More than a year after the song first came out, Ava Max‘s hit “Kings & Queens” is still going strong on the charts. Ava says she thinks one of the reasons for the song’s popularity is because it’s about female empowerment.

“I think we all need a female anthem — all the time, every single year, every month, every day, y’know, we want to have a female anthem!” laughs the singer/songwriter.  “And I think women in general definitely gravitate towards it most.”

“And I think for me, growing up with a lot of strong women, I wanted to show support and show that, you know, yeah, kings are great, but queens are better!” Ava declares.

Ava, who’s Albanian like Dua Lipa and Bebe Rexha, says she’s surprised that the single, which peaked at #13 and has gone platinum, has done so well.  Why? Because it was released in March of 2020, right before the COVID-19 shut down the entertainment industry.

“I’m so grateful, it’s ridiculous!” she says. “It’s a pandemic and the song did well! I mean, I don’t even I don’t know what to think. I’m speechless!”

“I’m grateful for the platform and I love making music,” says the singer, who released her debut album, Heaven & Hell, in September. “And y’know, I don’t know if it’s always going to be great, but hopefully it continues to go the way it is!”

By the way, if “Kings & Queens” reminds you of Bon Jovi‘s “You Give Love a Band Name,” it’s no coincidence.  It interpolates a 1986 song by Bonnie Tyler called “If You Were a Woman (And I Was a Man),” written by Desmond Child. Child, who got a writing credit on “Kings & Queens,” later reworked that song into “You Give Love a Bad Name.”