Immortal Queen


"Immortal Queen" is a song by Australian singer-songwriter Sia featuring American singer Chaka Khan, recorded for Sia's album, Reasonable Woman. A lyric video for the song was released on 3 May 2024, and at the same day, the album came out. A remix featuring Brazilian-French singer Bianca Costa was released for digital download and streaming on 31 May 2024. Other remixes featuring Eve, Neneh Cherry or Debbie Harry were released in August 2024.

Background

Sia announced Reasonable Woman in early 2024, revealing a diverse lineup of collaborations, including "Immortal Queen" with Chaka Khan. Khan first said she was working on the song during an interview with The Sydney Morning Herald in September 2023. Following the release of her single "Dance Alone," the tracklist of her album was announced, revealing that Khan and an unknown female artist would be featured on the track. Some fans and rumors suggested that the unknown female artist was Missy Elliott, but now that's no longer the case. In an interview with Flaunt, Sia revealed that "Immortal Queen" was inspired by Beyoncé, stating:
Sia continued, sharing the emotional moment when her managers contacted Chaka Khan to ask if she would feature on the song. Sia described her excitement, saying she could hardly believe the opportunity.
The song was also teased in ESPNW's coverage of the 2024 Women's Final Four in Cleveland, further increasing anticipation for its release.

Composition

"Immortal Queen" is a R&B song. The sheet music for the song shows the key of F♯ minor and a tempo of 88 beats per minute.

Reception

In a review of the album, Mark Kennedy from AP News said "Their new duet 'Immortal Queen' is everything you'd want in a combo of Sia and Khan — dueling soaring voices, preening egos and insane lyrics about time travel and robot servants." Pitchfork described the lyrics of "Immortal Queen" as "so incomprehensible they’re almost camp," citing its references to The Matrix, "cavemen bringing the cave queen carvings," and Queens Victoria and Sheba. The review criticized the song's lack of coherence, stating that it "makes no more sense in context, ping-ponging between uninspired synth arpeggios, than it does on paper."

Personnel

  • Sia – songwriting, vocals
  • Chaka Khan – songwriting, vocals
  • Greg Kurstin – songwriting, production, bass, mellotron, drums, engineering, keyboards, percussion, mixing, synthesizer
  • Jackie Wongso – marketing
  • Julian Burg – additional engineering
  • Matt Tuggle – additional engineering
  • Craig Kallman – A& R directing
  • Chris Gehringer – mastering

Track listing

Digital download – album track
  1. "Immortal Queen" – 3:19
Digital download and streaming –
  1. "Immortal Queen" – 3:21
Digital download and streaming –
  1. "Immortal Queen" – 3:32
Digital download and streaming –
  1. "Immortal Queen" – 3:34
Digital download and streaming –
  1. "Immortal Queen" – 3:34