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
Standard edition cover. The deluxe edition features Princess in different make-up against a blue background, with the title in white above her.
Studio album by
King Princess
ReleasedOctober 25, 2019 (2019-10-25)
Genre
Length38:51
Label
Producer
King Princess chronology
Make My Bed
(2018)		 Cheap Queen
(2019)
Singles from Cheap Queen
  1. "Cheap Queen"
    Released: May 30, 2019
  2. "Prophet"
    Released: July 18, 2019
  3. "Ain't Together"
    Released: September 3, 2019
  4. "Hit the Back"
    Released: October 2, 2019
  5. "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 new songs.[8]

Critical reception
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
AnyDecentMusic?7.5/10[9]
Metacritic81/100[10]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[2]
DIY[1]
Exclaim!8/10[11]
The Guardian[7]
The Irish Times[12]
NME[13]
Pitchfork7.4/10[14]
Q[15]
Rolling Stone[16]
Uncut8/10[17]

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".[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][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
AllMusic[19] Best Pop Albums of 2019
—
Consequence of Sound[20] Top 50 Albums of 2019
15
GQ Magazine[21] The Best Albums of 2019
—
The Guardian[22] The 50 Best Albums of 2019
46
The Line of Best Fit[23] The 50 Best Albums of 2019 Ranked
38
PopCrush[24] 25 Best Pop Albums of 2019
—
Time[25] The 10 Best Albums of 2019
8
Uproxx The Best Albums of 2019[26]
30
The 35 Best Pop Albums of 2019[27]
9
USA Today Best Albums of 2019[28]
2

Track listing
Cheap Queen track listing
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."Tough on Myself"
3:43
2."Useless Phrases"
  • Straus
  • King Princess
  • Malchicoff
1:16
3."Cheap Queen"
  • King Princess
  • Malchicoff
2:41
4."Ain't Together"
  • King Princess
  • Malchicoff
3:22
5."Do You Wanna See Me Crying?"
  • Straus
  • King Princess
  • Malchicoff
1:46
6."Homegirl"
  • King Princess
  • Malchicoff
3:01
7."Prophet"
4:09
8."Isabel's Moment" (featuring Tobias Jesso Jr.)
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"
3:23
Total length:38:57
Deluxe edition bonus tracks
No.TitleWriter(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
3:25
18."Ohio"
  • Straus
  • Anderson
4:53
Total length:55:25

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
Sales chart performance for Cheap Queen
Chart (2019) Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[29] 41
US Heatseekers Albums (Billboard)[30] 8
US Top Alternative Albums (Billboard)[31] 18
US Top Current Albums (Billboard)[32] 88
UK Physical Albums (OCC)[33] 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. Guardian Staff (2019-12-06). "The 50 best albums of 2019: 11–50". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2019-12-10.
  23. Staff, The Line of Best Fit (2019-12-20). "The Best Albums of 2019 Ranked". The Line of Best Fit. Retrieved 2020-12-05.
  24. Staff, PopCrush. "The 25 Best Albums of 2019". PopCrush. Retrieved 2019-12-10.
  25. Chow, Andrew R.; Bruner, Raisa (November 27, 2019). "The 10 Best Albums of 2019". Time. Retrieved 17 December 2019.
  26. MusicTwitter, UPROXX (2019-12-02). "The Best Albums Of 2019". UPROXX. Retrieved 2019-12-10.
  27. "The Best Pop Albums Of 2019". Uproxx. 6 December 2019. Retrieved 17 December 2019.
  28. "Best Albums Of 2019 - Billie Eilish and Lana Del Rey make Top 10 list". USA Today. 2019-12-17. Retrieved 2020-12-05.
  29. "ARIA Australian Top 50 Albums". Australian Recording Industry Association. November 4, 2019. Retrieved November 2, 2019.
  30. "King Princess Chart History (Heatseekers Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved November 20, 2019.
  31. "King Princess Chart History (Top Alternative Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved November 20, 2019.
  32. "Top Current Albums – November 9, 2019". Billboard. Retrieved November 20, 2019.
  33. "Official Physical Albums Chart Top 100: 08 November 2019". Official Charts Company. Retrieved December 15, 2019.
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