Cheap Queen

Cheap Queen is the debut studio album by American singer-songwriter King Princess, released on October 25, 2019, through Mark Ronson's imprint of Columbia Records, Zelig Records.[5] A deluxe edition of the album with five additional tracks was released on February 14, 2020.[6] Straus began a tour in support of the album on September 20.[5]

Cheap Queen
Studio album by King Princess
Released	October 25, 2019 (2019-10-25)
Genre	Pop[1] R&B[2] indie rock[2] trip hop[3] folk rock[4] hip hop[2] lo-fi[4]
Length	38:51
Label	Zelig/Columbia
Producer	King Princess Mike Malchicoff Tim Anderson Teo Halm Kid Harpoon Mark Ronson Shawn Everett
King Princess chronology
Make My Bed (2018) Cheap Queen (2019)
Singles from Cheap Queen
"Cheap Queen" Released: May 30, 2019 "Prophet" Released: July 18, 2019 "Ain't Together" Released: September 3, 2019 "Hit the Back" Released: October 2, 2019 "Ohio" Released: February 11, 2020

Background

The album was written chronologically,[5] 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".[7] 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".[5]

Straus released a deluxe edition of Cheap Queen on February 14, 2020, which included five previously unreleased new songs.[8]

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
AnyDecentMusic?	7.5/10[9]
Metacritic	81/100[10]
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[2]
DIY	[1]
Exclaim!	8/10[11]
The Guardian	[7]
The Irish Times	[12]
NME	[13]
Pitchfork	7.4/10[14]
Q	[15]
Rolling Stone	[16]
Uncut	8/10[17]

Cheap Queen received generally positive reviews from music critics. On review aggregate site Metacritic the album received a rating of 81 out of 100 from 13 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".[10] 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.[14][2][2][3][18] 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".[2] 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." [18] 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."[7]

Accolades

Year-end lists

Publication	Accolade	Rank	Ref.
AllMusic	Best Pop Albums of 2019	-	[19]
Consequence of Sound	Top 50 Albums of 2019	15	[20]
GQ Magazine	The Best Albums of 2019	-	[21]
The Guardian	The 50 Best Albums of 2019	46	[22]
PopCrush	25 Best Pop Albums of 2019	-	[23]
Time	The 10 Best Albums of 2019	8	[24]
Uproxx	The Best Albums of 2019	30	[25]
	The 35 Best Pop Albums of 2019	9	[26]

Track listing

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"Tough on Myself"	Mikaela Straus Nick Long	King Princess Mike Malchicoff	3:43
2.	"Useless Phrases"	Straus	King Princess Malchicoff	1:16
3.	"Cheap Queen"	Straus Long Amandla Stenberg Billie Holiday Bob Russell Carl Sigman	King Princess Malchicoff	2:41
4.	"Ain't Together"	Straus Justin Tranter Long	King Princess Malchicoff	3:22
5.	"Do You Wanna See Me Crying?"	Straus	King Princess Malchicoff	1:46
6.	"Homegirl"	Straus Long Romy Croft	King Princess Malchicoff	3:01
7.	"Prophet"	Straus Aron Noah Forbes Long Tim Anderson	King Princess Tim Anderson Malchicoff	4:09
8.	"Isabel's Moment" (featuring Tobias Jesso Jr.)	Straus Teo Halm	King Princess Teo Halm	2:13
9.	"Trust Nobody"	Straus Long	King Princess Malchicoff	3:15
10.	"Watching My Phone"	Straus	King Princess Malchicoff	3:00
11.	"You Destroyed My Heart"	Straus Long	King Princess Malchicoff	3:40
12.	"Hit the Back"	Straus	King Princess Malchicoff	3:23
13.	"If You Think It's Love"	Straus Kid Harpoon	King Princess Kid Harpoon	3:23
Total length:				38:57

Deluxe edition bonus tracks

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
14.	"Back of a Cab"	Straus Long	King Princess Malchicoff	3:07
15.	"All Dressed in White"	Straus	King Princess Malchicoff	2:00
16.	"Forget About It" (featuring Banoffee)	Straus Martha Betty Glenn Brown Long	King Princess Malchicoff	2:59
17.	"Best Friend"	Straus Long	King Princess Mark Ronson Malchicoff	3:25
18.	"Ohio"	Straus Anderson	King Princess Shawn Everett	4:53
Total length:				55:25

Personnel

Credits adapted from Tidal.[27]

