In the midst of her global ‘Before the Bloom’ theatre tour, which passed through Australia in March, and ahead of her new album Florescence, Maisie Peters has released a brand-new single that features six-time Grammy nominee Julia Michaels: “Kingmaker.”
Taking loose inspiration from Hilary Mantel’s 2009 novel Wolf Hall, “Kingmaker” is described by Peters as “a song about power dynamics”. She explained: “[“Kingmaker” is] chiefly about being a woman and feeling like you’ve offered your time, wisdom, talent, and belief to someone who has then taken advantage of it.”
Peters spoke highly of the collaborative process on the song between her and Michaels, describing its lyrics as experiences that they have shared in their career, adding “we have both had the experience of achieving success and witnessing the impact that has on the romantic relationships in our lives – on the egos of the men who say they want a strong woman, until it ‘makes them bitter’.”
The decision to record the song as a duet was an intentional one, Peters explained. Instead of making it a verse-by-verse exchange, the artists opted for a line-by-line duet, so that “it could really be heard as a conversation between two friends sympathising with each other, which really is exactly what the writing process was like.”
Michaels was equally excited to work with Peters, remarking on the creative process that “when you write with her you feel completely immersed in her world. You feel like you’ve lived it yourself.”
“Kingmaker” is one of two collaborative features on Florescence, joining the as-of-yet unreleased “If You Let Me,” featuring Mumford and Sons’ frontman Marcus Mumford. Florescence is due for release on Friday, May 15. You can stream “Kingmaker” online now.
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When touring Australia in March, Peters spoke to Rolling Stone AU/NZ about the short but sweet run, during which she debuted two songs from the forthcoming album. “It’s unlike anything I’ve done before, it’s not an album tour, but I want the shows to feel like a real living embodiment of the journey that I’ve been on in my career,” she told us.
“Kingmaker” is out now via Warner Music Australia. Stream it here.
