Ava Max Claims Her Throne on ‘Kings and Queens’

Ava Max accepts her pop crown on her new song, “Kings and Queens,” the first single from the singer’s upcoming debut album, expected to arrive later this year.

Produced by regular collaborator Cirkut, “Kings and Queens” boasts a pulsing verse and a dramatic hook peppered with regal synths — there’s even a guitar solo that has a distinctive Queen-esque quality to it. The track finds Max delivering a message of female empowerment with a big voice and a few clever winks as she sings, “No damsel in distress, don’t need to save me/Once I start breathing fire you can’t tame me/And you might think I’m weak without a sword/But if I had one it’d be bigger than yours.”

“Kings and Queens” marks Max’s first song of 2020 and follows a break-out 2019 that saw her single, “Sweet But Psycho,” become a global hit. She also released a handful of other tracks over the course of the year, including “So Am I,” “Freaking Me Out,” “Blood, Sweat and Tears” and “Torn.”