"Not Even the King" is a song recorded by American singer-songwriter
Alicia Keys
Alicia Augello Cook (born January 25, 1981), known professionally as Alicia Keys, is an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. A classically trained pianist, Keys started composing songs when she was 12 and was signed at 15 years old by Col ...
for her fifth studio album,
''Girl on Fire'' (2012). Co-written by
Emeli Sandé
Adele Emily Sandé, ( ; born 10 March 1987), known professionally as Emeli Sandé, is a Scottish singer and songwriter. Born in Sunderland, Tyne and Wear, and raised in Alford, Aberdeenshire, Scotland, by an English mother and a Zambian father ...
, "Not Even the King" is a piano ballad about love which is bigger than the world, and which could not be afforded by a king. The song serves as a promotional single from ''
Girl on Fire''.
She has performed the song on a number of occasions, and released an artistic
lyric video
A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device ...
for it on September 8, 2012. It has garnered acclaim by music critics, who praised Keys' vocals and the song's message.
It was also included on Keys' ninth studio album ''
Santa Baby
"Santa Baby" is a song performed by American singer Eartha Kitt with Henri René and His Orchestra and originally released in 1953. The song was written by Joan Javits and Philip Springer, who also used the pseudonym Tony Springer in an attempt ...
'' (2022).
Background and release
''Girl on Fire'' is Keys' fifth studio album and a follow-up to ''
The Element of Freedom
''The Element of Freedom'' is the fourth studio album by American singer and songwriter Alicia Keys, released on December 11, 2009, by J Records. Recording sessions for the album took place during May to September 2009 at the Oven Studios in Long ...
'' (2009). It is her first release under
RCA Records
RCA Records is an American record label currently owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside RCA's former long-time rival Columbia Records; also A ...
, after a re-organization at parent company
Sony Music Entertainment
Sony Music Entertainment (SME), also known as simply Sony Music, is an American multinational music company. Being owned by the parent conglomerate Sony Group Corporation, it is part of the Sony Music Group, which is owned by Sony Entertainmen ...
led to her previous label
J Records
J Records was an American record label owned and operated by Bertelsmann Music Group until it was transferred to Sony Music Entertainment when they acquired all of BMG’s record labels in late 2008. It was distributed through the RCA Music Gro ...
roster being absorbed into RCA.
After 2009, Keys married record producer and rapper
Swizz Beatz
Kasseem Daoud Dean (born September 13, 1978), known professionally as Swizz Beatz, is an American record producer, rapper, disc jockey (DJ) and songwriter. Born and raised in New York City, Dean embarked on his musical career as a DJ. At the ag ...
, became a mother, began co-managing her own career, produced and directed both a Broadway Play and short film, in addition to designing a line of
trainers
Sneakers (also called trainers, athletic shoes, tennis shoes, gym shoes, kicks, sport shoes, flats, running shoes, or runners) are shoes primarily designed for sports or other forms of physical exercise, but which are now also widely used fo ...
for
Reebok
Reebok International Limited () is an American fitness footwear and clothing manufacturer that is a part of Authentic Brands Group. It was established in England in 1958 as a companion company to J.W. Foster and Sons, a sporting goods company ...
.
Speaking on how the events of the last three years inspired her during an interview with ''
Billboard'', Keys stated: "These last three years have been the most in every way. The most newest, the most difficult, the most loving, the most dream-filled, the most breaking free ... an entire crazy dynamic of lessons and emotions to grow into and claim."
She explained that she felt connected to the album, and called it something "very different", stating: "I feel like even the writing style and the way that I've been able to access how I feel has gone to a different place and I feel it's even more raw. It's even more kind of diverse in its topics and I love how it feels." "
Girl on Fire", the album's title track, was released as the album's lead single. Apart from the main version, two other versions of the song were released: the "Inferno remix" featuring rapper
Nicki Minaj
Onika Tanya Maraj-Petty (; born December 8, 1982), known professionally as Nicki Minaj ( ), is a Trinidadian-born rapper based in the United States. She is known for her musical versatility, animated Flow (rapping), flow in her rapping, alter e ...
and a softer "Bluelight" version.
She released the studio version of "Not Even the King" through a
lyric video
A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device ...
uploaded to
VEVO
Vevo ( , an abbreviation for "Video Evolution", stylized as VEVO until 2013) is an American multinational video hosting service, best known for providing music videos to YouTube. The service is also available as an app on selected smart TVs, ...
on September 8, 2012, following her performance of the track at Stand Up to Cancer.
