Chappell Roan just proved why she’s your favorite artist’s favorite artist. At her first-ever MTV VMAs tonight, she delivered a stunning performance of her hit “Good Luck, Babe!”, complete with a theatrical concept and a little fire. After a red-hot intro from drag legend Sasha Colby, Roan took the stage in armor and chain mail, surrounded by backup dancers dressed as knights, and fired a crossbow into the towering castle behind her before bursting into song.

Speaking to MTV on the red carpet earlier tonight, Roan said of her set, “I’m nervous, there’s a lot of technical stuff going on that I’ve never experienced before. But I feel like this is the next step in my career, so I was like, ‘Damn, OK, it feels good to be here.'” But she delivered, giving a compelling, imaginative, fairytale-like performance unlike anything we’ve seen before tonight.

Roan has had a huge rise over the past year, especially after the release of her album, The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princesslast September. Since then, her profile has only risen with the release of “Good Luck, Babe!”, festival appearances at Coachella and Gov Ball, and widespread buzz on social media and from fellow musicians. But with her huge VMAs coming up, she’s making her message clear: believe the hype.

Roan is up for four MTV VMA awards tonight. The singer is nominated for Best New Artist, Best Trending Video (“HOT TO GO!”), Song of the Summer (“Good Luck, Babe!”) and MTV Push Performance of the Year (“Red Wine Supernova”).

Roan spoke with Rolling Stone in an interview earlier this week about her shock at the sudden rise of her music. “I was getting almost a hundred thousand followers a day. At first I was in serious denial,” she said. “They literally showed me some statistics and all I could do was say, ‘No, no, no. That’s not how it is.’ I couldn’t say, ‘I’m becoming more and more successful.'”

While Roan is just starting to become a household name, her career is already a decade old. “What’s so frustrating is how people are only now taking me seriously,” she said. “Like, ‘You know what, bitch? I’ve done this and you’re just now catching up to me.'”

Still, the attention she’s been receiving is a lot to handle: “Part of me hopes I never have another hit record, because then no one will ever expect anything from me,” she said softly, adding that despite her nervousness, she’s totally into it. “It’s my dream job,” she said. “I never know if it’ll ever be like that again, which is kind of scary.”

Alyssa Bailey is the senior news and strategy editor at ELLE.com, where she oversees coverage of celebrities and royals (particularly Meghan Markle and Kate Middleton). She previously held roles at In Style And Cosmopolitan. When she’s not working, she enjoys running through Central Park, getting people to take #ootd photos of her, and exploring New York City.

Erica Gonzales is the Senior Culture Editor at ELLE.com, where she oversees coverage of TV, movies, music, books, and more. She was previously an editor at HarpersBAZAAR.com. There’s a 75 percent chance she’s listening to Lorde right now.