I feel like ‘SWEDEN‘ should be synonymous with POP MUSIC. Every time I turn around there’s some BIG NEW artist on the horizon and surprise surprise – they are from Sweden! Robyn, Lykke Li, Agnes, Lisa Miskovsky, Elena Paparizou, Velvet…the list just goes on and on and there are new ones being discovered almost daily!
The latest discovery is 23-year old Sabrina Petrini. Petrini, who goes by the name KingQueen, hails from Helsingborg, located on Sweden’s south-west coast. After leaving Sweden at the age of 20, KingQueen moved to London and soon discovered just how deep her passion for music really was. After attending the London Centre of Contemporary Music, KingQueen grew bored with London and sought out greener pastures in sunny Los Angeles.
As an artist, KingQueen blends pop, rock and electro sounds into a completely unique package. In the video for her single, “U Make Me (LOL)” she works a little bit of Joan Jett rocker look, which is a good indicator of the diverse range of influences that feed into her sound. The song is an up-tempo club banger unlike anything I’ve ever heard before. There’s just something about KingQueen that I can’t quite put my finger on. Vocally the song is more spoken than it is sung (a la Ke$ha) but it’s clear that she just oozes talent. Previous single “Luv Drug” exhibits a bit more vocal range but it quickly reverts back to the speak-singing that seems to define her sound. It’s not till you listen to songs like “NOH8” and her cover of Lady Gaga‘s “Poker Face” that you really get a sense of her true vocal talent. “No Pain” is another gem of a pop song, abandoning the electro-pop sounds so prevalent in her first two releases, she strips things back and just does her thing. I’m eager to hear what else this talented Swede comes up with.
KingQueen has been featured on MTV.com, reaching #2 on the popular music channel’s ‘New Artist‘ list. GLBT channel LogoTV has also featured her video several times on their ‘NewNowNext‘ show. Most recently, KingQueen appeared on the American Music Awards Coca-Cola Red Carpet Show. We can expect her debut album to drop in March 2011 on the BAM (Brash Accord Music) label. Check out the video for “U Make Me (LOL)” below.