Princess Chelsea
Chelsea Nikkel, better known by her stage name Princess Chelsea, is a producer and musician from Auckland, New Zealand, and a previous member of twee pop band The Brunettes and Auckland band Teenwolf. Nikkel is associated with the Lil' Chief Records collective and is a part-time member of Auckland soul group The Cosbys and Disciples of Macca, a Paul McCartney covers band featuring members of The Brunettes, Ruby Suns, Bressa Creeting Cake and Lawrence Arabia and more recently performs as bass player in three piece rock n roll band 'Hang Loose'. Nikkel works in Auckland as a composer.[1]
Princess Chelsea | |
---|---|
Birth name | Chelsea Nikkel |
Born | Auckland, New Zealand | 4 September 1985
Genres | Indie pop, synthpop, baroque pop |
Years active | 2009–present |
Labels | Lil' Chief Records |
Associated acts | The Brunettes |
Website | princesschelsea |
Her baroque musical style has been attributed to her classical training, and the New Zealand Herald praised her "angelic vocals and acerbic wit".[2] Her best known song, "The Cigarette Duet" received significant press exposure after its video[3] went viral on YouTube in early 2012, recently reaching over 50 million views. This led to her being featured on The Guardian's "New Band of the Day".[4]
Chelsea's song "World Turns Grey" was remixed in a collaboration with the German electronic music producer, Robin Schulz. The remix is on the album Sugar released by Schulz in September 2015.
In August 2016, she made a cover of a song called "Cold Glass Tube" by The Reduction Agents, which is available on the album Waiting for Your Love: A Tribute to The Reduction Agents. The album was released on iTunes on 19 August.
Discography
Albums
- Lil' Golden Book (2011)
- The Great Cybernetic Depression (2015)
- Aftertouch (2016)
- The Loneliest Girl (2018)
EPs
Singles
Title[6] | Year | Album |
---|---|---|
"Your Woman"[7] | 2009 | Non-album single |
"Monkey Eats Bananas"[8] | 2009 | Lil' Golden Book |
"And I Love Her"[9] | 2010 | Non-album single |
"Too Fast to Live"[10] | 2011 | Lil' Golden Book |
"The Cigarette Duet"[11] | 2011 | Lil' Golden Book |
"Ice Reign"[12] | 2011 | Lil' Golden Book |
"Overseas"[13] | 2012 | Lil' Golden Book |
"We're so Lost"[14] | 2013 | The Great Cybernetic Depression |
"No Church on Sunday"[15] | 2014 | No Church on Sunday |
"Kiss My Lips"[16] | 2020 | Collaboration with Jonathan Bree on After The Curtains Close |
Music videos
Year | Music video | Artist(s) | Date | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
2009 | "Monkey Eats Bananas" | Princess Chelsea | 9 March | Chelsea dancing and performing in front of a green screen with the stuffed monkey used on the single cover. In the background, random footage is played, such as a clip of Bill O'Reilly's television meltdown, the movie poster to License to Drive, and gold fish underwater. |
"Machines of Loving Grace" | 18 March | The music video is entirely clips from the movie The NeverEnding Story | ||
"Red Rollerskates" | The Brunettes | 11 November | Makes a cameo as a jogger in the park | |
2010 | "And I Love Her" | Princess Chelsea | 17 April | - |
2011 | "Ice Reign" | 4 April | The video is entirely Chelsea in front of a computer screen, occasionally sipping on a Diet Coke, with her stuffed monkey behind her. | |
"The Cigarette Duet" | Princess Chelsea & Jonathan Bree | 7 June | The video is Chelsea and Bree in a hot tub, singing with bored expressions on their faces. The video is her most popular, reaching over 53 million views on YouTube. | |
"Too Fast To Live" | Princess Chelsea | 10 October | Scenes of a house party that appear to be filmed by a tape recorder. Chelsea does not appear in the video until the last scene, when she is awoken by the director's fingers. She ends the video by flipping the camera off. | |
2012 | "Yulia" | 18 February | Chelsea and her cat, Winston, in front of a yellow background. | |
"Overseas" | Princess Chelsea (feat. James Milne) | 13 September | Chelsea in Central Square. | |
"Frack" | Princess Chelsea | 12 December | CGI animation of Chelsea in the future getting ready for her day. Her cat Winston makes a cameo in the video. | |
2013 | "Caution Repetitive" | 5 April | Chelsea trying on costumes. The video is last of the Lil' Golden Book series. | |
"We're So Lost" | 29 October | CGI animation of Chelsea parodying The Sims. | ||
"The Primrose Path" | Jonathan Bree | 18 December | A music video of Jonathan Bree's full album, The Primrose Path, featuring him in bed with Chelsea and her cat, Winston. The video is referred to as an "anti music video." | |
2014 | "No Church On Sunday" | Princess Chelsea | 2 December | Chelsea standing in a CGI world in gothic outfits. |
2015 | "Too Many People" | 28 May | Chelsea singing in a karaoke style in a black room with fog. Her cat Winston makes a cameo in the video. | |
2020 | "Kiss My Lips" | Jonathan Bree | 13 February | Chelsea performing on a 1960s style stage with a backing band wearing masks. |
References
- "Princess Chelsea, About". Facebook. Facebook.com. Retrieved 6 January 2013.
- "Princess Chelsea - EPK". Lilchiefrecords.com. Retrieved 9 October 2018.
- "Princess Chelsea - The Cigarette Duet". YouTube. 7 June 2011. Retrieved 9 October 2018.
- "New Band of the Day: Princess Chelsea (No 1,281)". The Guardian. 1 June 2012. Retrieved 6 January 2013.
- "The Cigarette Duet (European Tour Edition), by Princess Chelsea". Princess Chelsea. Retrieved 9 October 2018.
- "The Loneliest Girl, by Princess Chelsea". Princess Chelsea. Retrieved 9 October 2018.
- "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 28 February 2014. Retrieved 31 March 2014.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
- "Monkey Eats Bananas, by Princess Chelsea". Princess Chelsea. Retrieved 9 October 2018.
- "And I Love Her, by Princess Chelsea". Princess Chelsea. Retrieved 9 October 2018.
- "Too Fast To Live, by Princess Chelsea". Princess Chelsea. Retrieved 9 October 2018.
- "The Cigarette Duet, by Princess Chelsea". Princess Chelsea. Retrieved 9 October 2018.
- "Ice Reign, by Princess Chelsea". Princess Chelsea. Retrieved 9 October 2018.
- "Overseas, by Princess Chelsea". Princess Chelsea. Retrieved 9 October 2018.
- "We're So Lost, by Princess Chelsea". Princess Chelsea. Retrieved 9 October 2018.
- "video premiere: Princess Chelsea – No Church on Sunday". Gorilavsbear.net. Retrieved 9 October 2018.
- "NEW JONATHAN BREE SINGLE 'KISS MY LIPS FEATURING PRINCESS CHELSEA". Lil' Chief Records. Retrieved 22 February 2020.