Cheap Queen (song)

*This article is about **the song**. You may be looking for **the album**.*

## Music Video

"**Cheap Queen**" is a song performed by King Princess. It is the lead single and the title track of her upcoming debut album of the same name, on which it is featured as the third track, and her fourth single overall. It was released on May 31, 2019 through Zelig Records.

## Background

King Princess first performed this song on her Pussy Is God Tour and confirmed that it will be featured on her debut album back then.

On February 13, 2019 a snippet of the studio version was uploaded to King Princess' Instagram account.

On April 22, 2019 King Princess announced that her first single got mastered and that "it sounds alright". On May 9, 2019 she confirmed that she is working on the music video for the album's lead single.

Later on May 25, 2019 during her Pussy Is God Tour in Boston she stated that she "has an album and a single comes out in like a week". Two days later, on May 28, 2019, King Princess tweeted out "Friday" which fans considered to be the release date of the first single. Finally, on May 28, 2019 King Princess announced that "Cheap Queen" would be the lead single of her debut and also announced its release date to be May 31, 2019. To promote its release a five second clip was released on Spotify.

During an interview with *Pandora*, King Princess said the following about the song:

"*[The song] is my first single off of my record and it's the shit. It's about my community and my friends and I think it's a great summation of of just the whole record just in one song. All the themes: friendship, gays, heartbroken, you know being broken.*"
—King Princess about the song

On June 13, 2019 the music video for the song was released. Fans had the opportunity to chat live with King Princess on YouTube before the release of the video. Moreover, "Useless Phrases", a song that had always been performed together with "Cheap Queen" on tour, was released the same day to support the release of the latter.

A live version of this song was released on August 5, 2019 as part of the live EP, *Up Next Live from Apple Williamsburg*.

## Critical reception

*MTV* calls this song an "downbeat anthem" notes how this song "continues the trajectory she established on last year's great *Make My Bed* EP by magnifying her perspective. Alternating between calling herself a "cheap queen" and a "real queen," Straus delivers a whispery, yet unbeatably catchy chorus that sounds like she wrote it out with minimal effort — but deep down, you know she worked hard.." They also compare "Cheap Queen" to King Straus' previous singles and juxtapose that "[the song] isn't as playful as "Pussy Is God" or as shout-ready as "Talia," but it revels in its own fogginess. Here, Straus subtly pushes forward the King Princess sound while examining her inner self. It's not hard to imagine fans singing along to the 'I can make grown men cry!' part [...]."

*Paper Magazine* states that "[the song] has all the reverberating ease of a typical KP track, but with a handful of vocal samples ('Smiling for the audience,' 'How did I do it?') that clog and fill the kick drums and keystrokes. The song comes from the same camp of "Pussy Is God" in terms of production, but the lyrics are a bit more understated and vague." However, they also point out that "[Cheap Queen] is definitely not her most intimate track — songs like "Upper West Side" tell a clearly constructed, even chronological narrative — but it is one of her most jovial. It seems as if the unrequited love, heartbreak, and frustration in her world has settled into a manageable undercurrent." Moreover, they analyze the emotional layer of the song: "She begins the track with a simple confirmation of this calmness: 'I've been alright." In a very hyperreal 2019, in which Gen Z-ers are struggling with intimacy and relationships, this is the extent to which one can be content. After "alright' comes acceptance, but it's a difficult jump to bridge. 'I can be good sometimes/ I'm a cheap queen / I can be what you like,' she proclaims, circling a drain of self actualization, an awareness of her relationships, and a desire to be understood." *Paper Magazine* also note that the cover art ties in with these emotions as she lays cooly, her upper chest exposed and hair trained to her clavicle, as if she's a young Cindy Crawford on the cover of a magazine. This is elevated, however, by a campy makeup look from some pre-Drag Race era, characterized by paper-thin brows and a beauty mark above pouty red lips."

