What is the song “Hot to Go” about?
“Hot to go” often refers to a food order being ready to take home to eat. If you hear “hot to go!” shouted out at your local burger joint or Chinese spot, for instance, you’ll know that your order is up, your food is hot, and it’s ready to be taken home and eaten. In Chappell Roan’s cheeky song with the title “Hot to Go!,” she’s basically replacing the food order with herself: You can take me hot to go. Basically, Roan is saying that she’s hot (physically, not necessarily temperature-wise—although that may also be true!) and ready to be taken home by someone she finds attractive. While it’s not completely clear where Roan is in the song, it’s likely that she’s at a bar, club, or party and meeting this person that’s making her a hundred ninety-nine degrees on the dance floor. The Line of Best Fit critic Sam Franzini—who rated The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess a 9/10 immediately following its release)—described the track as “Roan [serving] herself up on a platter, happy to be feasted upon and even relishing the opportunity to be lusted after. ‘What’s it gonna take to get your number!?’ she asks in a crazed voice on the chorus, perfectly simulating the mind-bending obsession one can submit to in the presence of a hot person.” To snap, clap, and sum it up, this seductive, up-tempo track is Roan’s way of saying that she’s ~hot and bothered~ and ready to go home with someone, likely another queer woman. Instead of expressing these feelings outright, Roan makes her desires known with quirky fast food references and cheeky one-liners (Hurry up, it’s time for supper!).
The verses see Roan telling a girl she’s interested (and to make a move). Roan’s desires are clear from the (purposefully) short-of-breath pants dotted throughout her opening lines: I could be the one, or your new addiction / It’s all in my head but I want non-fiction / I don’t want the world, but I’ll take this city / Who can blame a girl? Call me hot, not pretty. In just a few lines, we know a few things about Roan: she’s going out tonight, she’s going to make her fantasies real, and she wants to feel sexy—not just cute or pretty. In the second verse, we flash back a bit to realize that Roan’s been without romantic company for a while (Well, I woke up alone staring at my ceiling / I try not to care but it hurts my feelings). Then, Roan hammers home this point by assertively telling the object of her desires that she’s into her and she’s ready for her to do something about it: You don’t have to stare, come here, get with it / No one’s touched me there in a damn hot minute. The refrains leading into the pre-chorus follow a similar theme, where Roan pulls a very meta tactic of asking her crush if they like this beat, which she confesses to only making so they’d dance with her. She also admits to how hot she finds this moment of the pair dancing together, singing It’s like a hundred ninety-nine degrees / When you’re doing it with me. Roan doesn’t hold back much when discussing the details of her sex life or sexual desires (as you may have noticed)—a move that’s both vulnerable and empowering as she cements her place as a rising pop princess.
In the choruses, Roan revs up and repeats a “HOT TO GO” chant. Aside from bringing an electric wave of audience interactivity to this tune, the “HOT TO GO” call-and-response chant throughout the pre-choruses and choruses demonstrate Roan’s mounting exasperation and excitement as her gasps become more frantic and her high notes more punchy and urgent. Roan ends her choruses with the main flirtatious message (or thesis, if you will) of her desire-laden tune: you can take me hot to go. In a nutshell, she’s feeling hot and she’s telling her crush that she’s hers to take home.
The bridge and outro hit a boiling point before Roan takes her date home. “Hot to Go!” reaches its feverish climax in the bridge, where Roan speaks directly to her hopeful hook-up: What’s it take to get your number? / What’s it take to bring you home? / Hurry up, it’s time for supper / Order up I’m hot to go. With these lines, Roan reaffirms that she’s hot for her dance partner and wants to bring them home for supper...and maybe a bit more. Before the bridge wraps up, Roan repeats this section with a slight lyric tweak: Hurry up, it’s getting cold. While the continuously-building vocals and increased directness in the lyrics seem to indicate that Roan is doing anything but cooling off, this line shows her impatience and desperation to get the object of her affection to go home with her. The It’s time for supper line may also be Roan’s way of showing the child-like petulance of her child-like narrator persona. Finally, the song ends with a spoken outro where a fatigued but giddy sounding Roan uses her real speaking voice to snap out of her heightened daze. This sudden and comical stop to the fast-paced track reminds us of last-call reality but assures us that Roan did indeed succeed in being taken ~hot to go~ : Whew, it’s hot in here / Is anyone else hot? / Woo, you coming home with me? / Okay, it’s hot / I’ll call the cab.
