King Princess delivers intimate performance for SU fans

King Princess delivers intimate virtual show

The genderqueer pop icon shares her optimism during Saturday's six-song Zoom concert from Hawaii.
Published: May 3, 2020
King Princess virtual concert May 2, 2020

Genderqueer pop icon Mikaela Strauss, better known as King Princess, tried to spread optimistic vibes to Syracuse University students Saturday night, encouraging them to stay positive during the coronavirus pandemic even if they couldn’t enjoy full-blown concerts at the time.

The virtual University Union concert took the place via Zoom a week after the annual Mayfest and Block Party concerts would have taken place but were canceled due to COVID-19.

Hundreds of SU students tuned in for a six-song set by the 21-year-old singer and songwriter from the bedroom of a rental home in Hawaii, where she has been riding out the pandemic with her girlfriend Quinn.

“If I were to play at Syracuse at a concert, I would have been all over the place,”  Strauss said. “I would have gotten on the ground, smashing my guitar. I would have brought you up on stage like, “C’mere b—-, and we would have danced – and taken my titties out.

“I can’t do any of this here on this platform. It’s ridiculous.”

Instead, fans were treated to King Princess using an acoustic guitar borrowed from a Hawaiian neighbor to perform what she described as “sad lesbian songs” from her album Cheap Queen including “Isabelle’s Moment,” “Homegirl” and “Ohio.” She slipped in a cover of Miley Cyrus’s “Slide Away” and concluded with her hit “1950,” which went viral in 2018 after celebrities like Kourtney Kardashian and Harry Styles expressed their love for the song.

“I’m sure that you’ve sung this song in your sorority or secret society, or gender fluid social house,”  Strauss said prior to playing “1950.” “You were probably at DJ’s getting over probably a man, but being a woman, and you’re just screaming it.

In between songs, the Brooklyn native said she has been making beats and art, and she encouraged students to make the most of quarantine.

“I hope you’re doing some art or doing something creative during this time because it’s just so  f—ing miserable,” Strauss said. “Make something cool because this might be the largest period of self-reflective time you’re gonna have for the next couple of years, so I’m trying to make the best of it. But I know you’re all going to be okay.”