"I grew up two blocks from here. This is very close to home for me hunny," King Princess told a crowd of music insiders (including Mark Ronson) and cool teens who had gathered at an unlikely spot on a Thursday night - the Williamsburg Apple store. She went on to announce that when she's home her first bit of business is to "smoke a big doink in my parent's house." Her father owns the nearby Mission Sound Recording, where John Lennon, The Kinks and The Who have recorded.
"We’re just gonna f****ing give it to you," the 20-year-old rising popstar announced before launching into '1950' which she later described jokingly as "one of my smaller ones - the deep cuts."
She delved into the inspiration behind the song, which explores what it was like being gay in public historically. "I got my heart hurt, and salty girl I am, I was like I’ve got to write a song about it. You use vocabulary to encapsulate whatever vibe you’re feeling. It happened to be a historical reference which I love because history is hot and lit."
But her secret show wasn't only a history lesson - she also used the Apple opportunity to ask for a little bit of #sponcon. “I really need a new laptop. Who’s in charge of that? Can I get the laptop representative please?" she joked mid-set.
Apple Music's Up Next secret concerts are happening throughout the month in Apple stores around the world, with concerts followed by artist Q+As. Lewis Capaldi is hitting the très chic Apple Champs-Élysées on July 31 and Khalid is heading to Apple Carnegie Library in Washington, D.C. on August 23.
Dressed in a white cropped tank and pants with a chain and fashion sneakers, she might have been the first person to nonstop Juul in an Apple store without security escorting her out - instead, they surrounded her makeshift stage to make sure no super fans rushed the stage. Her debut album is coming in October but she's already amassed a crowd of supporters happy to sing along to the singles she's dropped along the way.
"The songs that I put out as singles are telling a story," she said when she sat down with Beats1 presenter Matt Wilkinson after her set.
"I've got so many songs that are unreleased too. Over 100 ideas. It’s my job! It’s literally my one job!" she said about the sheer amount she's created. And she'd rather release music now than wait. "I want to put out music that feels relevant to what I’m feeling."
She also offered advice to the young audience. "Learn all of the programs, especially if you’re a woman in this industry...These men will take your s**t and you have to be able to protect yourself. I really encourage everyone to go and get - bootleg the software like I did. Just do it, you’ve just got to have it."
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When an audience member asked her advice on being a young queer person in the music industry her advice was similarly straightforward.
"We’re bored with straight people. We’re bored with their straight music. It’s very popping right now to be different."