KING PRINCESS RULES
Her Magnificent Debut Album ‘Cheap Queen’
Mikaela Mullaney Straus, known professionally as King Princess, was essentially born and raised in a studio. The daughter of a recording engineer, she spent her childhood learning how to play musical instruments and utilize technical artistry to make them sound different.
Now, at just 20 years old, King Princess is attracting a number of notable admirers. Her first single “1950” is a tribute to Patricia Highsmith’s The Price of Salt, a pioneering novel in LGBTQ literature. It’s also King Princess’ first project and blends her own genderqueer/lesbian identities into her music. “1950” and King Princess attracted a wider audience after Harry Styles tweeted one of her song lyrics. But, her groovy pop style makes it apparent why she’s getting noticed. This year, she performed at Lollapalooza, Coachella and Glastonbury, all before releasing a full-length album.
King Princess’ highly anticipated debut album, Cheap Queen, was released last week. It’s 13 tracks and each seems to take its time without dragging. It’s delightfully retro and infused with 80s techno sounds blended with a sexy coolness. The album’s title track is a dreamy and dives deep into fame and femininity. Her music video is a surreal, back-in-time collection saturated in color.
Other high notes include “Isabel’s Moment,” a raw, stripped down collab with upcoming indie crooner Tobias Jesso Jr. “Prophet” is another, a slow burn of layered vocals over a funky, electric piano-driven rhythm.
So, after months of obsessing over King Princess’ musical fusion of past and present, we at PROVOKR are fascinated by Cheap Queen. King Princess has a number of upcoming tour dates scheduled through the rest of 2019 and into early 2020. We’re looking forward to
Seeing her perform her unique music live.
