Kim Petras

Biography

Kim Petras (; German: [ˈpeːtʁas]; born 27 August 1992) is a German singer and songwriter based in Los Angeles. After gaining international media attention for transitioning as a teenager, she released her debut EP, One Piece of Tape×One Piece of Tape11 March 2011 · EPSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 4 tracks1One Piece of Tape3:522Feel It3:573Supersonic3:594Money Got Her Hot3:24 (2011), and wrote tracks for Fergie, JoJo, Skylar Simone, and Twice. In 2017, Petras released her debut single "I Don't Want It at All", which charted at No. 54 on Billboard's Dance Club Songs chart. She followed this with her second EP, Turn Off the Light, Vol. 1×TURN OFF THE LIGHT, VOL. 11 October 2018 · EP · Mixtape/StreetSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 8 tracks1o m e n1:392Close Your Eyes3:563TRANSylvania2:594Turn Off the Light3:125Tell Me It’s a Nightmare4:096i don’t wanna die…2:077In the Next Life3:458Boo! Bitch!1:21 (2018), the mixtapes Clarity and Turn Off the Light (both 2019), and the single "How It's Done" (2019); the last of these featured on the soundtrack of Charlie's Angels. A further track with Kygo, "Broken Glass" (2020), charted at No. 13 on Billboard's Dance/Electronic Songs chart.
In 2021, Petras signed a record deal with Dr. Luke's Amigo Records and Republic Records. That year, she became the first transgender act to perform at the MTV Video Music Awards, MTV Europe Music Awards, and Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. Her 2022 EP, Slut Pop×Slut Pop11 February 2022 · EPSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 7 tracks1Slut Pop1:582Treat Me Like a Slut1:583XXX2:044Superpower Bitch2:085Throat Goat2:206They Wanna Fuck2:307Your Wish Is My Command2:54, featured "Throat Goat", which went viral in 2023 after a sign language interpreter provided an explicit translation at Sydney WorldPride. She also collaborated with Sam Smith on "Unholy" that same year, which charted at number one in twenty countries including on the Billboard Hot 100 and subsequently won a Grammy Award for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance, making her the first openly transgender woman to top that chart or win a Grammy in that category.
Petras followed "Unholy" with the single "Alone" (with Nicki Minaj), which peaked at No. 55 on the chart, and preceded her debut studio album, Feed the Beast×Feed the Beast23 June 2023 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 15 tracks1Feed the Beast2:302Alone3:053King of Hearts2:514Thousand Pieces2:235uhoh2:506Revelations2:507BAIT2:358Sex Talk2:359Hit It From the Back2:2810Claws3:1311Minute3:0512Coconuts2:4813Castle in the Sky2:2514brrr2:3215Unholy2:36 (2023), which charted at No. 44 on the Billboard 200. Her second studio album, Problématique×Problématique2022 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 10 tracks1Problématique3:032Je t’adore3:053All She Wants3:524Born Again2:525Something About U3:016Treat Me Like a Ho1:557Confession2:518Deeper2:569Dirty Things3:3510Love Ya Leave Ya2:26 (2023), was issued that same year, and followed with the EP, Slut Pop Miami×Slut Pop Miami14 February 2024 · EPSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 12 tracks1Slut Pop Reprise1:352Gag on It1:403Fuckin’ This Fuckin’ That1:074Banana Boat2:225Get Fucked2:086Rim Job2:407Cockblocker2:298Butt Slutt1:329Head Head Honcho3:0110Cubana1:4111Whale Cock1:5112Can we fuck?1:54 (2024). She independently released her third studio album, Detour×Detour29 May 2026 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 13 tracks1Detour2:362DTLA3:203I Like Ur Look2:514Check It1:515Polo2:316Brutalist2:577Need for Speed3:158Jeep3:2991013:1410Basketball2:3911Bitch Ball Out2:0912Korea2:4013Freak It3:05 (2026), following a departure from Republic Records regarding disputes of its release.
Petras has also released the tracks "Unlock It" (2017; with Charli XCX) and "Reminds Me×Reminds Me11 February 2020 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1Reminds Me2:38" (2020), which have been covered by Piri & Tommy and by the Kid Laroi and Juice Wrld respectively, and made appearances in the films The Bitch Who Stole Christmas (2021) and This Is Me... Now: A Love Story (2024), the series Bridesman (2022), the Amazon Music documentary The Lead Up (2022), and a series two episode of RuPaul's Drag Race: UK vs. the World (2024).

