King Princess on Going from ‘Nerdy Kid’ to ‘Interesting New Level of Celebrity’ (Exclusive)

For King Princess, the last few years have been a whirlwind. After her debut single “1950” went viral when she was 19, the Brooklyn-born musician — whose real name is Mikaela Straus — was thrust into the spotlight. The experience was thrilling — and then jarring.

“It was kind of like a test run…that I absolutely failed, which is kind of good, because now I just feel like a better person. I know what not to do,” the 26-year-old singer tells PEOPLE over Zoom from their Brooklyn apartment.

For seven years, Straus, who is genderqueer and uses she/they pronouns, relocated to Los Angeles where she reveled in their youth and the party culture of the city. But it was time to come home — back to the Brooklyn apartment she grew up in — and make some changes.

That included making their acting debut in season 2 of the Hulu series Nine Perfect Strangers and leaving Mark Ronson’s Zelig Records, an imprint of Columbia Records, for the indie label Partisan Records. At this point, I want to be at a place where the only thing that matters is the art,” the “Talia” artist explains. “And that’s really the indie system.”

On Sept. 12, Straus released her third studio album Girl Violence on her new label — a sultry, but polished post-breakup project. “This record kind of goes a lot of places and gets really dark at moments,” they say.

In an interview with PEOPLE, Straus reflects on how fame impacted them, the ’90s music that influenced Girl Violence and delving into acting.

PEOPLE: How did you land on the title Girl Violence for the record?

MIKAELA STRAUS: Just conceptually, I feel like something I’ve always written about, like the chaos of loving girls and women, like being one, but I’m kind of like a part-time girl. I feel like I moonlight as a woman. That is just so, conceptually, I feel like, prevalent in my life, just being a kind of chaos-monger lady.

PEOPLE: Amazing. There’s definitely a sonic shift with this record. What were you listening to when you made the album?

STRAUS: It feels like the shift was just like this freedom and happiness. I just felt really at peace making this record, which was fantastic. But what was I listening to? A lot of Radiohead, a lot of Fiona Apple, a lot of Massive Attack, a lot of ’90s stuff, was definitely in that era. It’s very ’90s core.

PEOPLE: The best decade. You made the decision to sign to Partisan Records away from a major label. Why now?

STRAUS: Well, I spent six years in the major label system and as artists, we grew up thinking — it’s been standard to think that being at a major equates success. The reality is that major labels don’t do what they used to do. It’s a fan-based culture. It really only matters what kids are listening to. There came a time where I was like, ‘Well, this major label system really isn’t doing what it used to do.’ The indie system is so art-driven, at least my experience with it. I walk into my label — it’s like literally around the corner from my house — and it’s like, “Oh, everybody here loves music.” That’s a really different environment than anything I’m used to. [It] is just freeing.

PEOPLE: How did you grapple with the fame you experienced early on in your career?

STRAUS: Oh God. Girl, it’s early. How did I grapple with it? Horribly. I was a mess. But I think that mostly it was really challenging to go from a kid in high school — who was kind of like a nerdy bitch — to an adult who has access to money, friendship and this interesting new level of celebrity I didn’t have. I definitely struggled with it as a teenager.

It takes a really, really self-actualized person to not let it affect your personality negatively. You think like, “Oh no, I’m not going to be like a d—.” And then, by the way, you become an absolute ass. Now at 26, after having done a bit of therapy — and I am medicated — I feel like I’m happy that I went through that because I learned a lot about myself as a person.

PEOPLE: How did the song “Jamie” become the catalyst for the record?

STRAUS: That was the first song that I made with [co-producer] Jake [Portrait] and [writer/co-producer] Joe [Pincus], the two boys I did the record with. So that was kind of the trial run session for, “Do we all work well together?” We got in the studio, and that song came out within 40, 50 minutes. And I was like, “Oh, there’s some magic here with these boys. This works.” But you never know until you get in the studio.

PEOPLE: “RIP KP” is like an interesting name for a track that appears as a eulogy, but it’s quite saucy. Tell me about that.

STRAUS: It’s the slutty side of Girl Violence. It’s the death by the p—-. And I think that was really important in putting out the music. Girl Violence is in its beginning stages, very sexy, very erotic, very entrancing. And then of course, all of the emotional damage comes in and all the pain, sorrow, crying and screaming. But to start off the whole record cycle, it was important that we started with a bang; that we started with that feeling of falling in love, that feeling of that lust that happens when you meet someone who you can’t keep your hands off of.