What Chappell Has Said About “Hot to Go!”
“I wrote this song so I could live out my cheerleader fantasy!” In a note that should be unsurprising to anyone who’s heard the bouncy tune, Chappell Roan confirmed in an interview with Coup de Main magazine that “Hot to Go!” is a pom-pom-inspired pop smash. Speaking about the dance-heavy track, Roan explains, “I just wanted to make something simple and silly that I could do with the audience because I’m a huge fan of audience participation. Also, selfishly (and shamelessly) I wanted to bounce around on stage singing a song about being hot.” Who can blame a girl?!
“I was really jealous of the ‘Y.M.C.A.’” Chappell Roan revealed that she set out to make a track inspired by The Village People’s iconic anthem and dance (which may or may not also allude to the queer community). As Roan goes on to say, “I made 'H-O-T-T-O-G-O,’ a little dance that I can do with the audience. And fun fact, it’s actually a real cheer. But I made up my own cheer with that."
“What did little me want?” In a deeper take on what allowed Chappell Roan to make her “feel like [she] could make silly art” like “Hot to Go!,” Roan recounts going “into therapy with inner child work and working on ‘What did little me want?’ That was a little girl who wanted to play dress up all the time and dance and be obnoxious. I think once I allowed myself to do that, my art got better.”
“Hot to Go!” by Chappell Roan Music Video
The “Hot to Go!” music video shows Roan parading through her hometown. The music video was filmed in Roan’s hometown of Springfield, Missouri. The visuals include hometown hangouts, farmland landscapes, a monster truck rally, and a roadside gas station. Along the route, Roan is shown teaching the “Hot to Go!” dance to townspeople, local drag queens from Missouri, and even her real-life grandparents. Speaking about her grandparents' reactions to the explicit content of the song, Roan stated that she thinks “they ignore it. That's what you do in the Midwest. It's very much, 'Oh, you know, Kayleigh's [Chappell Roan’s biological name] dating a girl, but it's really just like her friend.’ You just kind of ignore it. You don't really ask any questions. I kind of feel like my family is like that with my entire project. I highly doubt my grandparents listen to 'Casual' or 'Red Wine Supernova'? Like really? I think 'HOT TO GO!' was pretty tame." Aside from her familial cameos, Roan’s video also notably stars some Missouri drag performers. This inclusion reflects Roan’s tradition of hiring drag queens as the openers for her show, which she’s explained as “a great way to engage the local queer community in that city. I encourage people to tip the queens, that's redistributing funds within the community there, and also it just gives a platform for the drag queens. Some of these queens have never performed in front of a crowd that big before, and it's just fun.” Ultimately, the music video is as flashy and fun as the tune itself, giving viewers a campy yet heartfelt insight into Roan’s personal life, which contrasts with the fictionalized drag persona she famously performs as. As we watch Roan parade around her Midwestern hometown, we can see the evolution of her identity as an artist and the way her rural upbringing has both crafted her sense of self and continues to impact her increasingly-popular music.
“Hot to Go!” Release & Popularity
“Hot to Go!” is the seventh track on Roan’s debut studio album. The synth-pop song was released in 2023 as the ninth single ahead of the album (The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess), but Roan had already been performing the number at her live shows since 2022. Roan wrote and produced the song alongside frequent collaborator Dan Nigro, and it was released by Island Records and Amusement Records. “Hot to Go!” was a slow burner, however, as the song debuted at number 80 on the Billboard Hot 100 for the week ending June 15, 2024—almost a full year after the track’s release. The song saw its peak (so far) at number 16 on the charts for August 17, 2024. While Roan has had increasing popularity and cult following for a while, she only achieved mainstream popularity after supporting Olivia Rodrigo on her massively-popular GUTS World Tour. “Hot to Go!” is no doubt a massive hit amongst fans, but it’s also been well-received by critics. In August 2023, Billboard’s Stephen Daw described the song as “fun, camp, and…exactly the kind of jam that will have you dancing along in no time.”
