Cheap Queen Explained
| Cheap Queen |
| Type: | studio |
| Artist: | King Princess |
| Cover: | King Princess - Cheap Queen.png |
| Caption: | Standard edition cover. The deluxe edition features Princess in different make-up against a blue background, with the title in white above her. |
| Alt: | King Princess lounging, wearing audacious makeup |
| Length: | 38:51 |
| Prev Title: | Make My Bed |
| Prev Year: | 2018 |
| Next Title: | Hold on Baby |
| Next Year: | 2022 |
Cheap Queen is the debut studio album by American pop singer-songwriter King Princess, released on October 25, 2019, through Mark Ronson's imprint of Columbia Records, Zelig Records.[1] A deluxe edition of the album with five additional tracks was released on February 14, 2020.[2] Straus began a tour in support of the album on September 20, 2019.[1]
Background
The album was written chronologically,[1] with Straus stating that she named the album Cheap Queen after the drag term for a queen that is "resourceful, making something out of not very much". While Straus started her career with songs like "1950" and "Pussy Is God", The Guardian remarked that she swaps out those "queer pop anthems for understated ballads". Straus explained that the album's sound came about as she was "dealing with the most vulnerable year of my life" after the popularity of "1950", as she was under "complete stress and anxiety, and not knowing what to do with myself or with my body, and then also being in love".[1]
Straus released a deluxe edition of Cheap Queen on February 14, 2020, which included five new songs.[3]
Critical reception
Cheap Queen received universal acclaim from music critics. On review aggregate site Metacritic the album received a rating of 81 out of 100 from 13 critics, indicating "universal acclaim". The album's sound has been compared to the works of Prince, Morrissey, Richard Hawley, Lily Allen, Madonna, Lorde, James Blake, Robyn, Imogen Heap, Fiona Apple, Billie Eilish, Maggie Rogers, Clairo, and Janis Joplin.[4] Matt Collar of Allmusic praised how Straus examines themes of gender and sexuality "with a low-key sensuality that combines masculine hip-hop confidence with a soulful, feminist point-of-view". Max Gayler of The Line of Best Fit praised the album's "eclectic instrumentation and bold production" and the "one-two punch" of the album's closing two tracks, saying "King Princess hasn't reinvented pop, but she is bridging its most exciting chasms."[4] Aimee Cliff of The Guardian complimented the "funk-driven" "Hit the Back", as well as King Princess's voice, which Cliff described as "often intimately close in the mix, brushing up against your ear, unglamorous and unadorned."
Accolades
Personnel
Musicians
- King Princess – lead and background vocals (all tracks), songwriting (all tracks), production (all tracks), bass (tracks 1–4, 7–12, 14, 16), programming (tracks 1–10, 13, 14, 16–18), synthesizer (tracks 2, 4, 5, 7, 13, 14, 16), keyboards (tracks 3, 10–12), guitar (tracks 4–7, 10, 11, 14, 18), drums (tracks 9, 11–14)
- Mike Malchicoff – production (tracks 1–7, 9–12, 14–17), assistant producer (tracks 8, 13, 18)
- Nick Long – songwriting (tracks 1, 3, 4, 6, 7, 9, 11, 14, 16, 17), guitar (tracks 1, 4, 7, 9, 11, 16)
- Homer Steinweiss – drums (track 1)
- Leon Michels – keyboards (track 1)
- Jonah Finegold – guitar (tracks 3, 4, 9, 11, 12, 14, 17, 18)
- Michael Freeman – assistant engineer (tracks 3, 4, 9, 13)
- Amandla Stenberg – songwriting (track 3)
- Billie Holiday – songwriting (track 3)
- Carl Sigman – songwriting (track 3)
- Bob Russell – songwriting (track 3)