PEOPLE: What’s the most vulnerable song on the record for you?

STRAUS: I’d say “Serena” because that song, to me, feels like it’s the last song on the record. Like a lullaby. I wrote it for a friend whom I love very much, and I feel like it’s a story about trying to pick someone up who’s down. But really, I think by writing it when I listen back to it, I also hear it as a love letter to myself and to whoever’s listening. It’s trying to alleviate someone’s pain. [The lyric] “If I could make it easy, I would,” that felt really vulnerable to me. Oftentimes, I write something about someone and then I listen back and realize, “Wow, this really is … I’m kind of writing to myself.”

PEOPLE: Are you nervous about any of your exes hearing the record?

STRAUS: No.

PEOPLE: This album was prompted by you experiencing a need to step back from the limelight and returning home to New York after several years. Why was it the right move to come home?

STRAUS: I can’t do it. I couldn’t. I did seven years. I moved for my first year of college when I was 17, and I was there until 25. I did my time. And honestly, I can’t drive a car, girl. What was I thinking living there? I can’t do it. I have to be in Brooklyn. It’s my home, and I feel very emotionally attached to New York — it’s the city I was raised in. I live in the house I grew up in, [and] I’m kind of a homebody. I had a really good run in L.A, but at the end of the day, I cannot drive a car, and I do not being in warm weather all the time. I like when it’s cold and raining.

It was great for when I was like 18, 19 years old on drugs. That was awesome. But as an adult, I was kind of like, “Eh. I feel like it’ll be fun when I’m 40.” Maybe I’ll be bicoastal when I’m like 40. That feels like an appropriate time to live in LA as an adult — as an aging lesbian.

PEOPLE: When did you decide you wanted to act?

STRAUS: I don’t love when musicians become actors. I feel like that’s weird, aside from the couple who are absolutely fabulous at it. And then, I went into this lull with music where I was in the major label system, and I kind of lost my spark a little bit when I was making Hold on Baby. We put it out, and I was just kind of like, “Ugh, life doesn’t feel that meaningful right now.” And my grandparents died. It was kind of a s— couple years. Instead of just being like “F— this, I’m going to watch myself lose my love of music in front of my eyes,” I’m just going to try something different, try a different medium, and just audition and see what happens.”

I didn’t get anything, but I was getting callbacks, so I was like, “Okay, well that’s a good sign. I like that.” I just kept going until I got this job. And once I got the job, I was like, “Oh, f—. Well, now I need to go do the job. This is going to be interesting.” And luckily, it was the best first job I could have f—ing asked for with the most supportive cast of people who took me in and really allowed me to be fresh and new, but also trusted me to put the work in, create a character and hold my own. It’s so much fun.

PEOPLE: What drew you to the role of Tina in Nine Perfect Strangers?

STRAUS: Well, I was like, “Wow, this is kind of like if I had never gone to therapy, this girl.” And I was like, “I know her. I’ve met her. I’ve been her.” That misplaced anger, unable to really take anything seriously or get to the heart of any matter, instead just [being] kind of a c—. I was like, “I know her, and that might be really freeing to play somebody like that.”

PEOPLE: You starring in Song Sung Blue, which is a biopic about a Neil Diamond tribute band. Were you a Neil Diamond fan before signing on?

STRAUS: I was not a Neil Diamond fan before, but my grandmother was, very much so.

PEOPLE: What can we expect from your role?

STRAUS: I am playing Hugh [Jackman’s] daughter, and it’s a really fabulous movie.

It’s a true story about a guy named Mike Sardina who lived in Wisconsin in the ’90s as a part-time mechanic. He was in the impersonator circuit, so we’re talking people who played county fairs, restaurants, karaoke bars. There was a community of Vegas-adjacent impersonators in Wisconsin. He meets a woman, Claire Sardinia, who is a Patsy Cline impersonator, and they fall in love. And they decide, “Let’s make a two-man show together.” They end up doing this Neil Diamond cover act called Lightning and Thunder. And it’s this story about these blue-collar musicians [whose] lives are hectic, stressful and intense, but they love music and they love playing music together. And it’s a really beautiful story. They’ve got this blended family who goes on the ride with their parents. It’s a really beautiful film about how hard it is to be a f—ing musician.

Girl Violence is out now.