as norm-defying within the mainstream music industry. "Hot to Go!" drew commercial success months after its release. The song became a

sleeper hit In the entertainment industry, a sleeper hit refers to a film, television series, music release, video game or other entertainment product that was initially unsuccessful on release, but eventually became a surprise success. A sleeper hit may have ...

in 2024, charting within the top ten in Ireland and the United Kingdom as well as the top 20 in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the United States.

Background and writing

Roan wrote the song two weeks before the start of her 2023 Naked in North America Tour. She expressed that she intended for the song to be "silly" to satisfy her inner child, stating to ''Capital Buzz'' that satisfying her inner child included "wan

ing Ing, ING or ing may refer to: Art and media * '' ...ing'', a 2003 Korean film * i.n.g, a Taiwanese girl group * The Ing, a race of dark creatures in the 2004 video game '' Metroid Prime 2: Echoes'' * "Ing", the first song on The Roches' 199 ...

to play dress up all the time and dance and be obnoxious." In an interview with '' Vanity Fair'', Roan stated that she wrote the song to fulfill her childhood dream of becoming a

, basing the song off an American high school cheerleader chant. Roan stated that she did not apply to become a cheerleader during her high school years because "I always thought they were just so cool and so hot... they were just so sassy at my school. I never had the confidence to try out... I didn't belong." Roan, who describes herself as a "huge fan of audience participation", was also inspired by a video of a

Queen Queen most commonly refers to: * Queen regnant, a female monarch of a kingdom * Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king * Queen (band), a British rock band Queen or QUEEN may also refer to: Monarchy * Queen dowager, the widow of a king * Q ...

performance of "

Radio Ga Ga "Radio Ga Ga" is a 1984 song performed and recorded by the British rock band Queen, written by their drummer Roger Taylor. It was released as a single with " I Go Crazy" by Brian May as the B-side. It was included as the opening track on the ...

" during

Live Aid Live Aid was a two-venue benefit concert and music-based fundraising initiative held on Saturday, 13 July 1985. The event was organised by Bob Geldof and Midge Ure to raise further funds for relief of the 1983–1985 famine in Ethiopia, a m ...

Wembley Stadium Wembley Stadium, currently branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE Limited, EE for sponsorship reasons, is an association football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the Wembley Stadium (1923), original Wembley Sta ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

. She later described the song as "like the ' Y.M.C.A.' but gayer".

Composition

“Hot to Go!” is a

, and

track with

influences. In an analysis by ''

The Line of Best Fit ''The Line of Best Fit'' is an independent online magazine based in London, concentrating on new music. It publishes independent music reviews, features, interview, and media. Founded by Richard Thane in February 2007 and currently edited by P ...

s Sam Franzini, "Hot to Go!" describes the story of Roan "serv ngherself up on a platter, happy to be feasted upon and even relishing the opportunity to be lusted after... simulating the mind-bending obsession one can submit to in the presence of a hot person." The song's instrumentation features

synthesizer A synthesizer (also synthesiser or synth) is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating waveforms through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis a ...

s, with the lyrics teaching a dance to the song and telling her future lovers that she is ready and waiting to spend time with them. Despite the song being about how "I want dpeople to call me hot" according to Roan, she stated that outside of her stage name, "I still don't want to be called hot. It's so weird... people take it literally. It manifests in ways of, I feel really uncomfortable watching sex scenes."

Critical reception

The song drew largely positive reactions. Stephen Daw of ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'' wrote Chappell Roan "offers up a great impression of a cheer captain" and described the song as "fun", "

camp Camp may refer to: Areas of confinement, imprisonment, or for execution * Concentration camp, an internment camp for political prisoners or politically targeted demographics, such as members of national or minority ethnic groups * Extermination ...

", and "exactly the kind of jam that will have you dancing along in no time." ''

Exclaim! ''Exclaim!'' is a Canadian music and entertainment publisher based in Toronto, which features coverage of new music across all genres with a special focus on Canadian and emerging artists. The monthly ''Exclaim!'' print magazine publishes seven ...

''s Kaelen Bell stated that while on first listen it was "annoying", they admitted that the lyrics were "so-dumb-its-genius... you can't believe hasn't been done before, sung with in-the-red commitment by a songwriter with a clear understanding that the joy of pop music is in its full-blooded surrender to ecstasy and excess." A review from '' Dork'' stated that the song represented "Roan’s knack for creating engaging, movement-inducing pop." ''

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming and culture website, bimonthly magazine, and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a "Rock music, rock inkie", the ''NME'' would be ...

''s Hannah Myrlea described the song's chorus as "bratty" and made comparisons to

Olivia Rodrigo Olivia Isabel Rodrigo (born February 20, 2003) is an American singer-songwriter and actress. She began her career as a child, appearing in commercials and the direct-to-video film '' An American Girl: Grace Stirs Up Success'' (2015). She rose ...