“Hot to Go!” by Chappell Roan: Full Lyrics
Five, sixFive, six, seven eightI could be the one, or your new addictionIt's all in my head but I want non-fictionI don't want the world, but I'll take this cityWho can blame a girl? Call me hot, not prettyBaby, do you like this beat? (Na-na-na-na, na)I made it so you'd dance with me (na-na-na-na, na)It's like a hundred ninety-nine degrees (na-na-na-na, na)When you're doing it with me, doing it with me (na-na-na-na, na)H-O-T-T-O-G-OSnap and clap and touch your toesRaise your hands, now body rollDance it out, you're hot to goH-O-T-T-O-G-OSnap and clap and touch your toesRaise your hands, now body rollH-O-T-T-O-G-OH-O-T-T-O-G-OYou can take me hot to goH-O-T-T-O-G-OYou can take me hot to goWell, I woke up alone staring at my ceilingI try not to care but it hurts my feelingsYou don't have to stare, come here, get with itNo one's touched me there in a damn hot minuteAnd baby, don't you like this beat? (Na-na-na-na, na)I made it so you'd sleep with me (na-na-na-na, na)It's like a hundred ninety-nine degrees (na-na-na-na, na)When you're doing it with me, doing it with me (na-na-na-na, na)H-O-T-T-O-G-OSnap and clap and touch your toesRaise your hands, now body rollDance it out, you're hot to goH-O-T-T-O-G-OSnap and clap and touch your toesRaise your hands, now body rollH-O-T-T-O-G-OH-O-T-T-O-G-OYou can take me hot to goH-O-T-T-O-G-OYou can take me hot to goWhat's it take to get your number?What's it take to bring you home?Hurry up, it's time for supperOrder up, I'm hot to goWhat's it take to get your number?Hurry up, it's getting coldHurry up, it's time for supperOrder up, I'm hot to goH-O-T-T-O-G-OYou can take me hot to go (oh, yeah)H-O-T-T-O-G-OYou can take me hot to go (hot to go)H-O-T-T-O-G-OYou can take me hot to go (oh, yeah)H-O-T-T-O-G-OYou can take me hot to goWhew, it's hot hereIs anyone else hot?Woo, you coming home with me?Okay, it's hotI'll call the cab
How to Do the “Hot to Go!” Dance
Before performing “Hot to Go!”, Roan teaches the audience the dance. So whether you’re lucky enough to have scored some Chappell tickets or simply want to have a cowboy-hat-clad dance party with your friends (or just with yourself!), we’ll take a note from Roan and give a full rundown of the “Hot to Go!” dance: When Chappell sings H-O-T-T-O-G-O in the pre-chorus, alternate moving your arms up and down on specific beats: Raise your right arm on H. Lower your right arm and raise your left one on the second O. When Chappell sings directives like snap and clap and touch your toes, just follow her instructions! On snap, extend both hands out from your sides and snap. On clap, bring both hands in front of your body to clap. On touch your toes, touch your toes! On raise your hands, now body roll, sultrily bring your hands from your toes to above your head—while “rolling” your hips, if desired. On dance it out, you’re hot to go, spin or dance in a slow circle. When Chappell sings H-O-T-T-O-G-O in the chorus, move your arms to make the shape of each letter: H: Raise both arms straight above your head. O: Make an “O” with both arms, touching your hands together over your head. T: Stretch both arms horizontally out to your sides. T: Bounce your arms slightly upward and repeat the “T” shape. O: Make an “O” with both arms, touching your hands together over your head. G: Leave your right arm up and drop the left into a curved shape near your waist. O: Make an “O” with both arms, touching your hands together over your head. When Chappell sings You can take me hot to go, move your arms as directed on each new beat: You: Point forward with your left hand. Can: Point forward with your right hand. Take: Place your left palm on the right side of your chest. Me: Place your right palm on the left side of your chest. Hot: Simultaneously slide your left hand to your left shoulder and your right hand to your right shoulder. To Go: Slinkily move your hands down your body while swaying your hips back and forth.
More Songs like “Hot to Go!”
“Hot to Go!” is a certified bop and a serious contender for 2024’s unofficial Song of the Summer. But you can only listen to “Hot to Go!” so many times in a row (or can’t you?), so we’ve put together some other song recommendations to keep you feeling hot, not pretty! More Chappell Roan songs: “Pink Pony Club,” “Feminomenon,” “My Kink is Karma,” “Good Luck Babe.” More call-and-response songs: “Happy” by Pharrell Williams, “Wanna Be Starting Something” by Michael Jackson, “Run the World (Girls)” by Beyoncé. More songs with choreography: “Macarena” by Los Del Río,” “Cupid Shuffle” by Cupid, “The Ketchup Song (Asereje)” by Las Ketchup. More Dan Nigro-produced songs: “So Hot You’re Hurting My Feelings” by Caroline Polachek, “Heather” by Conan Gray, “Driver’s License” by Olivia Rodrigo.
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