New York artist Emily King has revealed the second single from their forthcoming album Special Occasion, sharing the effervescently soulful track “Medal.” She’s also announced new tour dates that include a stop at The Wiltern in Los Angeles on May 20. King had previously released “This Year” as the album’s lead single, an absorbing track punctuated by emphatic beats and King’s densely emotive lyricism.
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With “Medal,” King strikes a celebratory note amidst an album that will serve as her exploration of heartbreak. This makes sense given the fact that the song itself is all about rejoicing in newfound love — both for someone else and for yourself. “Come here darlin’ make me special,” she coos with her featherweight vocals. “I wanna be the girl with the medal.” Like the first single from Special Occasion, the spacious rhythms of “Medal” are made blissfully kinetic via a sequence of exclamatory beats. From its funky bass and scattered hand claps to the layered vocals of King that cry out ecstatically around one another.
But as the song has evolved so has its meaning to King herself. “These days though, I’ve been singing the song to myself which gives it a slightly different meaning. Like, ‘Hey you are the prize girl!’ ‘You are the medal and you already won yourself!’ Ha,” she said. “Makes me feel good and then I get to dancing.” Which is exactly the reaction of anyone who finds themselves caught in the euphoric swell of R&B/soul and lush pop hooks that fill “Medal.”
The new single also comes with a lyric video, directed by Stephanie Ramplin, which sees an animated King strolling along a street that resembles a kind of video game. As she walks within this blue-toned world she collects a variety of objects — hearts, microphones, diamonds — along the way.
Special Occasion the new album from Emily King is out May 5 via ATO Records, pre-order it here.
See Emily King at The Wiltern in Los Angeles on May 20! See a complete list of tour dates below!
Visit Emily King on Bandcamp, Twitter, and Instagram to stay updated on new releases and tour announcements.
Emily King tour
Fri, May 5 – South Orange, NJ – South Orange Performing Arts Center
Sat, May 6 – Boston, MA – The Shubert
Mon, May 8 – Toronto, ON – Danforth Music Hall
Tue, May 9 – Cleveland, OH – House of Blues
Thu, May 11- Chicago, IL – House of Blues
Fri, May 12 – Madison, WI – Barrymore
Sat, May 13 – Minneapolis, MN – Fine Line
Tue, May 16 – Seattle, WA – Crocodile
Wed, May 17 – Portland, OR – Revolution Hall
Fri, May 19 – San Francisco, CA – The Fillmore
Sat, May 20 – Los Angeles, CA – The Wiltern
Tue, May 23 – Austin, TX – The Paramount
Wed, May 24 – Dallas, TX – Granada Theater
Fri, May 26 – Nashville, TN – Ryman Auditorium
Sat, May 27 – Atlanta, GA – Buckhead Theatre
Sun, May 28 – Asheville, NC – The Orange Peel
Tue, May 30 – Washington, DC – The Howard
Wed, May 31 – New York, NY – Terminal 5
Words: Steven Ward
Listen to “Medal” the new single from Emily King below!
