‘SNL’: King Princess Debut Performances Leave Social Media Talking

Saturday Night Live introduced pop star King Princess to many of its viewers, and response to the singer’s sound was mixed. The long-running variety sketch featured the up-and-coming singer as the musical guest of Saturday’s all new episode, which also marked former cast member Will Ferrell’s fifth time acting as host.

Princess took the stage with songs from her debut alum, Cheap Queen.

Fans of the LGBTQ performer took to social media to praise Princess’ Saturday Night Live debut. They complimented her sound and celebrated seeing the genderqueer and gay performer on the show.

“Note to self: Ask for the “King Princess” next time I get my hair done. Also I need that blazer,” one fan wrote.

“King Princess’s smoke machine game is strong,” one user wrote.

Not everyone was loving the singer’s performances. Some viewers criticized her voice, and questioned her as a choice for Ferrell’s musical guest.

“What is a King Princess? #SNL needs more country artists,” one user commented.

“WTF is this? I thought it was King Crimson,” another viewer wrote.

Princess first rose to prominence with the release of her debut single “1950” in February 2018. The song is a tribute to the 1952 novel The Price of Salt by Patricia Highsmith, as well as to the LGBT community and to queer love.

The song became a viral hit after Harry Styles tweeted a lyric from the song in March of that year. Princess shared later that year she turned down an invitation from Styles to open for him at Madison Square Garden, because she didn’t believe she was ready for such a large venue.

However, the singers will be collaborating after all as she is slated to open for the European dates of the former One Direction member’s 2020 tour.

Princess has also been open about her gender identity.

“I’ve always been kind of a genderqueer person,” she told them in 2018. “It’s something I kind of came into later ’cause I didn’t really think about it as an identity as much as the way it had to do with the people I loved and the way I dressed… I like that I can ride that line on the periphery of femininity. I don’t always have to be an active participant. I think that’s really freeing.”

The singer has been romantically linked to actress Amandla Sternberg in the past. She is currently dating Quinn Whitney Wilson, the creative director of rapper and songwriter Lizzo.

Saturday Night Live airs weekly at 11:30 p.m. ET on NBC. The next episode will air December 7 featuring host Jennifer Lopez and musical guest DaBaby.