Citizen Queen is an American

girl group A girl group is a music act featuring several female singers who generally harmonize together. The term "girl group" is also used in a narrower sense in the United States to denote the wave of American female pop music singing groups, many of who ...

consisting of vocalists Kaedi Dalley, Cora Isabel, Nina Nelson, and Kaylah Sharve’. The group was formed in 2018 under the auspices of RCA Records, with mentorship from

Pentatonix Pentatonix (abbreviated PTX) is an American a cappella group from Arlington, Texas, currently consisting of vocalists Mitch Grassi, Scott Hoying, Kirstin Maldonado, Kevin Olusola, and Matt Sallee. Characterized by their pop-style arrangements ...

member Scott Hoying.

Formation

Pentatonix member Scott Hoying, along with arrangers and producers Ben Bram and Shams Ahmed, "hand-selected" the original five members of the group. The members of the band "come from different states and different ethnic backgrounds". Singer and beatboxer Cora Isabel was the first member chosen, after sending audition videos to the arrangers. Bram first saw Hannah Mrozak on season 13 of ''The Voice'' "where she made it to the playoffs in 2017 as a member of Adam Levine's and Jennifer Hudson's teams". Bram "reached out to Mrozak" and "encouraged her to audition" for Citizen Queen. The members of the group were "complete strangers before the group's founding", except for

SoCal VoCals The SoCal VoCals are the first of nine a cappella groups from the University of Southern California. Founded in 1996, the group's signature achievement is being the only a cappella group to win five titles in ICCA, which it accomplished in 2008, ...

members Nelson and Sharve’. Bram had been music director of the SoCal VoCals before participating in the formation of Pentatonix and Citizen Queen. Sharve’ had also previously released an album and performed in her home state of Texas. The group has been identified as playing a part in the revival of

s in the United States. ''

Refinery29 Refinery29 (R29) is an American multinational digital media and entertainment website focused on young women. It is owned by Vice Media. History Justin Stefano, Philippe von Borries, Piera Gelardi, and Christene Barberich co-founded Refinery29 i ...

'' stated that the group "kicks down the doors with their powerful official debut, and the perfectly placed harmonies, bass, and vocal percussion on the original song all but promise a top spot for the talented newbies. Forget what you heard — girl groups ain't dead, y'all". '' Nylon'' described the group as "Modern representation plus Danity Kane-levels of pop ear-worminess? This is the girl group we deserve!" The group has been described as "unique because they tend to rely more on their voices rather than singing along to a beat". ''

Cosmopolitan Cosmopolitan may refer to: Food and drink * Cosmopolitan (cocktail), also known as a "Cosmo" History * Rootless cosmopolitan, a Soviet derogatory epithet during Joseph Stalin's anti-Semitic campaign of 1949–1953 Hotels and resorts * Cosmopoli ...

'' compared the group to Fifth Harmony, and their origin to the movie, ''

Pitch Perfect ''Pitch Perfect'' is a 2012 American musical comedy film directed by Jason Moore and written by Kay Cannon. It features an ensemble cast, including Anna Kendrick, Rebel Wilson, Skylar Astin, Anna Camp, Brittany Snow, Hana Mae Lee, Alexis Knap ...

'', noting that "after going through a cappella boot camps and auditions, the girls joined forces to create pop anthems and covers". ''Fringe'' noted that the group had "received praise from the likes of everyone from

Ariana Grande Ariana Grande-Butera ( ; born June 26, 1993) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Her four-octave vocal range has received critical acclaim, and her personal life has been the subject of widespread media attention. She has received ...

to Meghan Trainor".

Song production and touring

The group reportedly first worked out of an Airbnb in Los Angeles, recording "four fully produced songs and music videos" in the course of a week. Their first popular video was "Evolution of Girl Groups", a six-minute medley of 25 songs, which was posted to YouTube in January 2019. It had received nearly 10 million views by June 2019, and over 18 million views by August 2020, passing 20 million views in December 2020. In July 2019, the group opened for Pentatonix on a nine-week world tour, with the tour also featuring

Rachel Platten Rachel Ashley Platten (born May 20, 1981) is an American singer-songwriter and author. After releasing two albums independently in 2003 and 2011, she signed with Columbia Records in 2015 and released her mainstream debut single, "Fight Song", w ...

