Kim Petras and Sam Smith made history when their single Unholy hit number one on the Billboard Hot 100. It was a huge achievement for both artists – Unholy marks the first number-one single in the US and UK by a trans woman and a non-binary artist in history (Unholy recently celebrated its fourth week at number one in the UK). We’ve all known Sam Smith for years, but if you haven’t had your ear to the ground on the pop scene, Kim Petras may have passed you by. Here’s everything you need to know about who Kim Petras is and what she’s accomplished in her career so far!
Kim Petras is 30 years old and from Germany
You’d be wrong not to know that Kim Petras is actually German because she moved to LA at the age of 19 to pursue her dream of becoming a pop star, and acquired an LA accent. Prior to her pop career, Kim Petras hit headlines worldwide – including being interviewed by Phillip Sch*field in 2009 – for allegedly being the youngest person to undergo sex reassignment surgery.
She already dreamed of becoming a pop star and has been working towards her goal ever since. On transitioning at a young age, Kim Petras said, “I’ve been asked if I feel like a woman now – but the truth is I’ve always felt like a woman – I just ended up in the wrong body.” Her parents have always fully supported her – as all parents should in their child’s gender journey.
In 2017, everything changed
I, along with other gays with good music taste and any sense, discovered Kim Petras through Charli XCX. Kim was announced as a feature on Charlie’s second 2017 mixtape, Pop 2, and the two have a solid friendship and working collaborative relationship to this day. Kim featured on Unlock It – a song that will go viral on TikTok in 2021.
By the time Unlock It came out, Kim had already started drip-feeding songs from her pop-perfection era 1 – tracks that Katy Perry would have written.
She is friends with Paris Hilton
You know you’re a future pop icon when you get a guest star spot from Paris Hilton in your first music video. Since featuring in the I Don’t Want It At All video, Kim and Paris have become best friends. Paris also popped up in the Lockdown-filmed and celeb-loaded video for Malibu in 2020 — and the two have a collaborative song for Kim’s recently scrapped major label debut album Problematic.
She went viral on TikTok last year with a coconut
Remember the coconut? Funny Little Bop made the rounds on TikTok late last year and became so big on TikTok that the label pushed the release date forward. Absolutely slap.
This year, he released Slot Pop and collaborated with Christina Aguilera on Pride
Kim Petras dropped the EP Slot Pop earlier this year, which to be honest did exactly what it said on the tin. And then at Pride, she was joined by Christina Aguilera and the two broke out some duets from it. Very legendary, and very iconic.
She is currently in major label hell
Until Kim Petras signed with Republic, she was an artist who was able to release music whenever she wanted—which is one of the reasons she was so prolific with drops. Her major label debut has led to hiccups on the road, with Petras lashing out against the label which has now scrapped her album Problematic which featured her first single Future Starts Now and Coconuts as a hit.
The album was leaked in its entirety, and Kim asked her fans to listen to it – a move that highlights how bad things can be and a label will surely end, tweeting “It’s fine if you want to hear the leaks…I’m. Anyway. Even I can’t get any music out I’m freaking out.” I have listened to the album in its entirety, and Republic Records you have robbed us all.
The tides are turning for Kim, though – thanks to her history with Sam Smith on the run to succeed Unholy. Getting number one in the UK and US is crazy, and proves to her record label that she’s a fucking star. You can pre-order his next single Jesus Is A Rockstar here.