“Have you seen all these things about how the Year of the Horse doesn’t actually start until February?” Royal & the Serpent—the musical project of L.A. singer-songwriter Ryan Santiago—asks over a Zoom call in mid-January.
Only several weeks after the end of the Year of the Snake (or so I thought until our conversation), Santiago and I are discussing the importance of shedding one’s skin, something she is undoubtedly a master of in terms of her ever-changing sonic identity. “ They’re saying on the Chinese calendar…that the Year of the Horse starts in the middle of February,” she adds. “So take your time, keep shedding the snake. Go slowly before the horse just takes off.”
While the Chinese zodiac encourages one to take care of some last-minute serpentine touches before riding into the new year, once January 1 came around, Santiago didn’t hesitate when it came to soft-launching something major: the release of her upcoming debut full-length album, set to be released later this year.
Since her signing with Atlantic Records in 2019, Santiago has become synonymous with intense vulnerability and dichotomy. Her stage name alone, Royal & the Serpent, represents two opposing forces: a divine reality and a complex sense of self. In 2020, Santiago dropped her debut EP get a grip . Featuring the Gold-certified single “Overwhelmed,” the project introduced the alternative music world to the hypnotic artistry of Royal & the Serpent.
Two years later, Santiago released two EPs—If I Died Would Anyone Care and Happiness Is An Inside Job—both of which captured the singer-songwriter’s talent for combining a multitude of musical genres. Tracks like “I DON’T EVEN LIKE U” and “No Regrets”—as well as collabs with Gayle and BEAUTY SCHOOL DROPOUT and touring slots alongside YUNGBLUD and Fall Out Boy—defined Santiago as a trailblazer in the rock world.
However, throughout Santiago’s journey as Royal & the Serpent, she has refused to be confined to one single genre. While initially making a name for herself as an emo-influenced rock artist, Santiago explored raw, amplified rock ‘n’ roll through her 2023 RAT TRAP singles series, which further introduced listeners to the universe and lore of Royal & the Serpent. Throughout 2025, Santiago took a turn towards pop influences, with singles like “Young As This” and “Euphoria” adopting a heightened electropop flavor.
Now, with her debut full-length album on the horizon, Santiago continues to build upon her ever-changing sonic palette. Through the brief snippets of currently unreleased songs that she’s posted on social media, it seems that Santiago’s upcoming record is more stripped back than her previous work. “There’s been so much time now that’s elapsed while I’ve been working on this project since the last time I put out a full EP or anything,” she says. “I think in that time, not only have I grown as a person, separate from the music, but I think my tastes have evolved, and I feel like I’ve become a much more confident and happy person just in my life. I think I really wanted the music to reflect that growth that I’ve felt personally…”
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