King Princess

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King Princess
King Princess 2018.png
King Princess at the 2018 MTV Video Music Awards
Born
Mikaela Mullaney Straus

(1998-12-19) December 19, 1998 (age 23)
Brooklyn, New York, U.S.
OccupationSinger, songwriter
Years active2015–present
Partner(s)Quinn Whitney Wilson (2019–present)
Musical career
Genres
Instruments
  • Vocal
  • guitar
  • bass
  • synthesizers
  • keyboards
  • drums
LabelsZelig Recordings
Associated actsMark Ronson
Websitekingprincessmusic.com

Mikaela Mullaney Straus[1][2] (born December 19, 1998), known by her stage name King Princess, is an American singer, songwriter, and multiinstrumentalist from Brooklyn, New York.[3] She is signed to Mark Ronson's label Zelig Records, an imprint of Columbia Records.[4] In February 2018, King Princess released her debut single "1950" in the album called "Make My Bed". The song was a commercial success, charting in multiple territories. The song was later certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America.[5] Her second single, "Talia", was certified gold in Australia by the Australian Recording Industry Association. King Princess released her debut studio album Cheap Queen on October 25, 2019.

Early life[]

Straus was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York; she is the child of recording engineer Oliver H. Straus Jr. and Agnes "Aggie" Mullaney. Her parents divorced while she was young. On her mother's side she is of Irish, Italian and Polish descent. On her father's side, her great-great-grandparents include Isidor Straus, a U.S. Congressman and co-owner of Macy's, and Ida Straus; they were from German Jewish families, who emigrated to the United States from the Kingdom of Bavaria and Rhineland-Palatinate. The couple died in the sinking of the passenger ship RMS Titanic.[6][7][8] However she has stated in a Rolling Stone interview that she is not an heiress and did not inherit any fortune.[9] She has also clarified this information on her social media platforms.

Straus spent much of her childhood following her father to work at his recording studio, Mission Sound. There, she learned several instruments, including bass, guitar, piano, and drums, as well as music-production techniques and insight into the music industry. Straus' inspiration in those years had come from the rock music of the bands Led Zeppelin and T. Rex, as well as Jack White.[3] She attended high school at Avenues: The World School, a private school in Manhattan, and played volleyball.[10][11]

After high school, Straus moved to Los Angeles to study at the USC Thornton School of Music. However, after a year, she dropped out in favor of her music career.[3]

Career[]

King Princess performing at Royale in Boston, Massachusetts (2018)

A music label offered to sign Straus at the age of 11, but she refused to do so, because of her experience watching other artists work with a music label in her father's studio. The labels would control the artists' product, and change the feel of the music. She did not want to sign with a record label until she had a definition of her music, how she wanted to run the production and with whom she would work.[12]

In February 2018, King Princess released her debut single "1950".[4][13] The song is a tribute to the 1952 novel The Price of Salt by Patricia Highsmith, to the LGBT community and to queer love. The song reached a wide audience when British singer Harry Styles tweeted a lyric from the song.[3] Straus followed this with her second single "Talia" in April.[14] She released her debut extended play Make My Bed on June 15, 2018.[15] Later that year, she earned Breakout Pop Artist of the Year honors from Vivid Seats.[16]

In 2019, it was announced that King Princess would perform at Lollapalooza[17] and Coachella.[18] She played The Park stage at the 2019 Glastonbury Festival and was joined by Mark Ronson (dressed as King Princess) for a performance of their collaboration "Pieces of Us" from his 2019 album Late Night Feelings.[19] Zelig Recordings released King Princess' debut album Cheap Queen on October 25, 2019.[20] She produced much of the album herself, including programming many of the instruments.[21] In November 2019, King Princess was revealed to be the opening act for the European leg of Harry Styles' planned 2020 concert tour, Love On Tour.[22] King Princess performed as the musical guest on Saturday Night Live (Season 45, Episode 7) on November 23, 2019.[23] She released a deluxe edition of Cheap Queen on February 14, 2020. The release included five previously unreleased new songs, including "Ohio".[24]

In October 2020, King Princess released a new single, “Only Time Makes it Human”, followed by “PAIN” in November. In a November 2020 interview with Zane Lowe, she confirmed she’s working on her second album with Mark Ronson.[25]

Personal life[]

