Perfection takes time.
It was over two years ago–back in December of ’09–that I first wrote about “Zombie,” the lead buzz single from Cherrytree Records’ mysterious new signee. Now, the moment has finally arrived this week for Natalia Kills with the release of her debut album on August 16: Perfectionist.
Last night, my faithful blog bestie Jon (of Jon Ali’s Blog) along with the raddest Miss Hannah (Sheena Beaston) met up on the rooftop of Atlas New York to fete the release of Kills’ debut as part of the Open Air Atlas Concert Series.
As we schmoozed for a bit and…err, familiarized ourselves with the open bar, a crowd quickly drew together on the far side of the rooftop near a tiny stage set directly in front of the Empire State Building. (Gorgeous backdrop!)
The speakers soon died down as a man took to the stage: None other than Cherrytree’s own Martin “Cherry Cherry Boom Boom” Kierszenbaum! After a brief spoken introduction, Kierzenbaum welcomed the lovely Miss Natalia Kills–zipped up tight in a simple black dress and crowned with a tightly bound sky-high top bun–to the stage. The singer quickly tore into a gorgeous acoustic set from Perfectionist, including “Kill My Boyfriend,” “Wonderland,” “Love Is A Suicide,” “Free,” and “Mirrors” (which you can now watch below).
Kills’ vocals were absolutely on fire last night (killer, even…DO YOU SEE WHAT I DID THERE?!) as she flawlessly delivered almost half of her debut album–making playful quips every step of the way–before finally heading offstage for the night.
After a bit more flitting about the rooftop and a few more return trips to the still-open bar (that green tea vodka lemonade drink was to die for! Don’t worry, I made sure to have enough on behalf of all you Muusers!), Jon and I headed downstairs to catch up with Kills once again.
We spoke to Kills for a bit about the album, the release party and her birthday celebrations (She got a guitar! But she doesn’t know how to play it yet.) As always, she was entirely sweet and gracious, entirely overcome with joy that her record was finally available worldwide. I couldn’t be happier for her!
A little later in the evening, a few of Kills’ team members quietly snuck away and returned with a giant birthday cake, complete with the words “Happy Birthday Kills!” and a massive axe made of frosting. The tiny singer, clearly flabbergasted, sweetly wished that everyone in the room would someday see their dreams come true as hers did last night as she blew out the candles.
And then, brandishing a knife, the murderous mistress made quick work of the delicious red velvet cake. Quite a pro with a blade, that one!
But the cake wasn’t the only sweet surprise of the night: Since its release yesterday, Kills’ Perfectionist has been floating within the Top 15 of the iTunes Albums chart. Could we see a Billboard Top 200 debut next week? I think so! A much deserved birthday present, indeed.
Thanks to the lovely Alexandra of High Rise PR, Martin Kierszenbaum of Cherrytree Records, Atlas New York and, of course, Miss Natalia Kills for a truly magnificent evening out!
Perfectionist was released on August 16. (iTunes)