*Vanyaland* compares this single to one of "those early Lorde singles" and calls it a "smart pop bop [that] slaps on a minimal tip rich with melody." *Uproxx* praise that the "lyrics are a pretty iconic summary of a complex, complicated identity, along with a playful riff on the 'queen'." "Across the laidback number, King Princess deftly navigates its thoughtful, introspective verses. Instead, she partners these more ballad-esque portions with a buoyant chorus and old-school samples," according to *Consequence of Sound*.

Even though, according to *National Public Radio*, the "clearest path to Song of the Summer status is to reach for something universal — something in the language of heartache, desire, loneliness or defiance," King Princess is paving a new way by "serv[ing] up a mission statement to a smaller-but-mighty subset of the pop audience."

## Chart performance

This song reached #100 in Belgium and #17 on the Official New Zealand Music Chart.

## Music video

The music video was released on June 13, 2019 and also serves as a music video for "Useless Phrases". The video was directed and written by Symone Ridgell and creatively directed by Clare Gillen.

The video features multiple of King Princess friends such as Isabel Levin, Quincy Banks, Jack VanGorden, Henry Metcalf and more.

## Official versions

* *Cheap Queen* version — 2:42
* Live version — 2:50

## Lyrics

**[Verse 1]**

I've been alright

I've just been doing the same shit I've always liked

Like smoking and movies and homies who bring me wine

I've been going out too much

Been talking 'bout myself too much (Oh)

**[Chorus]**

I can be good sometimes

I'm a cheap queen

I can be what you like

And I can be bad sometimes

I'm a real queen

I can make grown men cry

I can be good sometimes

I'm a cheap queen

I can be what you like

And I can be bad sometimes

I'm a real queen

I can make grown men cry

**[Verse 2]**

Beggin' my name (Queen)

All of my girls get up early and stay out late (Queen)

They drive all the way to the west side to see my face

(How do they do it?)

That's good love (Good love, good love)

And I ain't no big baller when it's fake friends you're callin'

**[Chorus]**

I can be good sometimes

I'm a cheap queen

I can be a what you like

And I can be bad sometimes

I'm a real queen

I can make grown men cry

I can be good sometimes

I'm a cheap queen

I can be what you like

And I can be bad sometimes

I'm a real queen

I can make grown men cry

**[Bridge]**

I'm gettin' too cocky since everyone wants me

It's harder to be myself (Queen)

But I see you love me

It's better than money to know that you call me out

But when the money's out

I can make grown men cry

**[Chorus]**

I can be good sometimes

I'm a cheap queen

I can be a what you like

And I can be bad sometimes

I'm a real queen

I can make grown men cry

I can be good sometimes

I'm a cheap queen

I can be what you like

And I can be bad sometimes

I'm a real queen

I can make grown men cry

## Live performances

King Princess - Useless Phrases Cheap Queen LIVE
## References

1. ↑ *Tumblr* - kingprincess69 (fan account) - "I was at the tour"
2. ↑ *Tumblr* - Picture of setlist
3. ↑ *Instagram via Reddit* - King Princess' Instagram Story
4. ↑ *Twitter* - @kingprincess69: "my first single jus got mastered and it sounds alright !"
5. ↑ *Twitter* - "📲 | Mikaela’s Instagram story!"
6. ↑ *Tumblr* - Video of KP at her PIG Tour in Boston
7. ↑ *Twitter* - @kingprincess69 - "cheap queen coming to u this Friday can you even believe it ?!"
8. ↑ *Twitter* - Clip from a Pandora Interview
9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 *MTV* - "KING PRINCESS CAN MAKE GROWN MEN CRY ON DOWNBEAT ANTHEM 'CHEAP QUEEN'"
10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 10.3 *Paper Magazine* - "King Princess Is a 'Cheap Queen,' and I Can Relate"
11. ↑ *Vanyaland* - "King Princess﻿ keeps it real and upfront on ‘Cheap Queen’"
12. ↑ *Uproxx* - "King Princess’ New Single ‘Cheap Queen’ Embodies Her Playful, Complicated Identity"
13. ↑ *Consequence of Sound* - "King Princess proves she’s our favorite “Cheap Queen” with new single: Stream"
14. ↑ *National Public Radio* - "This Week, Everyone Tried To Put Out The Song Of The Summer"

 Released