Ava Max Breaks Down 'Kings & Queens,' Her Empowering Call To Arms

If you're still looking to fill the Game of Thrones-sized hole in your heart, perhaps Ava Max's latest release can help.


On Thursday (March 12), the pop singer reemerged with "Kings & Queens," her first solo song of 2020 and the official lead single for her upcoming debut album. Lose been teasing the track with a slew of royalty-related pics on Instagram, and yes it does, case in point, find Ava assuming her throne as a reigning defender of female empowerment. "If all the kings had their queens on the throne / We would pop champagne and raise a toast," she starts on the initial hook. "To all the queens who are fighting alone / Baby you're not dancing on your own."


Speaking to MTV News about the fresh single, Ava mentioned, "It's really just about, if queens ruled world, the complete world could be a higher class of place."


Over driving production courtesy of Cirkut and RedOne — and one hell of an electric guitar solo — Ava sings vividly about breathing fire, getting a "royalty high," and calling on boys to begin championing the queens (or "kingmakers") in their lives. Otherwise, it's off with their heads.


The charged-up anthem arrives alongside evocative cover art featuring Ava perched on a throne against a cloudy backdrop. She's holding a metal sword between her legs, recalling the song's memorable lyric, "You might think I'm susceptible without a sword / Although if I had one it'd be bigger than yours" — which, yes, is about exactly what you think it's about. "I'll leave you to fill in the blank," she laughed, adding that the sword from the cover is 100 percent real "and it was so freaking heavy."


Expect that cover art to come to life in the track's forthcoming video, which the singer describes as "very eye catching, super fun, crazy dancing, and also a big celebration, really. Imagine a rainbow being in a music video."


Though Ava steadily released new music while in all of 2019 — like "So Am I," "Torn," "Freaking Me Out," "Blood, Sweat & Tears," and "Salt" — her new track is the official first taste of her debut album, due out this year. She confirmed that her 2018 breakout hit "Sweet Although Psycho" is the only previously released cut that made the tracklist, saying, "Except for that, they're all new songs. I'm just so stoked for fans to hear like, thirteen new songs."


As for what the hotly anticipated project holds, expect more celebratory and buoyant anthems in the vein of "Kings & Queens."


"It's such a celebration track that begins the album with a bang. It really reflects the time and feels like a good introduction," Ava mentioned. "I want people to hear the album any time they're going to the fitness center and feel motivated, or as soon as they're maybe wanting to get hired for a certain job and so they desire to be feel empowered. I think that's really what the feel of the album is."


While we await the complete assignments arrival, listen to "Kings & Queens" above to soak up that confidence-boosting energy.