- 2026-04-22
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MUSIC
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Maisie Peters Premieres New Song “Kingmaker” with Julia Michaels on BBC Radio 1
British singer-songwriter Maisie Peters premiered a new song “Kingmaker” on BBC Radio 1's New Music Show with Jack Saunders.
On the track, she joined forces with American singer-songwriter Julia Michaels.
This marks first collaboration between Maisie Peters and Julia Michaels.
The song will appear on her upcoming third studio album “Florescence”, which is set to be released on May 15, 2026.
The song was inspired by British author Hilary Mantel's historical novel “Wolf Hall”, which was published in 2009.
It was written and produced by Maisie Peters, Julia Michaels, and Chloe Kraemer.
The track features Chloe Kraemer on bass and synthesizer, Ian Fitchuk on keyboards.
Maisie Peters said of the song, “'Kingmaker' is a song about power dynamics, chiefly about being a woman and feeling like you've offered your time, wisdom, talent, and belief to someone who has then taken advantage of it. It's about the sting of uplifting someone, only to find out they didn't deserve you in the first place; about giving a man the benefit of the doubt and having it thrown in your face.”- She continued, “I loved writing this song with Julia, as I think we have both had the experience of achieving success and witnessing the impact that has on the romantic relationships in our lives – on the egos of the men who say they want a strong woman, until it 'makes them bitter.' We recorded this song very intentionally as a duet, going line for line instead of verse for verse, so it could really be heard as a conversation between two friends sympathising with each other, which really is exactly what the writing process was like.”
She added, “Julia is a hero of mine – her songwriting has undoubtedly been one of, if not the biggest, influences on my own writing, and it is one of the greatest honours of my career to have a song out with her. She has become not only a trusted collaborator but also a real friend, and I really am so excited for this song to be out in the world.”
Julia said, “Working with Maisie is a dream. Her lyricism is so colorful and vibrant. When you write with her, you feel completely immersed in her world. You feel like you've lived it yourself.” -
Maisie Peters told Jack Saunders about the song, “I had a day in the studio with Julia booked in. And I'd actually, at that time, I'd finished my album, which is now called 'Florescence'. I finished the record. But I just love Julia so much. I've been a fan of hers for the longest time. She's like, such an important songwriter and presence and has been in my in my musical life. So we did this session, and we wrote the song called 'Kingmaker' with an amazing producer called Chloe Kraemer as well. And Chloe sent us the bounce off the session, and Julia texted and was like, 'Guys, I love this.. If you ever want to release this, like, I'd love to be a part of it.' And obviously I screamed and fell to the floor, and then was like, well, this has to be part of the album. And so it made it on there. It crept its way on in the very 11th hour. And I'm so pleased it did, because I think the story the song tells. And the tone of it, the feeling of it, is such an important part of 'Florescence'. And I can't imagine the album without it.” - source : BBC Radio 1
