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.