Music and lyrics
![Emeli sande](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fd/Emeli_sande.pk.jpg)
"Not Even the King" is a
piano ballad
A ballade (from French '' ballade'', , and German ''Ballade'', , both being words for "ballad"), in classical music since the late 18th century, refers to a setting of a literary ballad, a narrative poem, in the musical tradition of the , or to a o ...
with a length of three minutes and seven seconds (3:07).
Keys co-wrote the song with Scottish recording artist and writer
Emeli Sandé
Adele Emily Sandé, ( ; born 10 March 1987), known professionally as Emeli Sandé, is a Scottish singer and songwriter. Born in Sunderland, Tyne and Wear, and raised in Alford, Aberdeenshire, Scotland, by an English mother and a Zambian father ...
.
The pair had previously collaborated on Sandé's album, ''
Our Version of Events
''Our Version of Events'' is the debut studio album by Scottish recording artist Emeli Sandé. The album was released on 13 February 2012 by Virgin Records, following Sandé's winning of the Critics' Choice Award at the BRIT Awards 2012. Though ...
'' on a song entitled "Hope". Sandé explained: "Writing with Alicia Keys was really great. I was nervous, but she’s a very warm person. She knew how to make people feel at ease."
They also collaborated on two other songs from ''Girl on Fire'', "
Brand New Me" and "101". Of working with Sandé, Keys called it "instant magic" stating: "I have to say, myself and Emeli Sande – when we met and we really began to write together, it was instant magic and that doesn't happen all the time."
Lyrically, "Not Even the King" is about "good wealth versus less-good wealth" according to
MTV.
Over the piano-driven melody, Keys sings about a love of hers which is bigger than the entire world: "Yeah believe that, the trust that we feel the kings never felt that / Yeah, this is the song we sing, we don't need anything / They can't afford this, this is priceless / They can't afford what we got, not even the king."
In the song, she describes "your arms around me" as "worth more than a kingdom".
Lyric video
On September 8, 2012, a
lyric video
A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device ...
was uploaded to Keys' official
VEVO
Vevo ( , an abbreviation for "Video Evolution", stylized as VEVO until 2013) is an American multinational video hosting service, best known for providing music videos to YouTube. The service is also available as an app on selected smart TVs, ...
channel. It was produced by The Uprising Creative and directed by Laban Pheidias. According to
Idolator
An idolator is a practitioner of idolatry.
Idolater or Idolator may also refer to: Books
*''Os Idólatras'', 1968 Portuguese novel by Maria Judite de Carvalho Music
* Idolator (website), an American music blog
* ''Idolator'' (album), third album ...
, the lyric video depicted "artful illustrations of a tune that’s all about being rich in love."
According to Trent Fitzgerald of Popcrush said: "The artsy clip gets its muse from late artist-painter
Basquiat
Jean-Michel Basquiat (; December 22, 1960 – August 12, 1988) was an American artist who rose to success during the 1980s as part of the Neo-expressionism movement.
Basquiat first achieved fame as part of the graffiti duo SAMO, alongside Al ...
and creates a collage of typographic images to paint Keys’ sky-reaching vocals It’s great to hear and see how Keys’ vision of empowerment is taking shape with her songs and visuals."
''
Essence
Essence ( la, essentia) is a polysemic term, used in philosophy and theology as a designation for the property or set of properties that make an entity or substance what it fundamentally is, and which it has by necessity, and without which it ...
'' praised the video, writing: "With Basquiat references and artistic touches throughout, the lyric video is unique in itself and isn't like anything we've seen from Keys in recent memory."
Critical reception
Upon its release, the song received acclaim from music critics. Melissa Maerz of ''
Entertainment Weekly
''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular cu ...
'' commented that she "returns to the bench on 'Not Even the King'" after there are "one too many jazzy smoothfests" on ''Girl on Fire''. Maerz praised the song, stating that: "the music feels surprisingly intimate. You can hear her take a deep breath and press down the pedal before she starts to sing." X. Alexander of
Idolator
An idolator is a practitioner of idolatry.
Idolater or Idolator may also refer to: Books
*''Os Idólatras'', 1968 Portuguese novel by Maria Judite de Carvalho Music
* Idolator (website), an American music blog
* ''Idolator'' (album), third album ...
wrote: "Not even the king can afford a voice as lovely as Alicia’s on this sweet, sentimental track."
