The King

"The King" is a song by British recording artist Iris, taken from her sixth studio album and first compilation album The Asylum: Collection (2015). The song was written and produced by Iris. It was released as the lead single from The Asylum: Collection on 06 April 2015 Worldwide and one day later in the United States.

According to Iris, "The King" focuses on love and social class, highlighting a societal expectation to love within your class. The song is a synthpop ballad with string sounds, pulsing bass and an electronic arrangement. The song was met with positive reviews from critics, who praised its production and Iris' song writing.

The accompanying music video premièred on 14 March 2014 and showed Iris going through many experiences with her boyfriend, all shown from his vision. It was well received by critics.

Background
"The King" was written and produced by Iris. The song was written in Stockholm whilst Iris was there performing and it was recorded at a studio in London. The strings in the song were arranged by Carl Bagge, and played by various cello and violin players. The song alongside "Ghost on Sailor's Peak" are the songs Iris is most proud of from the The Asylum series, and Iris said that she that the moment she wrote them "[she] knew they would be singles, or could be singles, and [she] wanted them to get that chance." Iris described the song to The Macomb Daily as "a love song about loving someone from a different social pride and the power that the differences you bring to the relationship possess". In an interview with MTV News, she elaborated on the song's theme and message, saying, "I think 'The King' is a song that talks about what happens when you fall in love, and how you can just admire that person and literally think of them as God's gift to the Earth."

The single was officially confirmed on 29 January 2015, with the song's title being revealed the next day. The single artwork was released the next week. The song premiered on 14 February 2015 as a Valentines Day gift to her fans. The single was released Worldwide on 30 March 2015, the same date as the album, apart from in America where it was released a day later.

Composition
"The King" is an uptempo ballad that uses string sections and a pulsating beat. The song makes use of a synthpop style, and incorporates elements Europop. It carries a 4/4 beat that is driven by an "endlessly looped" arpeggio. The song utilizes ascending keyboard bubbles, disco claps, drum machines and whistles as backing. Molly Lambert of Pitchfork noted the "human quality" of Iris' voice on the track, writing that it is "cloaked in waves of arpeggiated synth".

The lyrics speak of a love connection, where the love she feels with her man makes her feel like royalty; "As the light radiates against your reflection the colours translate into a speech/Words echo through my mind, there’s no limit your hierarchy can not reach ". In the chorus, Iris sings "But with my King by my side, we can rule them all." Fraser McAlpine of BBC Music noted that Iris sings "tough and knowing" and "pessimistically optimistic" lines, but manages to make it sound romantic for the listener. Emma Gaedekke of Billboard commented on the lyrical content, saying, "Iris' heartfelt vocal turn prevents the backing music from overwhelming her story of a love connection found at the tail-end of heartbreak."

Critical reception
Nick Levine of Digital Spy gave the song a positive review, awarding it five out of five stars. Levine praised the synths and strings present on the track, as well as Iris' production. He commented that the lyrics made the song "not just touching, but utterly, utterly life-affirming". Fraser McAlpine of BBC Music praised its modern synthpop. McAlpine noted that the song about dancing and being "terrified/upset" at the same time, and wrote that Iris has created a "devastating happysad feeling". McAlpine awarded the song five out five stars, and gave it "special points" for its "faux-classical synth solo" in the middle. Emma Gaedeke of Billboard highlighted the songwriting and praised it for being emotionally honest, without "generic pop cheesiness". Molly Lambert of Pitchfork wrote a positive review of the song, saying that the drum machines on the track contrast well with the qualities of her voice. Lambert wrote, "“The King” encapsulates the kind of freedom Iris sings about; freedom from reductionist categories, unfair expectations, and life's daily indignities."

Paul Davey of Drowned in Sound wrote that the song "sits comfortably alongside" previous singles "Poison Ivy" and "Ghost on Sailor's Peak". Davey referred "The King" to as "an example of a pop-innovator at the top of her game". Jonathan Keefe of Slant Magazine praised the song's production and named it one of Iris' best singles. Keefe also named it the standout among the new songs on The Asylum: Collection. Christian Hoard of Rolling Stone gave it three and a half out of five stars, and wrote that "Iris sings an uncommonly elegant Europop melody"

Music video
The music video was uploaded to Iris official Vevo channel on 14 March 2015.

The video begins with scenes being filmed from a vintage handheld camera, showing Iris waking up in bed in the morning and getting ready. The camera is meant to be shown as the viewpoint from her partner, showing things from his perspective. His hands are shown beneath the camera passing Iris a tray to give her breakfast in bed. Iris is shown to place a kiss to the side of the camera, giving the impression of kissing her lovers cheek.

Various romantic scenes are shown, continuing on from the boyfriends perspective. It shows Iris pulling his hands excitedly beneath the Eiffel Towel, riding a bike beside him and feeding ducks. Another scene shows the arms reach out from under the camera's view and sticking an ice cream into Iris' face.

Iris is shown to be on a balcony looking out at the view of Paris. The camera is shown to keep looking at Iris then back down to a sketchpad on the mans knee, as he is drawing a picture of Iris. Iris then walks over and tries to take the sketchpad of him, however he is shown to grab the sketchpad and run into the bedroom, looking back at Iris chasing after him.

The camera is then showing the mans hand reach out and open the hotel door. A member of staff is waving a reciept in their face with the words 'card declined' written on it. The mans hands are shown to push the member of staff as he pushes back. Iris gets in the middle of it and is pushed to the side, falling to the floor.

The next scene shows Iris sat in the corner of the shower with the water pouring down on her as she wears just a t-shirt and knickers and cries to herself. The camera view is shown to face a mirror and show the mans face, as he punches the mirror and smashes the glass.

Iris is then shown sat on a park bench in the dark, the camera looks down and shows the mans hand reach across and hold hers. She looks at the camera and smiles. She places her head against his shoulder and appears to doze off to sleep.

Iris is next shown to be pictured in a glamorous red dress, as she poses and flirts for the camera/man. Suddenly she looks shocked and kneels down slightly, as the man places a crown upon her head, making Iris his Queen. The pair are shown to link their little fingers together as Iris looks at the camera and mouths 'forever'.

The final scene in the video shows Iris pulling the man by his hand in a dark outdoor area. Hundreds of people are shown behind Iris as they sing and dance together to the final chorus of the song. They also play with sparklers and just generally enjoy themselves. The video ends with the camera glancing at Iris, who is stand beside the man as she smiles at him then looks straight ahead. The man also looks straight ahead as a beautiful fireworks display beams above them and the other people they celebrated with.

Charts
The single was released on 06 April 2015. It debuted at #5 with first week sales of 68,549 copies sold. It became the highest new entry upon its debut on the AirPlay chart at #23 before it rose to #21 the following week before dropping back to #23 then finally breaking the top twenty by jumping up to #14. A few weeks later it peaked at #12 and finally entered the top ten at #04. The song debuted at #2 on the Digital chart, giving Iris her joint highest position on the chart.