"After Midnight" is a song by the American singer and songwriter Chappell Roan from her debut studio album, The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess (2023). Island Records and Amusement Records released it as the album's third track on September 22, 2023. Roan wrote "After Midnight" with Casey Smith and the song's producer, Dan Nigro. It is a pop, disco, neo-disco, dance, and funk track, and the lyrics are about nightlife, sexuality, desire, and Roan's experience as a bisexual woman.
Some music critics praised "After Midnight" as catchy and for its sexually provocative lyrics; others considered it unremarkable. Commercially, it reached number 22 on the Bubbling Under Hot 100 chart in the United States, where it was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America. Roan included the song in the set lists of her second concert tour, the Midwest Princess Tour (2023–2024), and Olivia Rodrigo's Guts World Tour in 2024. She performed it at several music festivals throughout 2024.
Roan wrote "After Midnight" with Nigro and Casey Smith; the former two contributed background vocals. Nigro recorded the track at Amusement Studios in Los Angeles, assisted by Austen Healey. Serban Ghenea provided audio mixing, while Bryce Bordone worked as the mixing engineer. "After Midnight" was mastered by Randy Merrill at Sterling Sound Studios in Edgewater, New Jersey. Nigro additionally provided drum programming and played guitar, keyboards, percussion, and synthesizers. Musicians who played instruments include Sterling Laws (drums) and Jared Solomon (bass guitar).[5]
"After Midnight" is three minutes and twenty-four seconds long.[8] Music journalists identified it as a sensual disco,[9][10][11]neo-disco,[12]dance,[13] and funk song,[14] where Roan sings in the whistle register.[15] According to Dork's Steven Loftin, "After Midnight" has a mid-2000s pop sound.[16] Roan was inspired to write the track after moving to Los Angeles at the age of eighteen and realizing that "everything good happens after midnight", which opposes her father's saying: "Nothing good happens after midnight".[17] "After Midnight" explores themes of sexuality, desire,[10]nightlife, bar fights,[10] and "being a freak in the club".[9]
The lyrics highlight Roan's experience as a bisexual woman; she sings in the refrain, "I'm feeling kinda freaky, maybe it's the club lights/ I kinda wanna kiss your girlfriend if you don't mind", before changing the lyric later in the song to "I'm feeling kinda freaky, maybe it's the moonlight/ I kinda wanna kiss your boyfriend if you don't mind".[10][18] The first verse mentions her internalized shame regarding her sexuality during her adolescence ("My mama said, 'Nothing good happens/ When it's late and you're dancing alone'/ She's in my head saying, 'It's not attractive/ Wearing that dress and red lipstick'"). In the pre-chorus, she expresses her freedom and comfort with her sexuality, despite her family's thoughts on it ("This is what I wanted/ This is what I like/ I've been a good, good girl for a long time/ But baby, I like flirting/ A lover by my side/ Can't be a good, good girl even if I tried").[19][20]
Critical reception
Music critics praised "After Midnight" for its memorable tune and sexually-charged lyrics. Adam Maidment of the Manchester Evening News described it as a "chant-worthy anthem",[21] and Neil Z. Yeung from AllMusic praised the song as catchy for its funky production and heavy use of synthesizers.[14] Eric Bennett of Paste considered it one of the tracks that emphasize Roan's brilliance while delivering sexually suggestive lyrics,[10] and Elise Shafer of Variety similarly highlighted the sexually provocative lyrics.[3] In a less enthusiastic review, Olivia Horn of Pitchfork considered "After Midnight" unremarkable, but appreciated Roan's whistle tones as "lovely".[15] Hannah Dobrogosz from BuzzFeed dubbed it "flirty, fun, energetic, freaky, and cheeky", despite not personally connecting with the song; she placed it last in her ranking of the album's fourteen songs.[22]