Trent Fitzgerald noted it to be "quite different from her anthemic hit ‘Girl on Fire,’ the song is just as inspirational and emotive."
''
Rap-Up'' called the song "powerful".
Charley Rogulewski of ''
Vibe
''Vibe'' is an American music and entertainment magazine founded by producers David Salzman and Quincy Jones. The publication predominantly features R&B and hip hop music artists, actors and other entertainers. After shutting down producti ...
'' magazine described the song as a "Tearjerker" and said "It will make you cry."
Jenna Rubenstein of
MTV Buzzworthy
MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...
called the lyrics "deep" and wrote: "we can't help it if all we wanna do is sit back with a nice glass of red wine and a boyfriend, and just soak in the sound of Alicia's voice."
Live performances
On September 8, 2012, Keys performed "Not Even the King" at the
Stand Up to Cancer
Stand Up to Cancer (SU2C) is a charitable program of the Entertainment Industry Foundation (EIF). SU2C aims to raise significant funds for translational cancer research through online and televised efforts. Central to the program is a telethon tha ...
telethon; which featured several other artists including
Coldplay
Coldplay are a British rock band formed in London in 1997. They consist of vocalist and pianist Chris Martin, guitarist Jonny Buckland, bassist Guy Berryman, drummer Will Champion and creative director Phil Harvey. They met at University ...
and
Taylor Swift
Taylor Alison Swift (born December 13, 1989) is an American singer-songwriter. Her discography spans multiple genres, and her vivid songwriting—often inspired by her personal life—has received critical praise and wide media coverage. Bor ...
.
Of the performance, Charley Rogulewski of ''Vibe'' magazine said that she: "commands attention right from the start thanks to the stripped down setup".
She performed it at the
iTunes Festival on September 28, along with multiple other new tracks from ''Girl on Fire''.
On October 16, she performed the song during the 'City Advantage Love the Journey Concert' at
Lincoln Center
Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts (also simply known as Lincoln Center) is a complex of buildings in the Lincoln Square neighborhood on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. It has thirty indoor and outdoor facilities and is host to 5 milli ...
's
Avery Fisher Hall
David Geffen Hall is a concert hall in New York City's Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts complex on Manhattan's Upper West Side. The 2,200-seat auditorium opened in 1962, and is the home of the New York Philharmonic.
The facility, desi ...
in New York City. Her performance earned her a standing ovation and "endless applause".
On November 12, Keys performed the song on ''
VH1 Storytellers
''Storytellers'' is a television music series produced by the VH1 network.
In each episode, artists perform in front of a (mostly small and intimate) live audience, and tell stories about their music, writing experiences and memories, somewhat ...
'', as well as "Brand New Me" and other songs. Josh Stillman of ''Entertainment Weekly'' praised her appearance on the show as a whole; he wrote: "She carries herself onstage with cool and confidence – not showy or
attention seeking
Attention seeking behavior is to act in a way that is likely to elicit attention. Attention seeking behavior is defined in the DSM-5 as "engaging in behavior designed to attract notice and to make oneself the focus of others’ attention and admir ...
, merely comfortable – and speaks in a voice so smooth you could drape it over your shoulders."
He noted that Keys was backed by a six-piece band for songs such as "
No One" and "
If I Ain't Got You
"If I Ain't Got You" is a song recorded by American singer-songwriter Alicia Keys for her second studio album ''The Diary of Alicia Keys'' (2003). Inspired by the 2001 death of singer Aaliyah, the September 11 attacks, and other events in the ...
", but stripped down the mood for the "passionate solo renditions" of "Not Even the King" and "Brand New Me".
Keys has announced plans to tour the
UK in May 2013, and has confirmed that "Not Even the King" is on the setlist along with several other songs from ''Girl on Fire'' as well as her older hits.
Credits and personnel
Credits adapted from the ''Girl on Fire'' liner notes.
Recording
*Recorded and mixed at Oven Studios,
New York City, New York
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
Personnel
*Lead vocals, production, piano – Alicia Keys
*Vocal recording, mixing – Ann Mincieli
*Songwriting – Alicia Keys, Emeli Sandé
*Assistant vocal engineers – Val Brathwaite, Ramon Rivas
References
{{authority control
2010s ballads
2012 songs
Alicia Keys songs
RCA Records singles
Songs written by Alicia Keys
Songs written by Emeli Sande