Emptiness Is Godly Royal & the Serpent

• 1 Pulling Teeth 01:29
• 2 Death Do Us Part 02:59
• 3 Carry Me Home 02:45
• 4 Euphoria 03:03
• 5 Young As This 02:48
• 6 Only You 02:01
• 7 Fiona 01:12
• 8 Favorite Person 02:39
• 9 Shampoo 03:45
• 10 Intermission (Boon’s Interlude) 01:18
• 11 Bleed for It 02:26
• 12 I'm Sorry 02:43
• 13 Ponyboy 02:41
• 14 There Used to Be Love 03:08
• 15 Dark Days 02:52
• 16 Steering (So Fast) 03:43
• 17 The House We Built Is Burning 03:12
• Total Runtime 44:44

Info for Emptiness Is Godly

Royal & the Serpent turns the page on another chapter, announcing her anxiously awaited debut album, Emptiness is Godly, arriving May 8, 2026 via Atlantic Records. The project is led by brand new double single "Favorite Person" and "Fiona," delivering a multi-sensory experience with cinematic visuals of "Favorite Person".

The record unspools an immersive conceptual narrative tied together across the soundscapes and lyrics. Listeners get the first taste of her vision with the irresistible, innovative, and impactful alternative conjurations of "Favorite Person" and "Fiona." By way of these songs, Royal & the Serpent beckons everyone into the embrace of a living, breathing, seething, and shimmering world of her own design through the eyes of a mysterious protagonist referred to only as "R." Regarding what to expect, Royal & the Serpent stated, "'Favorite Person' is a big reveal as we enter into the world of 'Emptiness is Godly'. This song is the underlying theme to our story. Main character 'R' finds herself entangled between two romances. Subject 'R' exhibits as follows (but not limited to): confusion, guilt, self-awareness, remorse." Elaborating on "Fiona," she continued, "'Fiona' is 'R''s experience of nostalgia. Subject 'R' exhibits as follows (but not limited to): yearning, benevolence, grief, hope."

Last we heard from Royal & the Serpent was in 2025 when she appeared at select dates of the sold-out Vans Warped Tour and dropped fan favorites "Young As This" and "Euphoria." Royal & the Serpent remains one of alternative music's most inimitable and irresistible outliers. She has impressively eclipsed 900 million global streams, nearing the 1 billion mark. Moreover, she has shared the stage with everyone from Fall Out Boy and Avril Lavigne to Demi Lovato and Bring Me The Horizon.

Royal & the Serpent

Royal & the Serpent
Behind Royal & the Serpent is singer and musician Ryan Jillian Santiago from New Jersey, who has made her home in Los Angeles and has long been making an impact worldwide with her music. In her songs, she draws on personal experiences and her unique personality, blending influences from indie pop, electropop and alternative. Since 2018, this has led to collaborations for Royal & the Serpent with artists such as Tommee Profitt, The Knocks, Gayle, Stand Atlantic, Demi Lovato, Sleeping with Sirens, The Beaches and Lindsey Stirling – underlining her versatility. In 2020, the singer released her biggest hit to date, the song “overwhelmed”, which, as a remix by Chri$tian Gate$, has already racked up nine-figure streaming figures. In 2024, her track “Wasteland” became another global success as part of the soundtrack for the series “Arcane – League of Legends”. In recent years, Royal & the Serpent have toured as support acts for Yungblud, Demi Lovato, grandson and Fall Out Boy, once again demonstrating their versatility. On 8 May 2026, Royal & the Serpent will release their long-awaited debut album “Emptiness Is Godly”, following four EPs and a compilation. The 31-year-old will then perform at Cologne’s YUCA on 5 September 2026 as part of her “Emptiness Is Godly” tour.

Ryan Jillian Santiago began playing the guitar and writing her own songs as a teenager. At 18, she moved to Los Angeles, attended an art school and focused on her music career. In 2017, she made her debut under the stage name Royal & the Serpent with the single “Temperance”, which was followed by further standalone tracks. Following the release of her debut EP “Get a Grip” (2020), the EP “Searching for Nirvana” was released in 2021 on Atlantic Records, where she had previously gained international recognition with her hit single “overwhelmed”. The song reached the Top 20 of the US rock charts and number 6 on the Alternative Airplay Charts. In the years that followed, she released the EPs “Searching for Nirvana” (2021), “If I Died Would Anyone Care” (2022) and “Happiness Is an Inside Job” (2022), before her compilation album “How to Grow a Rat” was released in 2023. Now the release of her 17-track debut album is imminent; it is due out on 8 May 2026, with the songs “Death Do Us Part”, “Carry Me Home”, “Euphoria”, “Young As This”, “Fiona”, “Favorite Person” and “Steering (So Fast)”, which have been teased since March 2025.

This album contains no booklet.