Straus is gay and genderqueer.[26][27][28][29][30] From early 2018 to late 2018, she dated actress Amandla Stenberg. Since early 2019, Straus has been in a relationship with Quinn Whitney Wilson, the creative director of musician Lizzo.[31] Regarding her gender identity, she has said in an interview with W magazine, "I like being a woman sometimes. I would say 49 percent of the time I love my titties. But I’m not fully a woman. I’m somebody who falls center on the gender spectrum, and it changes day to day. It’s just not in me to decide."[32] As of late 2020, King Princess uses she/her pronouns.[33]

Public Image and Influence[]

Identifying as a “genderqueer lesbian,”[26][27][28][29][30] King Princess has been dubbed an icon for the next generation of young queers representing free love and radical feminism[28][34][35][36] becoming an artist who has been successful, trendy, and profitable by being publicly open[27] and out as gay.[29] With a 823K following on her verified Instagram account “kingprincess69” where she can be seen very publicly with her confirmed girlfriend,[31] she has come to represent a new generation of queer artists.[36] As overtly queer and particularly lesbian love songs are out of the norm[27] King Princess has made a significant impact on the queer pop scene. As not many have built a career off of a specifically lesbian, androgynous aesthetic[36] she has become particularly beloved by the femme queer and lesbian community, a fan base which has embraced her as an icon[36] despite her hesitancy to be an idol, spokesperson or face of the lesbian or queer community.[32] Despite this public image, King Princess does not want to be confined to any box of “Queer pop” music, but rather would prefer to make it to the top of the charts with songs that happen to be about queer relationships held to the same standard as straight artists. She finds “queer pop” to be troubling as sexuality is not a genre.[29] She feels her success should be taken as the beginning of something bigger, and that we are ready queer culture and representation to become more mainstream.[27] Her song 1950 has particularly made an impact on pop music and queer culture[37] with the headliner song “Cheap Queen” not explicitly about queerness but rather classic pop lyrics about a relationship.[36] This album has raised questions of cultural appropriation of fetishization of drag as KP is pictured on the alum art in full campy drag makeup, however these critiques emphasize genitalia and the physical body while drag is meant to be an inclusive deconstruction of gender.[36]

Discography[]

King Princess discography
Studio albums1
EPs2
Singles11
Promotional singles4

Studio albums[]

Title Details Peak chart positions
US
Current
[38] 		US
Heat
[39] 		US
Alt
[40] 		AUS
[41] 		UK
Physical
[42]
Cheap Queen 88 8 18 41 86

Extended plays[]

Title EP details Peak chart positions
NZ
Heat.
[43]
Make My Bed
  • Released: June 15, 2018[15]
  • Label: Zelig
  • Format: Digital download, streaming
 1
Up Next Live from Apple Williamsburg
  • Released: August 5, 2019[44]
  • Label: Zelig
  • Format: Digital download, streaming
 —
"—" denotes a recording that did not chart.

Singles[]

As lead artist[]

Title Year Peak chart positions Certifications Album
US
Alt.
Airplay
[45] 		AUS
[46] 		AUT
[47] 		BEL
(FL)
[48] 		CAN
[49] 		NLD
[50] 		NZ
Hot
[51] 		SWE
[52] 		SWI
[53]
"1950" 2018 17 25 75 48 82 83 — 87 94 Make My Bed
"Talia"[58] — — — — — — — — —
"Pussy Is God"[60] — — — — — — 17 — — Non-album single
"Cheap Queen"[61] 2019 — — — 98 — — 17 — — Cheap Queen
"Prophet"[62] — — — — — — 17 — —
"Ain't Together"[63] — — — — — — — — —
"Hit the Back"[64] — — — — — — — — —
"Ohio"[65] 2020 — — — — — — — — —
"Only Time Makes It Human"[66] — — — — — — 33 — — TBA
"Pain"[67] — — — — — — — — —
"House Burn Down" 2021 — — — — — — — — —
"—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory.

