Author: Amelia Zeve
Who is King Princess?
There are lots of questions left hanging after one looks into King Princess for the first time. Questions like,
- who is she? an angel sent from heaven?
- any connections to royalty? if so, is she a king OR a princess?
- where did she come from? how did she become so popular with only one five-song album released as of now?
- is her top song really called ‘Pussy is God?’
And, upon looking into the answers of these questions, it’s easy to see that the answers are
- yes
- both
- the magic of Harry Styles
- technically, it’s her third most popular song, but yes, it’s called Pussy is God.
King Princess (aka Mikaela Straus, the Brooklyn-raised 20 year old) burst onto the scene somewhat unexpectedly in the summer, when her song 1950 was quoted by Harry Styles in a now-iconic tweet where he simply referred to the song’s namesake lyrics. She had already been circulating in smaller queer music circles, where she was worshipped for her powerful singing voice, gorgeous ballads of songs, and, of course- her queer anthems.
Make My Bed, Straus’ debut album, is full of unapologetic bops about women- loving them, being heartbroken by them, dating them, and everything in between. In a world where artists are expected to create a name for themselves and then slowly come out afterwards, Straus was a refreshing example of someone who just showed up as her unapologetically gay self. Her swaggering confidence bleeds into the music she makes, leaving sultry and empowering jams that you want to listen to for hours on end.
That’s part of the reason she has such a dedicated and loyal fanbase- it’s not often that you see celebrities who take a steep rise to fame behaving as such ‘normal’ people, but Straus’ Instagram is akin to any old finsta of some girl from your hometown. Even though her name was very rapidly put on the map, she’s humble, funny- and herself. And it’s reasons like that (as well as her incredible music) that made venues like the Showbox sell out within a day of King Princess releasing ticket sales for it
King Princess stops by Seattle on this Friday, April 26th, for a show at the Showbox with Banoffee and Miss Texas 1988. The show begins at 8:30pm, and although it’s sold out, resale tickets are available online.
AMELIA ZEVE | KXSU Arts Reporter