1992–2021: Early life and career beginnings

Petras was born on 27 August 1992, grew up in Uckerath, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, and has two older sisters. Her mother is a dancer and her father is an architect. She began identifying as female aged two and began hormone therapy aged 12. She also began writing songs around this time, having taught herself English by watching YouTube videos of English-speaking artists such as Britney Spears; her earliest works were produced on GarageBand. She has stated that her gender dysphoria left her suicidal and that she was inspired to become a musician after watching a songwriting documentary. In 2006, aged 13, she discussed her medical gender transition on an episode of Stern TV. She then made further appearances on international news in an effort to be accepted for gender-affirming surgery by age 16, two years earlier than Germany would normally allow. When she did this in 2008, outlets touted her as the "world's youngest transsexual".
While still in school, she visited recording studios unannounced and recorded demos, which prompted Universal Music Germany to sign her while she was in her teens. Part of her deal was a jingle for a detergent firm. She also released the EP One Piece of Tape×One Piece of Tape11 March 2011 · EPSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 4 tracks1One Piece of Tape3:522Feel It3:573Supersonic3:594Money Got Her Hot3:24 in May 2011. Aged 19, with the money she had made from her jingles and a job as a waitress, she moved to Los Angeles, where she lived in the garage of a producer in Redondo Beach. Among the tracks she wrote during this period was "Bratz What's Up", which was recorded by Skylar Stecker for what would have been a sequel to the film Bratz, and a track recorded but not released by Fergie. She also booked sessions with JoJo. She signed a publishing deal with Prescription Songs in 2016 and has stated that her search for a label was hindered by religious record label employees refusing to work with a transgender act and imploring others not to. That year, she set up her own imprint, Bunhead Records.

Petras released her debut single "I Don't Want It at All" in August 2017 and the singles "Hillside Boys×Hillside Boys22 September 2017 · SingleSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1Hillside Boys3:38" and "Hills×Hills22 September 2017 · SingleSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1Hills3:59" (featuring Baby E) in September 2017. A music video for the first was released in October and featured Paris Hilton. Petras then released "Slow It Down×Slow It Down10 November 2017 · SingleSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1Slow It Down3:44" in November before featuring on Charli XCX's "Unlock It" and releasing "Faded×Faded15 December 2017 · SingleSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1Faded4:04" (featuring Lil Aaron) in December; the second featured on XCX's mixtape Pop 2 that month, went viral after featuring in a TikTok trend in 2021, and was covered by Piri & Tommy in November 2022. She also released a video for "Faded" in January 2018, followed by the break-up-inspired "Heart to Break×Heart to Break14 February 2018 · SingleSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1Heart to Break3:45" on 14 February, which peaked at No. 52 on Billboard's Dance Club Songs chart. She followed this with the singles "Can't Do Better" and "All the Time×All the Time24 August 2018 · SingleSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1All the Time3:15" in June and August and the Halloween-themed EP Turn Off the Light, Vol. 1×TURN OFF THE LIGHT, VOL. 11 October 2018 · EP · Mixtape/StreetSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 8 tracks1o m e n1:392Close Your Eyes3:563TRANSylvania2:594Turn Off the Light3:125Tell Me It’s a Nightmare4:096i don’t wanna die…2:077In the Next Life3:458Boo! Bitch!1:21 in October. The last of these featured Petras singing in German and contained vocals from Cassandra Peterson. She had intended to release Turn Off the Light, Vol. 2 in October 2019 but instead released the mixtape Turn Off the Light×TURN OFF THE LIGHT1 October 2019 · Studio album · Mixtape/StreetSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 17 tracks1Purgatory2:082There Will Be Blood3:173Bloody Valentine2:414Wrong Turn3:205<demons>1:576Massacre3:267Knives2:208Death by Sex3:229o m e n1:3910Close Your Eyes3:5511TRANSylvania2:5912Turn Off the Light3:1113Tell Me It’s a Nightmare4:0814i don’t wanna die…2:0615In the Next Life3:4416Boo! Bitch!1:2117Everybody Dies3:24 then, which ended with Turn Off the Light, Vol. 1. A third instalment was announced in October 2020 but remained unreleased five years later.
In November 2018, her composition "Young & Wild" featured on Twice's EP Yes or Yes and her vocals featured on Cheat Codes' song "Feeling of Falling×Feeling of Falling30 November 2018 · SingleSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1Feeling of Falling3:37"; the latter charted on Billboard's Dance/Electronic Songs chart at number 23. She then released three singles in February 2019: "1, 2, 3 Dayz Up" featuring Sophie, "If U Think About Me...", and "Homework×Homework6 February 2019 · SingleSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1Homework4:19" featuring Lil Aaron. These, and her first eight singles, have been referred to by Petras as "Era 1". Between April and June 2019, Petras released the singles "Broken×Broken25 April 2019 · SingleSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1Broken3:48", "Got My Number×Got My Number2 May 2019 · SingleSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1Got My Number2:55", "Blow It All×Blow It All9 May 2019 · SingleSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1Blow It All2:58", "Sweet Spot×Sweet Spot13 May 2019 · SingleSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1Sweet Spot3:14", "All I Do Is Cry×All I Do Is Cry23 May 2019 · SingleSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1All I Do Is Cry3:23", "Do Me×Do Me30 May 2019 · SingleSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1Do Me3:32", "Clarity×Clarity28 June 2019 · Studio album · Mixtape/StreetSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 12 tracks1Clarity2:022Icy3:093Got My Number2:544Sweet Spot3:145Personal Hell3:406Broken3:487All I Do Is Cry3:238Do Me3:329Meet the Parents2:1210Another One3:4511Blow It All2:5812Shinin'3:35", "Personal Hell×Personal Hell13 June 2019 · SingleSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1Personal Hell3:40", and "Another One×Another One20 June 2019 · SingleSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1Another One3:46", followed by the album Clarity, which featured all of them. She then featured on Charli XCX's "Click" and a remix of Max Schneider's "Love Me Less×Love Me Less5 September 2019 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1Love Me Less2:57" in September and teamed up with Kash Doll, Stefflon Don, and Alma in October for "How It's Done"; the last of these was recorded for the soundtrack of November's Charlie's Angels.
In February 2020, she released the single "Reminds Me×Reminds Me11 February 2020 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1Reminds Me2:38", which was covered by The Kid Laroi and Juice Wrld in December 2020 to mark a year after the latter's death, and announced that she would be the supporting act on the European leg of Camila Cabello's the Romance Tour, which was aborted due to the COVID-19 pandemic. That May, Petras released the single "Malibu×Malibu7 May 2020 · SingleSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1Malibu3:12", which was promoted by a performance on Jimmy Kimmel Live! and later remade in Simlish for The Sims 4, and featured on the Kygo song "Broken Glass", which featured on his album Golden Hour and charted at number 13 on Billboard's Dance/Electronic Songs chart. She also added the song "Party Till I Die" to Turn Off the Light in October before featuring on K/DA's "Villain" from their EP All Out in November and remixes of Studio Killers' "Jenny×Jenny26 March 2021 · Single · RemixSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1Jenny2:52" and ElyOtto's "SugarCrash!×SugarCrash!23 April 2021 · SingleSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1SugarCrash!2:32" in March and April 2021.

