King Princess was the latest musical guest on NPR’s Tiny Desk concert series and, in a change of scenery due to stay-at-home orders and guidelines, the show’s normal office setting was replaced with the singer’s comfy home. In a fluffy sweater and sitting in a fuzzy chair, King Princess rocked out with a keyboard and two guitars to perform “Isabel’s Moment,” “Prophet,” and “Homegirl.”
When the video starts, King Princess has already kicked off “Isabel’s Moment,” stroking the keyboard’s keys while softly singing about a confusing relationship’s barriers. After the song, she welcomes viewers to her “quarantine shed” and then explains why she loves “Isabel’s Moment.”
“It makes me think of all of the mischief that people are getting up to during this quarantine time,” she said. “People are texting their exes, they’re texting their ex-best friends, they are all around on social media lurking, and I feel like that song is truly an homage to that — the type of quarantine thirst that we’re all feeling right now.”
From there, King Princess hopped into “Prophet” by singing it while playing on her guitar. The intensity of the performance dried her throat out, so she stopped to sip on a drink afterwards. She then got honest about what the tune means. “That song’s about the music business and the entertainment business,” she announced. “We’re all out of jobs right now.”
She continued on, expressing what it means to have very little to do right now but create music. “I feel like it’s been really interesting because we’re all trying to find that creative spark that we had as children,” she said. “I’m struggling, but it’s really fun, too.”
The last song that she performed was “Homegirl,” which she revealed is her “secret fave from the record” (her debut studio album Cheap Queen). Kicking back and putting her feet on her amp, the singer put her soul into the pacifying tune, ending it with a warm smile.
After the song ended, she had some advice for viewers during the pandemic. “Hang out with someone you love during this time and mull over your nemeses and think about your feuds and try to resolve all of them.”
She then laughed after asking the person behind the camera if that was a good message before switching it up. “Make some art during this time,” she added. “Make something that you would show in your middle school talent show. And then have a fake talent show with your friends on Skype or Zoom.”
That’s some sound advice from King Princess that many will undoubtedly follow. Check out her awesome Tiny Desk performance up above.