As featured artist[]

Title Year Peak chart position Album
NZ
Hot
[68]
"Pieces of Us"[69]
(Mark Ronson featuring King Princess) 		2019 24 Late Night Feelings

Promotional singles[]

List of singles, showing year released and album name
Title Year Album
"Femme Fatale" (RISE Recording) 2018 Non-album singles
"I Know" (RISE Recording)
(featuring Fiona Apple) 		2019
"Happy Together"
(with Mark Ronson)
"Monster"[70] 2020 Adventure Time: Distant Lands - Obsidian (Original Soundtrack) [Deluxe Edition]
"There She Goes Again" 2021 I 'll Be Your Mirror: A Tribute to the Velvet Underground & Nico

Guest appearances[]

Title Year Other artists Album
"Run Me Through" (King Princess Remix)[71] 2018 Perfume Genius Reshaped EP
"Fell in Love with a Girl"[72] 2019 N/A Triple J Like a Version 15

Awards and nominations[]

In June 2020, in honor of the 50th anniversary of the first LGBTQ pride parade, Queerty named her among the fifty heroes “leading the nation toward equality, acceptance, and dignity for all people”.[73][74]

Year Organization Award Work Result
2018 BBC Sound of 2019 Herself Second[75]
DIY Class of 2019 Included[76]
2019 Rolling Stone Germany's
International Music Award 		Beginner Pending[77]
2020 GLAAD Media Award Outstanding Music Artist Cheap Queen Pending[78]

References[]

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  2. ^ "Your query : Creator's Name begins with STRAUS MIKAELA on any territories (Domestic works)". ISWC. Retrieved October 6, 2019.
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  4. ^ a b Jessica (February 26, 2018). "Future Stars: King Princess (Columbia/Zelig Records)". This Must Be Pop. Retrieved June 14, 2018.
  5. ^ "Gold & Platinum". RIAA. Retrieved December 7, 2020.
  6. ^ Straus, Isidor. Autobiography of Isidor Straus. Independently published by the Straus Historical Society, 2011. pp. 168–176
  7. ^ Newstead, Al (October 19, 2018). "King Princess on reappropriating White Stripes and her "extra as hell" family history". triple j. Retrieved November 19, 2018.
  8. ^ Wood, Mikael (October 30, 2019). "Genderqueer pop sensation King Princess: 'The tea is we've always been the tea'". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved August 21, 2020.
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  11. ^ "Issue 5".
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  45. ^ Peak chart positions in the United States:
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  61. ^ "cheap queen coming to u this Friday can you even believe it ?!". May 28, 2019. Retrieved May 28, 2019 – via Twitter.
  62. ^ @KingPrincess69 (July 15, 2019). "Prophet is out on Friday my loves ;)" (Tweet). Retrieved July 16, 2019 – via Twitter.
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  64. ^ Kenneally, Cerys (October 3, 2019). "King Princess unveils soulful new track "Hit the Back"". The Line of Best Fit. Retrieved October 4, 2019.
  65. ^ Daw, Stephen (February 11, 2020). "King Princess Finally Gives Fans What They Want With 'Ohio': Watch". Billboard. Retrieved February 12, 2020.
  66. ^ "Only Time Makes It Human - Trailer". YouTube. Retrieved October 14, 2020.
  67. ^ "PAIN - Single by King Princess". Apple Music. Retrieved November 23, 2020.
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  69. ^ Bien, Kat (June 17, 2019). "Mark Ronson & King Princess Ride a Retro Dream on 'Pieces of Us': Listen". Billboard. Retrieved June 18, 2019.
  70. ^ "Monster (From the Max Original Adventure Time: Distant Lands - Obsidian) - Single by Adventure Time & King Princess". Apple Music. Retrieved November 13, 2020.
  71. ^ Haas, Anna (May 29, 2018). "Perfume Genius Announces Remix EP Reshaped, King Princess "Run Me Through" Remix". Paste Magazine. Retrieved November 10, 2018.
  72. ^ "Triple J Like a Version 15". iTunes. Retrieved September 17, 2020.
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  74. ^ Tracer, Daniel (July 15, 2020). "These musicians became queer role models young fans need, and they're changing the world for good". Queerty. Retrieved August 2, 2020.
  75. ^ "BBC Sound of 2019: 'Queer icon' King Princess is the runner-up". BBC. January 10, 2019. Retrieved January 10, 2019.
  76. ^ "Class Of 2019: King Princess". DIY. December 18, 2018. Retrieved January 10, 2019.
  77. ^ "SHORTLIST: DAS SIND DIE NOMINIERTEN DES IMA 2019". Rolling Stone Germany (in German). Retrieved May 19, 2019.
  78. ^ "The Nominations for the 31st Annual GLAAD Awards". glaad.com. Retrieved June 10, 2020.

External links[]

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