At 18, South African singer-songwriter Arabella Latham moved to London from Durban to become a pop/rock star. She couldn’t instantly emulate her heroines Taylor Swift and Courtney Love: for years, Latham didn’t release anything, ambition waylaid by drugs, time-sucking social media and heartbreak. But by 2020, as Baby Queen, she’d found how to pour her angst into song, which snaffled her a dedicated fanbase – her Baby Kingdom – and a record deal.
Latham, now 26, is gifted with words. Baby Queen articulates adulting pains with piercing immediacy over bright, shiny pop. Even as her songs spill dark tea at rap velocity, it seems as if each thought is a revelation to her. Writing this good, though, is the product of vision and endless revision. The feel of unmediated honesty is what cleaves the Queen to her Kingdom, and has propelled her into support slots such as Olivia Rodrigo’s 2022 Sour tour.
