I tried to call Chappell Roan’s 1-800-HOT-TO-GO. Here’s who answered instead.
🎶 HOT-TO-GO! You can’t call me on the phone 🎶
Rising pop star Chappell Roan has been splashing her merch with a cheeky hotline number. But if you call it, you won’t get the self-described “Midwest princess” on the phone.
Fresh off of opening for Olivia Rodrigo and sets at Coachella and Hangout Fest, Roan’s on a mostly sold-out headlining tour. Her latest single, “Good Luck, Babe!” continues to climb Billboard charts. Meanwhile, another track by Roan, “HOT TO GO!,” has taken over TikTok FYPs with fans performing the song’s coordinating dance (think a Zoomer’s version of YMCA).
The song is often marketed in both official and unofficial merch with a hotline number: 1-800-HOT-TO-GO. This week, I called the line, not exactly sure what to expect but hoping for the pleasant surprise of an easter egg. Instead, I hit a generic answering machine that said offices were closed. I tried again the next morning. It only got weirder.
@readecho Order up! 🛎 Chappell Roan performs HOT TO GO! in Boston #chappellroan #hotogo #pinkponyclub ♬ original sound - ECHO
Easter eggs and phone campaigns a common marketing tactic
Musicians using phone numbers as an easter egg or marketing tool isn’t new.
Last year in Philly, Boygenius (featuring former West Philadelphian Lucy Dacus) teased an upcoming tour with fliers that included a prompt to call 888-66-BOYGENIUS. The number — which is no longer active — went to an 8-bit telephone instrumental version of the group’s song “Not Strong Enough.”
And last month when the premiere season of Fallout came out, fans spotted an active phone number in a fake ad for Vault-Tec: 213-25-Vault. Callers were quickly startled by the jump-scare of someone screaming for almost 20 seconds. Over the years, other artists, TV shows, and movies have done similar. A call to the number referenced by Big Sean in the artist’s track, “Outro,” used to connect callers to the rapper’s direct line.
But instead of connecting to Roan or a song of hers, 1-800-HOT-TO-GO isn’t doing anything for fans — unless they’re looking to get a hold of a car-part manufacturer.
1-800-HOT-TO-GO leads to auto part call center in Indiana
It turns out, the unofficial Midwest princess’s phone line goes to a different midwest location: a call center, headquartered in Plainfield, Ind.
According to reverse phone number searches and a call center employee The Inquirer spoke with, 1-800-HOT-TO-GO (468-8646) routes callers to a product distribution center for Balkamp, a subsidiary of Genuine Parts Company, which owns NAPA Auto Parts.
This took several calls to confirm. The kind call-center employees are typically expecting calls from service writers or other people in the automotive industry with part numbers and diagnostics, not reporters who double as rabid Chappell Roan fans (whoops).
As for if other eager fans have made the call, it’s unclear. Calls and e-mails to Balkamp and Genuine Parts Company were not returned. Roan’s team did not respond to a request for comment as of publication time.
Roan’s case isn’t even the latest example of a phone number fail.
Last weekend when Sabrina Carpenter — who’s originally from Quakertown — made her Saturday Night Live debut, she held a copy of a fake newspaper called the Carpenter News. The broadsheet included a fake ad for “Honey Bee Hotline” (a nod to the lyrics in her smash single, “Espresso”).
It includes the number 1-800-SABRINA. In reality, that number goes to what appears to be an adult phone chat line.
On X (formerly Twitter), some fans said they called the number hoping for an Easter egg from Carpenter.
“Let me save u the money and tell u there was nothing there,” one user wrote.
867-5309 led to chaos
All in all, these are just the latest example of an artist accidentally steering a fan to call an unaffiliated number.
In the 1980S, pop group Tommy Tutone’s “867-5309 / Jenny” led to a swarm of callers across the country ringing up those unfortunate enough be assigned those digits (area codes were automatically applied for local calls).
Decades later, the number still poses challenges for the unlucky holders.
In the early aughts, a Brown University student assigned the number complained to the student newspaper about it being “the worst number to have in the world.”
In 2004, New Jersey DJ Spencer Potter requested the number as a marketing play. Potter said it ended up being disastrous, with his phone ringing off the wall. Potter said he received 50,000 calls in five years and had to get a second phone line.
Potter later attempted to sell the number via eBay. It’s unclear if he was successful, but one report from CNN said bids went as high as $5,000.
Maybe Balkamp could try and do the same.