King (stylised KING) are an English pop/
hip hop quartet, started in 1997. The band consisted originally of five siblings, Trillion, Queenie, Jazzy, Ruby and Lucius. In November 2013 Jazzy and Ruby left the quintet to form their own band
Blonde Electra
Blonde Electra (formerly Blonde Electric) are a British pop duo consisting of British-German sisters Jasmina "Jazzy" King (born 19 February 1990) and Natalia "Ruby" King (born 7 May 1992). They formed the group in 2013 in Düsseldorf, Germany, a ...
and their younger sister Jemima joined the group.
History
The three eldest siblings were born in India and the two younger ones in Ukraine. All were
home-schooled
Homeschooling or home schooling, also known as home education or elective home education (EHE), is the education of school-aged children at home or a variety of places other than a school. Usually conducted by a parent, tutor, or an onlin ...
by their father, Michael Jaffray King (British) and mother, Irmgard King (German). They were raised in over 30 countries throughout the world. Due to being born in different countries and having parents from two countries, all siblings have dual citizenship. They are fluent in four languages.
They have two younger sisters, Jemima and Michelle King, who currently reside in
Cologne
Cologne ( ; german: Köln ; ksh, Kölle ) is the largest city of the German western state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the fourth-most populous city of Germany with 1.1 million inhabitants in the city proper and 3.6 millio ...
, Germany with their parents.
Marieangela "Queenie" King married, on 1 December 2013, musician and artist
Elijah Blue Allman, the son of
Cher and
Gregg Allman
Gregory LeNoir Allman (December 8, 1947 – May 27, 2017) was an American musician, singer and songwriter. He was known for performing in the Allman Brothers Band. Allman grew up with an interest in rhythm and blues music, and the Allman Br ...
.
Music
Their music and performance is characterised by electronic raps, big melodic choruses and unique fashion styles.
Early life
They began their professional singing careers in 1997 and quickly moved on to do TV and radio shows in several countries around the world. In 1998,
Word Records
Word Records is a Christian faith-based entertainment company based in Nashville, Tennessee. It is owned by Curb Records, and is a part of Word Entertainment. It is distributed by Warner Records (the former Warner Bros. Records).
History
In 1 ...
/
Warner Music Group
Warner Music Group Corp. ( d.b.a. Warner Music Group, commonly abbreviated as WMG) is an American multinational entertainment and record label conglomerate headquartered in New York City. It is one of the " big three" recording companies and t ...
(US) approached the group and offered them a $4 million recording contract which was, however, rejected by both parents as they felt the siblings were too young to take on the music business at that time.
The band
In 2007, they formed their own band called King Family, and started writing/producing their own songs. They were soon signed to
EMI
EMI Group Limited (originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records Ltd. or simply EMI) was a British Transnational corporation, transnational Conglomerate (company), conglomerate founded in March 1 ...
Capitol Records in Germany.
In January 2008, their debut single "Carry Me Home" was released and made it into the German Single Charts. Only three months later, the album of the same name, as well as the second single "Perfect Day" appeared, which also reached a position in the charts. A tour throughout Germany, TV appearances and numerous public performances followed.
In June 2009, the siblings parted ways with
EMI
EMI Group Limited (originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records Ltd. or simply EMI) was a British Transnational corporation, transnational Conglomerate (company), conglomerate founded in March 1 ...
. They renamed their band to 'KING' and moved to the US to pursue their musical careers. This move was supported by the American music manager
Doc McGhee
Doc McGhee is an American music manager, best known for working with hard rock bands Kiss, Bon Jovi and Mötley Crüe. The latter two groups experienced their rise to stardom under his management. He has also worked with Hootie & the Blowfish.
H ...
(long time manager of
Kiss
A kiss is the touch or pressing of one's lips against another person or an object. Cultural connotations of kissing vary widely. Depending on the culture and context, a kiss can express sentiments of love, passion, romance, sexual attraction, ...
.
The band has written with songwriters and producers with the likes of Grammy Award winner
Glen Ballard
Basil Glen Ballard Jr. (born May 1, 1953) is an American songwriter, lyricist, and record producer. He is best known for co-writing and producing Alanis Morissette's 1995 album '' Jagged Little Pill'', which won Grammy Awards for Best Rock Alb ...
,
Bonnie McKee
Bonnie Leigh McKee (born January 20, 1984) is an American singer and songwriter. Her debut album, ''Trouble'', was released in 2004 under Reprise Records. After underperforming, McKee was dropped by her label and took a musical hiatus before es ...
,
Mitch Allan
Mitchell Allan Scherr, known professionally as Mitch Allan, is an American record producer, songwriter, and musician. He has written and produced songs for artists such as Demi Lovato, Third Eye Blind, Miley Cyrus, Carlie Hanson, Jason Derulo, ...
, Jon Ingoldsby and Justin Trugman.
They have homes in Hollywood, California and in
Mayfair, London. The siblings are currently recording their 2nd studio album and working on television projects.
In December 2013, KING released the music video "B.O.M.B.", directed by
Nicholaus Goossen
Nicholaus Edward Goossen (born August 18, 1978) is a director, and a photographer.
Life and career
Goossen's first feature film was '' Grandma's Boy'' for Happy Madison Productions and 20th Century Fox. He collaborated with Adam Sandler (executiv ...
.
Members
* Trillion (born 2 March 1985 as Michael Phillip King in
Pune
Pune (; ; also known as Poona, ( the official name from 1818 until 1978) is one of the most important industrial and educational hubs of India, with an estimated population of 7.4 million As of 2021, Pune Metropolitan Region is the largest i ...
, India)
* Queenie (born 16 July 1987 as Marieangela King in
Bombay
Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second-m ...
, India)
* David Lucius King (born 3 February 1995 in
Perechyn, Ukraine)
* Jemima (born 17 April)
Former members
* Jazzy (born 19 February 1990 as Jasmina King in
Bombay
Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second-m ...
, India)
* Ruby (born 7 May 1992 as Natalia King in
Uzhhorod
Uzhhorod ( uk, У́жгород, , ; ) is a city and municipality on the river Uzh in western Ukraine, at the border with Slovakia and near the border with Hungary. The city is approximately equidistant from the Baltic, the Adriatic and the ...
, Ukraine)
Discography
Albums
Singles
References
External links
*
KING
King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen, which title is also given to the consort of a king.
*In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contemporary indigenous peoples, the tit ...
at
Allmusic
AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databa ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:KING
English pop music groups
Musical groups established in 1997
Family musical groups
Universal Music Group artists
Sony Music Publishing artists
Vocal quartets