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

Chart (2019)	Peak position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[28]	41
US Heatseekers Albums (Billboard)[29]	8
US Top Alternative Albums (Billboard)[30]	18
US Top Current Albums (Billboard)[31]	88
UK Physical Albums (OCC)[32]	86

References

1. Williams, Jenessa (October 24, 2019). "King Princess – Cheap Queen". DIY. Retrieved October 25, 2019.
2. Collar, Matt. "Cheap Queen – King Princess". AllMusic. Retrieved November 27, 2019.
3. Bote, Joshua (November 1, 2020). "On Cheap Queen, King Princess Figures Out the Contours of Heartbreak In Real Time". Paste. Retrieved July 7, 2020.
4. Jacobs, Mick (12 November 2019). "'Cheap Queen' Establishes King Princess' Talent". PopMatters. Retrieved 7 July 2020.
5. Cirisano, Tatiana (September 12, 2019). "King Princess Says Debut Album Inspired By 'The Most Vulnerable Year Of My Life'". Billboard. Retrieved October 25, 2019.
6. Daw, Stephen (February 11, 2020). "King Princess Finally Gives Fans What They Want With 'Ohio': Watch". Billboard. Retrieved February 14, 2020.
7. Cliff, Aimee (October 25, 2019). "King Princess: Cheap Queen review – hyped pop royal exposes her heart". The Guardian. Retrieved October 25, 2019.
8. "King Princess shares huge new song 'Ohio' from deluxe edition of 'Cheap Queen'". NME Music News, Reviews, Videos, Galleries, Tickets and Blogs | NME.COM. 2020-02-11. Retrieved 2020-02-14.
9. "Cheap Queen by King Princess reviews". AnyDecentMusic?. Retrieved November 27, 2019.
10. "Cheap Queen by King Princess Reviews and Tracks". Metacritic. Retrieved November 27, 2019.
11. Gormely, Ian (October 30, 2019). "King Princess: Cheap Queen". Exclaim!. Retrieved November 27, 2019.
12. Bruton, Louise (October 18, 2019). "King Princess: Cheap Queen review – A luscious debut". The Irish Times. Retrieved November 27, 2019.
13. Hobbs, Thomas (October 24, 2019). "King Princess – 'Cheap Queen' review: anthems for young love from a pop great in the making". NME. Retrieved November 28, 2019.
14. Horn, Olivia (October 28, 2019). "King Princess: Cheap Queen Album Review". Pitchfork. Retrieved October 28, 2019.
15. Flint, Hannah (December 2019). "King Princess: Cheap Queen". Q (405): 110.
16. "Quick Hits". Rolling Stone (1333). November 2019.
17. O'Connell, Sharon (December 2019). "King Princess: Cheap Queen". Uncut (271): 29.
18. Gayler, Max (28 October 2019). "Lucid and daring, King Princess's Cheap Queen is an addictive debut". The Line of Best Fit. Retrieved 7 July 2020.
19. "Favorite Pop Albums". AllMusic. Retrieved December 18, 2019.
20. "Top 50 Albums of 2019". Consequence of Sound. 2019-12-02. Retrieved 2019-12-10.
21. Nast, Condé. "The GQ Staff's 21 Favorite Albums of 2019". GQ. Retrieved 2019-12-10.
22. Staff, Guardian (2019-12-06). "The 50 best albums of 2019: 11-50". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2019-12-10.
23. Staff, PopCrush. "The 25 Best Albums of 2019". PopCrush. Retrieved 2019-12-10.
24. Chow, Andrew R.; Bruner, Raisa (November 27, 2019). "The 10 Best Albums of 2019". Time. Retrieved 17 December 2019.
25. MusicTwitter, UPROXX (2019-12-02). "The Best Albums Of 2019". UPROXX. Retrieved 2019-12-10.
26. "The Best Pop Albums Of 2019". Uproxx. 6 December 2019. Retrieved 17 December 2019.
27. "Cheap Queen (Deluxe) by King Princess". Tidal. Retrieved April 24, 2020.
28. "ARIA Australian Top 50 Albums". Australian Recording Industry Association. November 4, 2019. Retrieved November 2, 2019.
29. "King Princess Chart History (Heatseekers Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved November 20, 2019.
30. "King Princess Chart History (Top Alternative Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved November 20, 2019.
31. "Top Current Albums - November 9, 2019". Billboard. Retrieved November 20, 2019.
32. "Official Physical Albums Chart Top 100: 08 November 2019". Official Charts Company. Retrieved December 15, 2019.