King may not rule over the Grammys on Sunday night but the critically acclaimed soul trio featuring a pair of Minnesota twins is happy to be here.
Paris and Amber Strother, of Minneapolis, and bandmate Anita Bias are competing for best urban contemporary album, for "We Are King." The record made best-of-2016 lists from Rolling Stone, Time, NPR, Pitchfork and other media.
King's disc is the only self-produced, self-released album in the category, Grammys CEO Neil Portnow said Thursday night when introducing the trio at a Grammys in the Schools program at Novo in downtown Los Angeles.
That's an accomplishment for an indie act like King. So is competing against a couple of mononym heavyweights named Beyonce and Rihanna. Other finalists are Gallant and Anderson. Paak.
How do the King sisters like competing against Queen Bey and RiRi?
"We like all those albums," Paris Strother told the Star Tribune, sounding honest as well as political.
L.A.-based Paris, who got her start in the music biz as a 15-year-old hostess at the Dakota jazz club when it was in Bandana Square in St. Paul, is excited about attending the Grammys. She said that she and her two bandmates have been working with designers for months trying to come up with the right outfits.
Look for King making a royal entrance on the Grammys' red carpet.