- Mark Ronson – assistant producer (tracks 4, 9, 16), production (track 17)
- Justin Tranter – songwriting (track 4)
- Edgar J. Sandoval – violin (track 4)
- DJ Dahi – assistant producer (track 4)
- Josh Tillman – drums (track 4)
- Logan McQuade – bass (tracks 5, 17, 18)
- Antoine Fadavi – drums (tracks 5, 11, 18)
- Romy Croft – songwriting (track 6)
- Aron Noah Forbes – songwriting (track 7)
- Tim Anderson – production (track 7), songwriting (tracks 7, 18), programming (track 7)
- Tobias Jesso Jr. – background vocals (track 8)
- Teo Halm – production (track 8), songwriting (track 8), piano (track 8)
- Kid Harpoon – production (track 13), songwriting (track 13), assistant producer (track 13), drums (track 13), programming (track 13), synthesizer (track 13)
- Martha Betty Glenn Brown – songwriting (track 16)
- Banoffee – background vocals (track 16)
- Melody Ector – synthesizer (tracks 17, 18)
- Shawn Everett – production (track 18)
Technical
- Emily Lazar – mastering engineer (all tracks)
- Mike Malchicoff – recording engineer (tracks 1–7, 9, 1–12, 14, 15, 16), mixing engineer (tracks 2, 5, 6, 8, 10, 11, 14–18)
- Oliver Straus – recording engineer (tracks 1, 7)
- Rob Kinelski – mixing engineer (tracks 1, 12)
- Casey Cuayo – assistant engineer (tracks 1, 12)
- Mark "Spike" Stent – mixing engineer (tracks 3, 4, 7, 9, 13)
- Todd Monfalcone – recording engineer (track 4), assistant engineer (track 15, 17)
- Teo Halm – recording engineer (track 8)
- Kid Harpoon – recording engineer (track 13)
- Samuel Witte – engineer (track 13)
- Chris Allgood – assistant engineer (tracks 14–18)
- Riccardo Damian – recording engineer (track 17)
- Ivan Wayman – recording engineer (track 18)
- Shawn Everett – recording engineer (track 18)
Charts
Notes and References
- King Princess Says Debut Album Inspired By 'The Most Vulnerable Year Of My Life'. Billboard. Cirisano. Tatiana. September 12, 2019. October 25, 2019.
- King Princess Finally Gives Fans What They Want With 'Ohio': Watch. Billboard. Daw. Stephen. February 11, 2020. February 14, 2020.
- Web site: King Princess shares huge new song 'Ohio' from deluxe edition of 'Cheap Queen'. 2020-02-11. NME Music News, Reviews, Videos, Galleries, Tickets and Blogs NME.COM. en-GB. 2020-02-14.
- Web site: Lucid and daring, King Princess's Cheap Queen is an addictive debut. Gayler. Max. The Line of Best Fit. 28 October 2019. 7 July 2020.
- Web site: Favorite Pop Albums. AllMusic. en-us. December 18, 2019.
- Web site: Top 50 Albums of 2019. 2019-12-02. Consequence of Sound. en-US. 2019-12-10.
- Web site: The GQ Staff's 21 Favorite Albums of 2019. GQ. December 3, 2019 . en. 2019-12-10.
- News: The 50 best albums of 2019: 11–50. Guardian Staff. 2019-12-06. The Guardian. 2019-12-10. en-GB. 0261-3077.
- News: The Best Albums of 2019 Ranked. Staff. The Line of Best Fit. 2019-12-20. The Line of Best Fit. 2020-12-05. en.
- Web site: The 25 Best Albums of 2019. Staff. PopCrush. PopCrush. December 2, 2019 . en. 2019-12-10.
- Chow . Andrew R. . Bruner . Raisa . The 10 Best Albums of 2019 . . 17 December 2019 . en . November 27, 2019.
- Web site: The Best Albums Of 2019. 2019-12-02. UPROXX. en-US. 2019-12-10.
- Web site: The Best Pop Albums Of 2019. Uproxx. 6 December 2019. 17 December 2019.
- Web site: Best Albums Of 2019 - Billie Eilish and Lana Del Rey make Top 10 list. USA Today. 2019-12-17. en-US. 2020-12-05.
- Web site: Official Physical Albums Chart Top 100: 08 November 2019. Official Charts Company. en. December 15, 2019.
- Top Current Albums – November 9, 2019. Billboard. November 20, 2019.
