King (song)

"King" is a song by British synth-pop trio Years & Years from their debut studio album Communion. It was originally released as a single on 3 February 2015. The song was released in the United Kingdom as a digital download on 1 March 2015 through Polydor Records.

For other songs, see King (disambiguation) § Songs.

"King"
Single by Years & Years
from the album Communion
B-side	TCTS Remix (7", CD)
Released	3 February 2015
Recorded	2014
Genre	Dance-pop synth-pop house[1]
Length	3:35
Label	Polydor Interscope
Songwriter(s)	Michael Thomas Goldsworthy Mark Ralph Andrew Smith Oliver Alexander Thornton Resul Emre Turkmen
Producer(s)	Andy Smith Years & Years
Years & Years singles chronology
"Desire" (2014) "King" (2015) "Shine" (2015)

The song entered at the top of the UK Singles Chart with a combined sales-streaming figure of 101,000 copies, making it Years & Years' first number-one single.[2] Internationally, "King" peaked within the top ten of the charts in Australia, Austria, Bulgaria, Denmark, Germany, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, the Republic of Ireland and Switzerland.

Background

In an interview with Rolling Stone, frontman Olly Alexander said: "When we recorded [the song], no one felt good about it. It sounds lame! And we could never fix it. We shelved it for awhile. When we came back to it, we just took a different approach: 'Let's try to make it an Eighties dance-pop track.' And we just started out with that, cut it all up, arranged it. Used that balearic flute vibe, like a bird in the forest." Synth player Mikey Goldsworthy revealed that the backing track "[is] actually Olly's voice sampled and fucked up."[3]

"King" was released as the album's fourth single on 27 February 2015. The song debuted at number one on the UK Singles Chart, with a combined sales-streaming figure of 101,000 copies, and reached number three on the Irish Singles Chart. Alexander has stated many times that the song has a much darker meaning: "I was going out with a guy that was kind of a douche bag, but I still really liked him". He further stated "I know lots of people can related to this. It's a song about how it feels good to be treated badly by someone".

Critical reception

"King" received critical acclaim. Billboard included "King" in its "Top 10 Songs of 2015 (So Far)" list in June 2015, stating "U.K. alt-pop trio Years & Years has yet to find a radio foothold in the States, but "King" sounds like it's destined to be played at arenas for years to come. When frontman Olly Alexander extends his arms and cries "Let go, let go, let go of everything" at the end of the single, it's almost impossible not to indulge in some type of uninhibited dance breakdown."[4] Time named "King" the 10th-best song of 2015.[5]

Music video

The song's music video was directed by Nadia[6] and choreographed by Ryan Heffington.[6]

The video features Olly in an empty house with a couch being surrounded by backup dancers. The two other band members, Mickey and Emre are playing an electric keyboard in an empty pink room being surrounded by dancers. Olly levitates out of the house and walks down the street with the dancers following him. As they fumble with him, he plunges into an underground river where the dancers rise him back up to the house and they struggle with him until he is able to break them free and learn they were a hallucination.

Live performances and covers

Carly Rae Jepsen covered the song on BBC Radio 1.

The band have performed the song on multiple TV shows including The Graham Norton Show (10 April), The Voice of Italy (27 May). They also performed the song as part of their set at Radio 1's Big Weekend (23 May), Glastonbury Festival (27 June), Wireless (5 July), T in the Park (11 July) and Latitude Festival (19 July).

In April 2015, Nick Jonas performed an acoustic version of the song during Live Lounge on BBC Radio 1. The song was featured on the accompanied album.[7] In September 2015, Canadian pop star Carly Rae Jepsen covered the song on BBC Radio 1.

Track listing

• Digital download[8]

1. "King" – 3:34

• Digital download – Remixes[9]

1. "King" (The Magician Remix) – 4:00
2. "King" (TCTS Remix) – 3:45
3. "King" (Oceaán Remix) – 3:25

• Digital download – Remixes[10]

1. "King" (Until the Ribbon Breaks Re-Imagination) – 4:02
2. "King" (Gryffin Remix) – 4:42
3. "King" (The Magician Remix) – 4:00
4. "King" (Arty Remix) – 4:23
5. "King" (Anevo Remix) – 3:28
6. "King" (Lenno Remix) – 5:16
7. "King" (TCTS Remix) – 3:45
8. "King" (Oceaán Remix) – 3:25