. The group went on to record well-viewed videos for " No Tears Left to Cry" by

, "

Lost in Japan "Lost in Japan" is a song recorded by Canadian singer Shawn Mendes. It was written by Mendes, Scott Harris, Nate Mercereau and Teddy Geiger, with production handled by Mendes, Mercereau, Geiger and Louis Bell. The song was released by Island Rec ...

" by Shawn Mendes, and "Never Enough" from '' The Greatest Showman''. In June 2020, the group performed an arrangement of " Free Your Mind" by En Vogue for the 2020 Pride Benefit Concert put on by RCA Records and the

Human Rights Campaign The Human Rights Campaign (HRC) is an American LGBTQ advocacy group. It is the largest LGBTQ political lobbying organization within the United States. Based in Washington, D.C., the organization focuses on protecting and expanding rights for LGB ...

. In December 2020, the group released their first original song, "Call Me Queen", written by

Justin Tranter Justin Drew Tranter (born June 16, 1980) is an American songwriter, singer, and activist. Frequently co-writing with Julia Michaels, Tranter has written songs for artists such as Britney Spears, Gwen Stefani, Linkin Park, Kelly Clarkson, Selena ...

Nova Wav Nova Wav is an American record production and songwriting duo composed of Brittany "Chi" Coney and Denisia "Blu June" Andrews. Over the course of their career, Nova Wav has written and produced on tracks and albums for artists including Beyoncé ...

, and

Shawn Wasabi Shawn Serrano (born May 26, 1994), professionally known as Shawn Wasabi, is an American record producer from Salinas, California. He is credited as a co-inventor of the Midi Fighter 64, a custom musical software controller. He resides in Los Ang ...

, and accompanied by a music video produced by

Lauren Dunn Lauren may be a given name or surname.The name's meaning may be "laurel tree", "sweet of honor", or "wisdom". It is derived from the French name Laurence, a feminine version of Laurent, which is in turn derived from the Roman surname Laurentius. ...

. The group also performed that month at TheWrap's 2020 Power Women Summit. In January 2021, the group released an official remix of "Call Me Queen" by

Armada Music Armada Music is a Dutch independent record label that specialises in releasing electronic dance music. The name Armada derives from the first two letters of the founders' first names: Armin van Buuren, Maykel Piron and David Lewis. Signed a ...

artist Frank Pole. The group's next original song was "No Ego", written by

and songwriting duo

and released in March 2021. In April 2021, the group released the original ballad, "Y", reported by the group to have been inspired by a bad breakup experienced by Mrozak. Shortly after the posting of a video on TikTok introducing the song, it was reported that the video had received "almost four million views and over nine thousand comments". In June 2022, the group released their original single, “XO”, written by Nova Wav, Kiana Ledé, Amiyah “AJ” Brown, Nina Nelson, Kaedi Dalley, Kaylah Sharve’, and Cora Isabel, and accompanied by a music video directed by Jadagrace. Two weeks later, they released another original, "Waste My Time", reviewed by ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

'' as "effortlessly harmonizing and recalling the past eras of girl groups, with Dalley’s impossibly rich tone on full display". In December 2022, Fifth Harmony member

Dinah Jane Dinah Jane Milika Ilaisaane Hansen (; born June 22, 1997) is an American singer and a member of girl group Fifth Harmony. In October 2017, she featured in RedOne's single " Boom Boom" with Daddy Yankee and French Montana. After the group's hia ...

released a collaboration with the group, that being a "holiday medley of Justin Bieber's "

Mistletoe Mistletoe is the common name for obligate hemiparasitic plants in the order Santalales. They are attached to their host tree or shrub by a structure called the haustorium, through which they extract water and nutrients from the host plant. ...

", Ariana Grande's "

Santa Tell Me "Santa Tell Me" is a Christmas song recorded by American singer Ariana Grande. It was written by Grande, Ilya Salmanzadeh and Savan Kotecha. The song was released worldwide on November 24, 2014, via iTunes Store, and was included on the Japanes ...

