swagger is often used to describe King Princess, a.k.a. 23-year-old Michaela Strauss. It's an apt description: She blew up at 19 with her first single “1950,” a soulful lesbian love song with a hook so sharp it inspired to reach for his phone and .
Shortly after, she followed it up with hits like “Pussy Is a God” and “Talia,” and her 2019 debut album Cheap Queen, a coming-of-age record about getting your heart smashed and staying up late with your friends.Over the past four years, King Princess’ blunt, horny lyrics about women and androgynous dirtbag glamour have helped carved out space for a very different type of pop star than, say, or .
But Strauss’s music deconstructs her image even as it builds it up. Beneath the swagger and the mullet is a songwriter dealing with the same crippling insecurities, fear of rejection, and identity crises as every other 23-year-old.
The tension between Strauss’ effortless cool and her vulnerable songwriting is all a part of the King Princess appeal.“I write so many of my songs crying at the piano,” Strauss tells Glamour, shortly after pausing our call to retrieve her Juul charger.Maybe not exactly the same struggles as every 23-year-old.
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