Charts and certifications

Weekly charts Chart (2015) Peak position Australia (ARIA)[11] 9 Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[12] 8 Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[13] 11 Belgium (Ultratop 50 Wallonia)[14] 17 Brazil (Hot 100 Airplay) 4 Bulgaria (IFPI)[15] 1 Canada (Canadian Hot 100)[16] 80 CIS (Tophit)[17] 7 Czech Republic (Rádio Top 100)[18] 20 Czech Republic (Singles Digitál Top 100)[19] 16 Denmark (Tracklisten)[20] 6 Euro Digital Song Sales (Billboard)[21] 2 Finland (Suomen virallinen lista)[22] 14 France (SNEP)[23] 40 Germany (Official German Charts)[24] 9 Hungary (Rádiós Top 40)[25] 19 Hungary (Single Top 40)[26] 25 Ireland (IRMA)[27] 3 Italy (FIMI)[28] 21 Japan (Japan Hot 100)[29] 88 Luxembourg Digital Song Sales (Billboard)[30] 6 Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[31] 3 Netherlands (Single Top 100)[32] 5 Mexico Top 20 Inglés (Monitor Latino)[33] 9 New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[34] 18 Norway (VG-lista)[35] 15 Poland (Polish Airplay Top 100)[36] 2 Portugal (AFP)[37] 98 Scotland (Official Charts Company)[38] 1 Slovakia (Rádio Top 100)[39] 1 Slovakia (Singles Digitál Top 100)[40] 14 Slovenia (SloTop50)[41] 6 Spain (PROMUSICAE)[42] 27 Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[43] 26 Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[44] 9 UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[45] 1 US Hot Dance/Electronic Songs (Billboard)[46] 14 US Mainstream Top 40 (Billboard)[47] 37

Year-end charts Chart (2015) Position Australia (ARIA)[48] 71 Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[49] 75 Belgium (Ultratop Flanders)[50] 39 Belgium (Ultratop Wallonia)[51] 79 CIS (Tophit)[52] 69 Denmark (Tracklisten)[53] 27 Germany (Official German Charts)[54] 38 Ireland (IRMA)[55] 16 Israel (Media Forest)[56] 38 Italy (FIMI)[57] 55 Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[58] 6 Netherlands (Single Top 100)[59] 17 Poland (ZPAV)[60] 14 Russia Airplay (Tophit)[61] 73 Slovenia (SloTop50)[62] 32 Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[63] 78 Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[64] 45 Ukraine Airplay (Tophit)[65] 65 UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[66] 11 US Hot Dance/Electronic Songs[67] 31 US Dance/Electronic Digital Songs[68] 40 Decade-end charts Chart (2010–2019) Position UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[69] 96 Certifications Region Certification Certified units/sales Australia (ARIA)[70] Platinum 70,000^^ Belgium (BEA)[71] Platinum 30,000^* Denmark (IFPI Denmark)[72] Platinum 60,000^^ Germany (BVMI)[73] Platinum 400,000 Italy (FIMI)[74] 2× Platinum 100,000 New Zealand (RMNZ)[75] Gold 7,500^* Poland (ZPAV)[76] 3× Platinum 60,000^* Sweden (GLF)[77] 2× Platinum 80,000^^ Spain (PROMUSICAE)[78] Platinum 40,000 United Kingdom (BPI)[79] Platinum 600,000 United States (RIAA)[80] Gold 500,000 ^*sales figures based on certification alone ^^shipments figures based on certification alone sales+streaming figures based on certification alone

Release history

Region	Date	Format	Label
Ireland	27 February 2015	Digital download	Polydor
United Kingdom	1 March 2015
Australia[81]
United States	21 April 2015	Mainstream radio	Cherrytree Interscope
	5 May 2015	Dance radio