, and Fifth Harmony's "

Can You See ''The Star'' is a 2017 American computer-animated biblical comedy film directed by Timothy Reckart. Inspired by the Nativity of Jesus, the film's screenplay was written by Carlos Kotkin and Simon Moore, based on an original concept by Tom Sheridan ...

" from holiday film ''

The Star ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

''".

Members

* Cora Isabel (''Beatboxer/Alto'') (born February 24, 2001) * Kaedi Dalley (''Bass'') (born December 2, 2000) * Kaylah Sharve’ (''Mezzo-soprano'') (born January 6, 1999) * Nina Ann Nelson (''Soprano'') (born March 25, 1998) Hannah Mrozak, an original member of the group, announced her departure on social media in May 2022. The group then announced that it would continue as a quartet, and thereafter released new material as a quartet.

Chart performance

In December 2020, Citizen Queen had three songs on the South African iTunes Pop 100, these being their covers of " No Tears Left to Cry" at #48, " Slow Burn" at #96, and "

" at #100. In May 2021, the original song "Y" reached #48 on the Nigerian iTunes Pop 100.

Discography

CD's

Singles

* 2020: '' Call Me Queen'' * 2021: '' No Ego'' * 2021: ''Y'' * 2022: ''XO'' * 2022: ''Waste My Time'' * 2022: ''Break Up''

Covers

* 2018: '' No Tears Left to Cry'' (

) * 2018: '' This Christmas'' (

Donny Hathaway Donny Edward Hathaway (October 1, 1945 – January 13, 1979) was an American soul singer, keyboardist, songwriter, and arranger whom ''Rolling Stone'' described as a "soul legend". His most popular songs include " The Ghetto", "This Christmas ...

) * 2018: ''

'' ( Shawn Mendes) * 2019: ''Never Enough'' ( The Greatest Showman OST) * 2019: '' Best Part'' ( Daniel Caesar feat.

H.E.R. Gabriella Sarmiento Wilson (born June 27, 1997), known professionally as H.E.R. (pronounced "her", an acronym for "Having Everything Revealed"), is an American singer, songwriter, musician and actress. She has received several awards includin ...

) * 2019: ''

Good as Hell "Good as Hell" is a song recorded by the American singer and rapper Lizzo. Written by Lizzo and producer Ricky Reed, it was released on March 8, 2016, by Atlantic Records and Nice Life Recording Company as the lead single from her first extended ...

'' ( Lizzo) * 2019: ''

Señorita Señorita (the Spanish honorific equivalent of Miss) may refer to: Film * ''Senorita'' (film), a 1927 American silent film *''Señorita'', a 2011 film directed by Isabel Sandoval Music * "Señorita" (Don Williams song), 1987 *'' Señorita EP'' ...

'' ( Shawn Mendes & Camila Cabello) * 2019: ''

Bad Guy A bad guy or villain is a type of character in fiction and other narratives. Bad Guy or Bad Guys or ''variation'', may also refer to: Film * ''Bad Guy'' (1937 film), a film starring Virginia Grey * ''Bad Guys'', a 1986 film starring Adam Bald ...

'' ( Billie Eilish) * 2020: '' Whack World Medley'' ( Tierra Whack) * 2020: ''Slow Burn'' ( Kacey Musgraves) * 2020: '' Free Your Mind'' ( En Vogue) * 2022: '' Killing Me Softly with His Song'' ( Roberta Flack) * 2022: '' Don't Call Me Angel'' (

, Lana Del Rey & Miley Cyrus)

Music videos

Tours

Opening Act

* Pentatonix: The World Tour (2019-2022)

References

{{reflist

External links

RCA Records artist page for Citizen Queen

Meet Citizen Queen; Think Pentatonix…but ALL GIRLS!!!
KROI (92.1 FM) (December 7, 2018) *Mark Franklin,
Former Voice standout Hannah Mrozak now part of Citizen Queen
, ''Idol Chatter'' (December 8, 2018) American pop girl groups Professional a cappella groups Musical groups established in 2018