Caroline Kingsbury – Chocolate
Last month, Florida native and Los Angeles-based queer indie pop star Caroline Kingsbury announced her electric and daring new EP, Shock Treatment, due for release September 26th via Seeker Music.
Inspired by the 1981 musical comedy film of the same name—a cult follow-up to The Rocky Horror Picture Show— Shock Treatment draws on the film’s themes of societal pressure and the blurred lines between reality and fantasy. With her signature fearless style, Kingsbury imagines a world of reverse conversion therapy, where queerness is not only normalized but celebrated, and heterosexuality is marginalized—flipping the script in that’s both thought-provoking and emotionally resonant.
Today, Kingsbury shares the EP’s second single, “Chocolate,” an epic, intense, and sensual anthem of release and desire.
Bursting with passion and urgency, she sings, “lay the chocolate on my tongue, I won’t tell anyone,” and with her powerhouse vocals declares, “I wanna fall from grace for you.” Like much of Kingsbury’s work, “Chocolate” blends infectious pop with sharp social commentary, telling a story of leaning in and letting go. In an era of political uncertainty, Shock Treatment stands as a defiant celebration of queer joy.
Kingsbury explains, “Like you’re running through the city at night with tears flying out of your eyes. Then suddenly meeting your desire face to face and finally giving in. I grew up very sheltered and religious and didn’t come out until I was 23. I fought an internal and external battle to even get to the point where I’d be ready to be with a woman. I knew that nothing would ever be the same after that.”
While on tour with Pom Pom Squad this past March, Kingsbury waved the Transgender Pride Flag and reminded audiences: “It’s now more important than ever for us to be together, experiencing queer joy.” That spirit pulses through Shock Treatment, and it’s a message she’ll carry across the country this summer.
2024 was a breakout year for Kingsbury, highlighted by her viral hit “Kissing Someone Else”—a collaboration with Math Bishop (Taylor Swift, The Killers)—which led to a tenfold increase in her streaming numbers and online following. She also made waves with “Give Me A Sign,” a glittering glam-pop anthem created with fellow retro-pop artist MARIS, which racked up over a million streams in a month and landed on Spotify’s global New Music Friday playlist. Most recently, Kingsbury’s “Blurry Now,” a fittingly cinematic and ethereal post-breakup ballad was featured in Netflix’s Forever, now the No. 1 show on the platform. With the release of Shock Treatment, Kingsbury stands poised to convert the masses.
CAROLINE KINGSBURY LIVE
July 20 – Seattle, WA – Capitol Hill Block Party
Aug 1 – Chicago, IL – Lollapalooza
Sept 26 – Columbia, MD – All Things Go
with MARIS:
9/13 – San Diego, CA, House of Blues
9/14 – Phoenix, AZ – Valley Bar
9/16 Dallas, TX – Dada Dallas
9/17 Austin, TX – 3TEN Austin City Limits Live
9/19 – Nashville, TN – Cannery Hall
9/20 – Atlanta, GA – Aisle 5
9/21 – Tampa, FL – Crowbar
9/23 Carrboro, NC – Cat’s Cradle
9/25 – New York, New York, Racket NYC
Tickets RSVP
9/27 – Philadelphia, PA – MilkBoy
9/28 Allston, MA – Brighton Music Hall
9/30 Celeveland, OH – Grog Shop
10/1 – Columbus, OH – Skullys Music Diner
10/3 – Chicago, IL – Chop Shop
10/4 – Minneapolis, MN – Green Room
10/5 – Lawrence, KS – Bottleneck
10/7 Denver, CO – Marquis Theater
10/9 Portland, OR – McMenamins Mission Theater
10/10 Seattle, WA – Barboza
10/11 Vancouver, BC, Canada – Biltmore Cabaret
10/14 – Berkeley, CA – Cornerstore Craft Beer & Live Music
10/15 – Los, Angeles, CA – Echoplex #kingsburyxx