References

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2. "Official Charts Analysis: Years & Years score... - mediaor". mediaor.com.
3. Drake, David (28 July 2015). "Years and Years on Crafting Dance-Pop with Indie-Rock Edge". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 24 November 2016.
4. "Top 10 Songs of 2015 (So Far)". Billboard.com.
5. "Best Songs of 2015". Time. Retrieved January 14, 2016.
6. "Premiere: Years And Years Dance Like They're Possessed In Sia-Esque New Music Video". Buzzfeed Music. Retrieved 19 January 2015.
7. ""King (Live from BBC Radio 1's Live Lounge)" from BBC Radio 1's Live Lounge 2015 by Various Artists on iTunes". iTunes Store (United Kingdom).
8. "iTunes - Music - King - Single by Years & Years". iTunes Store (United Kingdom). Archived from the original on 2015-03-09.
9. "iTunes - Music - King (Remixes) - Single by Years & Years". iTunes Store (United Kingdom).
10. "King (Remixes) by Years & Years on iTunes". iTunes Store. Retrieved 18 December 2018.
11. "Australian-charts.com – Years & Years – King". ARIA Top 50 Singles. Retrieved 18 April 2015.
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14. "Ultratop.be – Years & Years – King" (in French). Ultratop 50.
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17. Years & Years — King. Tophit. Retrieved 12 August 2019.
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31. "Nederlandse Top 40 – Years Years" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40.
32. "Dutchcharts.nl – Years & Years – King" (in Dutch). Single Top 100.
33. "Top 20 México Inglés. Semana del 11 al 17 de Mayo, 2015" (in Spanish). Monitor Latino. Archived from the original on May 25, 2015. Retrieved May 21, 2015.
34. "Charts.nz – Years & Years – King". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved 1 May 2015.
35. "Norwegiancharts.com – Years & Years – King". VG-lista.
36. "Listy bestsellerów, wyróżnienia :: Związek Producentów Audio-Video". Polish Airplay Top 100. Retrieved 9 July 2015.
37. "Portuguesecharts.com - Portuguese Charts - Singles - 01.01.2016". Associação Fonográfica Portuguesa. Retrieved August 19, 2019.
38. "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company.
39. "ČNS IFPI" (in Slovak). Hitparáda – Radio Top 100 Oficiálna. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: insert 201526 into search.
40. "ČNS IFPI" (in Slovak). Hitparáda – Singles Digital Top 100 Oficiálna. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: Select SINGLES DIGITAL - TOP 100 and insert 201520 into search.
41. "SloTop50 – Slovenian official singles chart". slotop50.si. Retrieved 1 March 2018.
42. "Spanishcharts.com – Years & Years – King" Canciones Top 50.
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57. "Classifiche "Top of the Music" 2015 FIMI-GfK: La musica italiana in vetta negli album e nei singoli digitali" (in Italian). Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana. Retrieved January 13, 2016.
58. "Top 100 Songs Year End 2015". top40.nl. Stichting Nederlandse Top 40. Retrieved 31 December 2015.
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60. "Airplay – podsumowanie 2015 roku" (in Polish). Polish Society of the Phonographic Industry. Retrieved December 30, 2015.
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62. "SloTop50: Slovenian official year end singles chart". slotop50.si. Retrieved 18 July 2015.
63. "Årslista Singlar – År 2015" (in Swedish). Sverigetopplistan. Swedish Recording Industry Association. Retrieved 9 January 2016.
64. "Swiss Year-End Charts 2015". swisscharts.com. Hung Medien. Archived from the original on 14 January 2016. Retrieved 9 January 2016.
65. "Ukrainian Top Year-End Radio Hits (2015)". Tophit. Retrieved 12 August 2019.
66. "The Official Top 40 Biggest Songs of 2015 revealed". Retrieved 4 January 2016.
67. "Hot Dance/Electronic Songs Year End 2015". Billboard. billboard.com. Retrieved 9 December 2015.
68. "Dance/Electronic Digital Songs Year End 2015". Billboard. billboard.com. Retrieved 9 December 2015.
69. Copsey, Rob (11 December 2019). "The UK's Official Top 100 biggest songs of the decade". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 12 December 2019.
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71. "Ultratop − Goud en Platina – singles 2016". Ultratop. Hung Medien. Retrieved March 20, 2016.
72. "Certification YEARS & YEARS "KING"".
73. "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (Years & Years; 'King')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie. Retrieved 13 June 2019.
74. "Italian single certifications – Years & Years – King" (in Italian). Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana. Retrieved 7 May 2018. Select "2018" in the "Anno" drop-down menu. Select "King" in the "Filtra" field. Select "Singoli online" under "Sezione".
75. "New Zealand single certifications – Years & Years – King". Recorded Music NZ.
76. "Polish single certifications – Years & Years – King" (in Polish). Polish Society of the Phonographic Industry. Retrieved June 15, 2016.
77. "Guld/Platina certifiering".
78. "Years & Years - King (The Magician Remix)".
79. "British single certifications – Years & Years – King". British Phonographic Industry. Select singles in the Format field. Select Platinum in the Certification field. Type King in the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter.
80. "American single certifications – Years & Years – King". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved 15 March 2018. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Single, then click SEARCH. 
81. "King - single". iTunes Australia. Retrieved 11 March 2015.

External links

• "King" at Discogs (list of releases)