How’re You Livin’,
In these tough times, its really hard to stay determined and focused on goals, tasks and dreams. However, there are some people in the world who will never let anything stop them from chasing their passions. These people are musical artists. Musicians have continuously created songs, videos and posted inspiring messages in order to get us all through this social rough patch. Music is a driving force and one that helps inspire us to continue and do more. One such musical artist that strikes me is King Princess.
Mikaela Mullaney Straus, known by her stage name King Princess, is an American singer, songwriter and instrumentalist born in Brooklyn, New York. Her songs display such sad and passionate lyrics and vocals. Nearly all her songs are written about pain, love and loss in her life. I do not know about you, but we have all suffered from matters of the heart. Her music expresses a unique perspective on the feelings that come with love and loss.
In her debut album, Cheap Queen, King Princess carries her heart on her sleeve and bares her soul to her listeners. With sensual and passionate lyrics about love, she draws in many new listeners. King Princess rose to fame thanks to two of her singles, “1950” and “Talia.” King Princess’ music serves to influence even larger stars. Her single “1950” was even quoted and endorsed by Harry Styles himself who tweeted, “I love it when we play ‘1950’.” Styles’ acknowledgement further serves to prove the quality and passion of King Princess’ work. For me, these two songs are the most iconic pieces within her body of work. In these songs of hers, she sings about love and how it relates to her experience as someone who is genderqueer.
“1950” is partially based on a lesbian love story known as The Price of Salt. This movie conceptualizes and gives deeper perspective on queer relationships during a time where they were widely not accepted. The protagonists exchanged an unspoken love up until their first kiss. King Princess explores her understanding of her sexuality, love and communication with others. Love in any way and form is something surrounded in uncertainty. We all chase for certainty in our love. It makes our hearts race and want more and more of that person. King Princess perfectly puts into words the want and uncertainty in love that we all want. This makes “1950” an amazing song about the unspoken nature of love and passion, and one that truly stands out.
“Talia”, one of King Princess’ breakout singles is another song filled with heartfelt passion. This song once again explores love and loss. This song specifically explores an interesting take on a past relationship. Though not explicitly stated, the song talks about a failed relationship. In the song, she reminisces about the person with which she was once together. When a relationship ends, it is accompanied by changes in relationship dynamics and feelings. She takes note of this in her song by stating, “and in this mess, I think I dug a thousand graves/ Talia, I hope you’re happy anyway.” The complicated nature that revolves around break-ups are hard to understand. We all have different ways of coping with the pain. The central theme of the song is alcohol and its use as a vice to cope with the pain and loss of a break-up. In the song, King Princess abuses alcohol in order to hallucinate and imagine her love being with her once again. Alcohol is but one vice many of us turn to during times of difficulty. Understanding the minute details of love and loss is yet another reason why “Talia” is an amazing song.
Music is a lifelong passion and one that we all enjoy whether we are a creator or listener. King Princess creates songs that we can all enjoy. Passionate vocals combined with loving and painful lyrics describe her music. Along with a confident and powerful expression of her sexuality within her music makes King Princess an incredible musical artist that I very highly suggest to you, the audience. Take a chance to learn and listen to an exceptional new artist such as King Princess. Her musical works will not disappoint and hopefully you will fall in love with her music the same way that I have!
The Candid Clark 