's " Bad Idea Right?". '' DIY''s Otis Robinson wrote that the song was able to "infus teen melodrama with queer euphoria to throw confetti in the face of heteronormativity." ''

Autostraddle Autostraddle is a queer and trans-owned online magazine and social network for lesbian, bisexual, and queer women ( cis and trans), as well as non-binary people and trans people of all genders. The website is a "politically progressive queer fem ...

''s Em Win declared the song as a "queerleader anthem".

Promotion

To promote the song, Roan created an accompanying dance for the song's chorus, spelling out the letters of the song's title with a person's arms; similar to the

's " Y.M.C.A." Roan also appeared in promotional posters featuring a phone number; according to Emily Bloch of ''

The Philadelphia Inquirer ''The Philadelphia Inquirer'', often referred to simply as ''The Inquirer'', is a daily newspaper headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Founded on June 1, 1829, ''The Philadelphia Inquirer'' is the third-longest continuously operating da ...

'', the number led to a product distribution call center for Balkamp, a

Genuine Parts Company Genuine Parts Company (GPC) is an American automotive and industrial parts distributor based in Atlanta, Georgia. Established by brothers Carlyle and Malcolm Fraser in 1928, the company has approximately 60,000 employees. In addition to the United ...

subsidiary.

Music video

Along with the song's official release, an accompanying

music video A music video is a video that integrates a song or an album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device intended to ...

was released on the same day. It was directed by Jackie! Zhou, and was filmed in various locations around the city of

Springfield, Missouri Springfield is the List of cities in Missouri, third most populous city in the U.S. state of Missouri and the county seat of Greene County, Missouri, Greene County. The city's population was 169,176 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 censu ...

. In an interview given out by Zhou, she described filming as a challenge; particularly because at the same time, Roan was filming a documentary. She stated that "I have to give her the deepest props... it's so hard to go from talking about your duality as an artist... and then being like 'Hot to Go!'... and she's amazing." The music video itself features appearances from her grandparents, with Roan acting as a "bouncy cheerleader" outside filming locations. It also features appearances from local Springfield

drag queen A drag queen is a person, usually male, who uses Drag (entertainment), drag clothing and makeup to imitate and often exaggerate Femininity, female gender signifiers and gender roles for entertainment purposes. Historically, drag queens have ...

s, as part of a tradition of Roan including drag queens in her performances. In an analysis by Giselle Libby, they wrote that the music video expresses Roan's "cheerleader fantasy" with a "personal twist", with the video providing a "snapshot of oan'spast and present lives, granting fans a deeper look into where she came from and how it impacts her artistry today." ''

Vogue Vogue may refer to: Business * ''Vogue'' (magazine), a US fashion magazine ** British ''Vogue'', a British fashion magazine ** '' Vogue Adria'', a fashion magazine for former Yugoslav countries ** ''Vogue Arabia'', an Arab fashion magazine ** ' ...

''s Alex Jhamb Burns wrote that while Roan currently resides in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

, the addition of her "groov ngaround a gas station in a cheerleader’s uniform and mini-golfs in heels" in Springfield displayed that "she hasn’t forgotten her roots."

Live performances

Roan sang "Hot to Go!" as an unreleased single numerous times in live performances. She first sang the song at a

Phoenix, Arizona Phoenix ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities and towns in Arizona#List of cities and towns, most populous city of the U.S. state of Arizona. With over 1.6 million residents at the 2020 census, it is the ...

, concert on February 15, 2023, as part of her ''Naked in North America'' tour. She continued to sing the song throughout the tour, including in performances in

Austin Austin refers to: Common meanings * Austin, Texas, United States, a city * Austin (given name), a list of people and fictional characters * Austin (surname), a list of people and fictional characters * Austin Motor Company, a British car manufac ...

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a List of cities in the United Kingdom, city and non-metropolitan district in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It is the county town of Cambridgeshire and is located on the River Cam, north of London. As of the 2021 Unit ...

Salt Lake City Salt Lake City, often shortened to Salt Lake or SLC, is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Utah. It is the county seat of Salt Lake County, the most populous county in the state. The city is the core of the Salt Lake Ci ...

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

, and

throughout the months of February and March 2023. After the song's official release, she performed the song as part of her Midwest Princess Tour, including performances as the opener for

and a performance featuring drag queen

Sasha Colby Sasha Kekauoha (born July 26, 1984), best known by the stage name Sasha Colby, is an American drag performer and beauty pageant competitor. In 2012, she won the Miss Continental competition. In 2023, she was crowned the winner of season 15 of '' ...

. On August 11, 2024, 1 year after the song's release, she performed the song live at Outside Lands Festival, wearing her costume from the song's music video to celebrate its anniversary. A clip of Roan chastising the VIP crowd members for their lack of participation went viral, with Roan jokingly saying, "It's so weird that VIP thinks they're so way too cool to do this!" and yelling "You're no fun!" before starting the song. 10 days later on August 21, Roan surprised the crowd at longtime friend Rodrigo's

GUTS World Tour The Guts World Tour is the ongoing second concert tour by American singer-songwriter and actress Olivia Rodrigo in support of her second studio album, ''Guts (Olivia Rodrigo album), Guts'' (2023). It began on February 23, 2024, at the Acrisure ...

stop in Los Angeles with a duet performance of the song, featuring Rodrigo.

