February 23, 2022—Florence + the Machine debut a new song, “King,” today alongside a video by acclaimed director Autumn de Wilde. Listen and watch here.
“King” is a meditation on womanhood, family, femininity and the subverting of expectations in which Florence Welch declares: “I am no mother, I am no bride, I am king”.
“As an artist, I never actually thought about my gender that much,” Florence says. “I just got on with it. I was as good as the men and I just went out there and matched them every time. But now, thinking about being a woman in my 30s and the future, I suddenly feel this tearing of my identity and my desires. That to be a performer, but also to want a family might not be as simple for me as it is for my male counterparts. I had modelled myself almost exclusively on male performers, and for the first time I felt a wall come down between me and my idols as I have to make decisions they did not.”
