“Queen of Mean” by Sarah Jeffery

Simply put, Sarah Jeffrey’s “Queen of Mean” is a song based on the narrator taking on a vengeful disposition towards life due primarily to being slighted by the man she loves. That is to say her boyfriend deserted her for someone else. And such has attributed to her adopting a bitter attitude.

However, this is just the foundation of her ‘meanness’. On a higher level she feels that karma has shortchanged her in general. Thus under her perception, despite “being nice” for most of her life, the singer feels that she has received pain in return. And this overwhelming sentiment of disappointment has led to her forsaking good “forever”.

So now she has dedicated herself to getting ‘what she deserves’ at any cost. And apparently, what she feels she is entitled to is “to rule the world”. That is partially how the titular concept of royalty plays into this song, with the idea of the singer considering herself a “queen”.

But perhaps more specifically is that this song actually plays into the narrative of the television movie, “Descendants 3”, which it originated from. And on that program, Sarah Jeffery’s character is indeed royalty, in fact the descendant of popular Disney characters Prince Phillip and Princess Aurora (of “Sleeping Beauty” fame). That is why for instance some of the terminology used in this song, such as “happy ending” and “Evil Queen”, are what you would find in a common fairytale. Indeed even without knowing the actual origin of this track, one can conclude that it is based on such a motif.

So conclusively what we have here is a girl who once was spoken to by “angels”, which symbolizes her past “nice” side as aforementioned. But now “the devil [is] on her shoulder”. And this demonic entity “is calling (her) the queen”. Thus based on this confirmation and her decision to live on the dark side, literally within the context of the movie, she now feels empowered to making an attempt at global domination. That said, this is a concept which is perhaps not meant to be taken literally but more along the lines of getting back at her ex-boyfriend, who also happens to be a king.

Quick Facts about “Queen of Mean”

• The television movie this song came from, “Descendants 3”, made its premiere via the Disney Channel on 2 August 2019.
• During the scene in which it is featured Sarah Jeffery’s character, Princess Audrey, steals the crown which rightfully belongs to the Queen of Auradon. Her ex-boyfriend, Ben, the one whom basically dumped her (due to being under a spell by her rival), is actually the King of Auradon. And after stealing the crown, Audrey undergoes the transformation which is detailed in this song.
• On the same day of its release, the music video to “Queen of Mean” was posted on YouTube.  And within a day it garnered in excess of two-million views.
• “Queen of Mean” was written by Adam Schmalholz and Thomas Sturges alongside the track’s two producers, Antonina Armato and Tim James.
• Sarah Jeffery has stated that she cried the first time she heard this song, due to how ‘powerfully’ it related to the story of her character, Princess Audrey.