Accolades

Commercial performance

Almost a year after being released, "Hot to Go!" debuted at number 80 on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 for the week ending June 15, 2024. The song later peaked at number 15 on the chart dated October 5, 2024. Internationally, it peaked within the top ten in Ireland and the United Kingdom. It has received Platinum certification from

Music Canada Music Canada is a non-profit Industry trade group, trade organization that was founded 9 April 1963 in Toronto to represent the interests of companies that record, manufacture, produce, and distribute music in Canada. It also offers benefits to s ...

and gold certifications from the

Recording Industry Association of America The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...

(RIAA),

Recorded Music NZ Recorded Music NZ (formerly the Recording Industry Association of New Zealand (RIANZ)) is a non-profit trade association of record producers, distributors and recording artists who sell recorded music in New Zealand. Membership of Recorded ...

(RMNZ) and the

British Phonographic Industry BPI (British Recorded Music Industry) Limited, trading as British Phonographic Industry (BPI), is the British recorded music industry's trade association. It runs the BRIT Awards; is home to the Mercury Prize; co-owns the Official Charts C ...

(BPI).

Impact

The song was parodied in the seventh episode of the fiftieth season of ''

Saturday Night Live ''Saturday Night Live'' (''SNL'') is an American Late night television in the United States, late-night live television, live sketch comedy variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Michaels and Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC. The ...

'', sung by

Charli XCX Charlotte Emma Aitchison (born 2 August 1992), known professionally as Charli XCX, is a British singer and songwriter. She began posting songs on Myspace in 2008 before entering the London rave scene. Signing a recording contract with Asylum Re ...

Heidi Gardner Heidi Lynn Gardner (born July 27, 1983) is an American actress, comedian, and writer. She has been a cast member on the NBC sketch comedy series ''Saturday Night Live'' since season 43 in 2017, when she debuted as a featured player. She was promo ...

Ego Nwodim Egobunma Kelechi Nwodim (; born March 10, 1988) is an American actress and comedian. She has been a cast member on the NBC sketch comedy series ''Saturday Night Live'' since 2018, beginning with the show's 44th season. Early life, family and ed ...

, and

Sarah Sherman Sarah Nicole Sherman (born March 7, 1993), also known professionally as Sarah Squirm, is an American comedian, actress, and screenwriter. Sherman is known for using surreal and body horror comedy. She became a featured player on the NBC sketch ...

. The week prior, on November 9, former ''SNL'' cast member

Will Forte Orville Willis Forte IV ( ; born June 17, 1970) is an American actor, comedian, writer, and producer. He was a cast member and writer on the NBC sketch comedy series ''Saturday Night Live'' for eight seasons from 2002 to 2010. During his time on ...

, alongside musician and parodist

"Weird Al" Yankovic Alfred Matthew "Weird Al" Yankovic ( ; born October 23, 1959) is an American comedy musician, writer, and actor. He is best known for writing and performing Comedy music, comedy songs that often Parody music, parody specific songs by contempo ...

, performed a cover of "Hot to Go!" during that year's Thundergong! benefit concert. The song's dance went viral on social media, concurrent with her sudden rise in notoriety, in some part due to aerial videos of large music festival crowds performing the dance during her concerts. The song also spawned the viral meme "I hope she plays Hot To Go", with Roan and artist Olivia Rodrigo recreating it due to its popularity, posting it on Rodrigo's official TikTok page after a surprise performance of the song in Los Angeles on Rodrigo's GUTS World Tour. Responses to the meme from other artists include a reproduction of the gag by

Beck Beck David Hansen (born Bek David Campbell; July 8, 1970), known mononymously as Beck, is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer. He rose to fame in the early 1990s with his Experimental music, experimental and Lo-fi mus ...

and

St. Vincent Saint Vincent may refer to: People Saints * Vincent of Saragossa (died 304), a.k.a. Vincent the Deacon, deacon and martyr * Saint Vincenca, 3rd century Roman martyress, whose relics are in Blato, Croatia * Vincent, Orontius, and Victor (died 305 ...

and a performance by

Vampire Weekend Vampire Weekend are an American Rock music, rock band formed in New York City in 2006 and currently signed to Columbia Records. The band was formed by lead vocalist and guitarist Ezra Koenig, multi-instrumentalist Rostam Batmanglij, drummer Chr ...

of the song at a

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

concert. The song was included in the teaser trailer for ''

Freakier Friday ''Freakier Friday'' is an upcoming American fantasy comedy film directed by Nisha Ganatra and written by Jordan Weiss. Produced by Walt Disney Pictures, it is a sequel to '' Freaky Friday'' (2003), itself based on Mary Rodgers's 1972 novel, ...

''.

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Release history

References

{{Chappell Roan 2023 singles 2023 songs Chappell Roan songs Island Records singles LGBTQ-related songs Song recordings produced by Dan Nigro Songs written by Chappell Roan Songs written by Dan Nigro