Queen Anne is Winning it Already
"Watch Me Win It" is out now and is another alluring release from Queen Anne.
You have a treat in store with a new release this week from Queen Anne. I first discovered them almost a year ago and quietly followed along with their birth and early months via Instagram. But it was their September 2025 release, Lexi Loves Me, that really turned my head. Today’s single, Watch Me Win It, is a completely different proposition.
just zipped up my combat boots
and i’m ready to kick it in a three-piece suit
got an early morning and a later night
but i’m a little bit sick of being so polite
Sound-wise we are on the same playing field as Blondie or The Go-Go’s, two enormous 1980s bands that Queen Anne’s Gen Z singer Katie Silverman no doubt heard on her parents’ CD player as she learned to walk.
In the lyrics we hear of combat boots being paired with a three-piece suit. It’s all about living life, taking your chances when they are offered, and having a grand adventure. Someone willing to throw themselves at life in such a way will always win, one way or the other. As long as you don’t die, you will learn something. And if you die… well, they will remember you all the better.
“Queen Anne sharpens its identity as an indie-pop duo driven by mood, narrative, and emotional tension. Led by songwriter and vocalist Katie Silverman alongside producer Sandy Chila, the project blends dark, ethereal textures with a postmodern edge, drawing from ’80s pop-punk influences while reframing everyday frustration as immersive storytelling.” (1883 Magazine, 2026 Artists to Watch)
Katie will be 21 by the time you read this review, which takes some believing. Younger readers might know her as an accomplished actress, having appeared in Pretty Little Liars at the age… of… five! She’s better known for her roles on New Girl, PEN15, and the film The Exorcists. I mention this only to establish context for my observation that Katie is wiser than her years.
watch me win it
my nails are fake
but my heart is in it
take no prisoner
you know, i catch way more flies with perfume
than i do with vinegar
The whole aesthetic of Queen Anne will inevitably make me think of England. There are those pearls, and that pose which blends her in with the oil painting behind. But then there is the contrast of the femme fatale, the Bond girl, the high roller. Is that a motorbike chain or a necklace?
There is a sense of humour to this one. The line about fake nails is delivered as an aside. She acknowledges there is artifice to her appearance. She has an ulterior motive and is open about it, unusually. She's in it to win it.
Every single is different, every one is brilliant but they are all tied together by this duo of Silverman and Chila. I am always excited when their next track arrives. The only two things you can expect? Whatever it is will be catchy and totally different to the last one.
Whereas Lexi Loves Me had a cinematic, slightly orchestral feel that reminded me of Sophie Ellis Bextor, Watch Me Win It is pure punk spunk. The promo photo below makes a clear reference to either high stakes gambling or organised crime, or both.
I strongly recommend you catch the mini movies on Queen Anne’s socials that go under the title of Cleavage and which dramatise how the idea for Queen Anne might have come about. If you did not know, as I didn’t, these are called vertical micro dramas and are the new thing for 2026. Scroll down for the TikTok versions.
The idea of the artist being a distinct entity from her creator (causing a cleavage between two personalities, not between two… oh, stop it) is a powerful one for those of us who have dreamed of a living from the arts. The pressure to perform, to deliver, is vastly reduced if you create a separate new identity. It can work, if only some of the time.
In a postscript to this tale, which only goes to show how deceptive appearances can be, the Queen has lifted the veil a little more on how this song was born:-
the inspiration for “Watch Me Win It” came when i had like three victory points in my hand during a game of Catan and nobody had the slightest clue. they all pretty much counted me out because i only had a couple settlements, but then i built a city and turned over my development cards and that was that. if anyone asks, though, it’s about something really cool. like poker, maybe. or gymnastics.
You can add Watch Me Win It here. There is much more on Queen Anne, the best band you have yet to hear, on Instagram and on their own website. You can also buy and stream on Bandcamp. Queen Anne were picked out by 1883 magazine as a 2026 artist to watch.
Queen Anne: Another Perfect Single
There is almost too much talent in Americana right now. It’s almost as though they’re doing it just to keep me at the typewriter one more hour. That’s how it feels.
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