Saltburn has already brought Sophie Ellis-Bextor back into the charts with 2001’s Murder on the Dancefloor, but she’s not the only early Nineties artist to experience a revival thanks to Emerald Fennell’s vibrant thriller.
Step forward Princess Superstarthe American rapper whose 2006 song Perfect (Exceeder) came with Dutch-language songs DJ producer Mason, not only re-entered the UK Top 40 Charts after 17 years this week, but also gave the artist her first-ever placement on the US Billboard Chart – currently high at number 12 in the Hot Dance/Electronic Songs category.
The club track – a remix of the rapper’s original track from her fifth studio album My Machine – has gone viral (at No. 6 on the US Spotify viral charts) after being featured in the Golden Globe nominee’s party scene film with breakout star Barry Keoghan.
But just like in the mystery film produced by Margot Robbie, all is not as it seems. There’s even a mind-boggling backstory about how the ‘indie sleaze’ dancefloor came to be that has remained untold until now.
US rapper Princess Superstar (pictured above) has found chart glory again after her 17-year-old song Perfect was featured in Saltburn
Princess Superstar – real name Concetta Kirschner – exclusively reveals to DailyMail.com for the first time how, after inking a deal with Ministry of Sound Records, she was almost completely left out of her own song’s success.
“I licensed the song (to Ministry of Sound) in 2006 with a clause in my contract that stated I had full creative control over my image and video,” Kirschner explains of the “mashup” version of her original song.
The music video featured a trio of brunette models posing seductively on exercise balls and bouncing along to Kirschner’s vocals and original lyrics – with the artist nowhere in sight.
“The Ministry went ahead without telling me and made a video with models and left me out – and I only discovered it on a then brand new platform called YouTube,” she adds.
Things went from bad to worse when the scantily clad models were hastily “sent on tour as ‘Princess Superstar’ and dubbed my song in clubs,” Kirschner says.
Kirschner reveals that she managed to resolve the tour debacle with a cease and desist order, but unfortunately couldn’t afford to take legal action over the video.
“It was all so bad for me as an artist,” she now admits. “People knew me from Bad Babysitter and were confused.”
The viral hit has also earned the artist her first ever placement on the US Billboard Chart, currently sitting high at number 12 on the Hot Dance/Electronic Songs chart.
The catchy ‘indie sleaze’ dance track is used prominently in the Saltburn scene above
Bad Babysitter is another well-known Princess Superstar hit, peaking at number 11 in late February 2002 on the UK Singles Chart, and also in Australia, Flanders, Germany and Ireland.
Still, the trailblazing star — who recently received high praise from Paint the Town Red rapper Doja Cat — is now happy with her renaissance and the song’s second life, which she calls “healing.”
‘To this day, people don’t know that I’m the singer of my own song. There was no social media to stop them at the time, but it’s fun 17 years later people say, oh, was that you? Overall it has been very healing for me that it has been so successful again!’
Paula Moore, CEO of Greater Than Distribution, who joined Princess Superstar’s management team at the time, also spoke to DailyMail.com about her knowledge of the situation.
Origin: Perfect first appeared on Princess Superstar’s fifth album My Machine in 2005
“After Perfect (Exceeder) reached No. 3 in the UK charts, I was shocked at the way the label that licensed her song had treated her,” she says.
‘It came across as if she was a hired backing singer, rather than the songwriter and artist who performed her own song and had it remixed. It was a strange and counterproductive move not to use her in every way possible to make the song an even bigger hit.
“With the benefits of social media and fans allowing the song to organically become a hit again, without warning and without a label, a whole new audience is being tapped into marketing the 17-year-old song.
‘It’s an incredible testament to the power of her infectious lyrics which have stood the test of time, with only a brief appearance in one scene of the film Saltburn.
Moore adds that with the renewed interest in the song, fans can expect more from the rapper, teasing, “We’re excited to support Princess Superstar at this incredible moment, and for her to experience the success of Perfect once again.” ‘
Dave Cronen, director of Trust Management, who brokered the original deal for the song, also confirms: “We did the deal for Princess Superstar in good faith and were given creative control over the singles campaign. From the moment the deal was executed, all decisions were taken away from us, including the video where they chose to use models instead of featuring the lead artist.”
DailyMail.com has contacted Ministry of Sound for comment.
Princess Superstar – who has 2.2 million monthly listeners on Spotify – has released eight studio albums in her decades-long career, collaborating with Moby, The Prodigy, Arthur Baker, Prince Paul, Kool Keith and Grandmaster Flash, among others.
Last summer, Doja Cat — who was recently hailed as the current queen of rap — used Princess Superstar’s song Famous in an Instagram post during the promotional rollout for her hit album Scarlet, publicly declaring her love for the artist.