2021–present: Republic Records

In August 2021, Petras signed to the Republic Records imprint Amigo Records and released "Future Starts Now×Future Starts Now27 August 2021 · SingleSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1Future Starts Now4:39". At the time, the track was intended as the lead single from her major-label debut studio album, Problématique×Problématique2022 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 10 tracks1Problématique3:032Je t’adore3:053All She Wants3:524Born Again2:525Something About U3:016Treat Me Like a Ho1:557Confession2:518Deeper2:569Dirty Things3:3510Love Ya Leave Ya2:26. Her September performance of the song at that year's MTV Video Music Awards pre-show and her November 2021 performances at that year's MTV Europe Music Awards and Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade made her the first out trans artist to perform at any of them. Her performance at the EMAs was intentionally raunchy in protest against a then-recent anti-LGBTQ law that had been passed in Hungary, where the awards were being held. Recording of Problématique was interrupted by Petras attending the 2021 Met Gala in a bright orange top in the shape of a horse's head and a matching ponytail, both of which had been designed by Hillary Taymour of Collina Strada. In December, Petras featured in the holiday film The Bitch Who Stole Christmas and released "Coconuts×Coconuts3 December 2021 · SingleSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1Coconuts2:49"; the latter had premiered at the EMAs and inspired the name of one of JoJo Siwa's cars.
Petras released Slut Pop in February 2022, an EP containing highly sexual lyrics. She has stated that she was inspired to release such content due to her own struggles with being sexual. The EP contained "Throat Goat", which went viral in March 2023 after a sign language interpreter provided an explicit translation at Sydney World Pride, and "XXX", which Petras re-recorded in Simlish for The Sims' 25th anniversary. A follow-up EP, Slut Pop Miami×Slut Pop Miami14 February 2024 · EPSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 12 tracks1Slut Pop Reprise1:352Gag on It1:403Fuckin’ This Fuckin’ That1:074Banana Boat2:225Get Fucked2:086Rim Job2:407Cockblocker2:298Butt Slutt1:329Head Head Honcho3:0110Cubana1:4111Whale Cock1:5112Can we fuck?1:54, was released in February 2024. She appeared in Grindr's series Bridesman in April 2022 and featured on Alex Chapman's "Horsey×Horsey20 May 2022 · SingleSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1Horsey2:17" the month after. During June's Pride Month, she released an Amazon Original cover of Kate Bush's "Running Up That Hill" for the occasion and used a performance at NYC Pride March to call out the then-recent overturning of Roe v. Wade. In July, Petras was the subject of the Amazon Music documentary The Lead Up and announced that Problématique had been scrapped, following which much of it leaked; a revised version was released in September 2023.
From August 2022, Sam Smith began teasing their Petras collaboration "Unholy" on TikTok, where it went viral. Upon release the following month, the song made her the first openly transgender woman to top the Billboard Hot 100, charted at number one in nineteen other countries including the UK, Ireland, Australia, Canada, and New Zealand, and made Petras the first openly transgender musician to win a Grammy Award for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance. She followed "Unholy" in November with "If Jesus Was a Rockstar×If Jesus Was a Rockstar11 November 2022 · SingleSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1If Jesus Was a Rockstar2:50" and in January 2023 with "Brrr" and a remix of Meghan Trainor's "Made You Look". She then released "Alone" (featuring Nicki Minaj) in April, which sampled Alice Deejay's "Better Off Alone" and charted at number 55 on the Billboard Hot 100, and appeared on the cover of May's Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue, becoming the second trans woman to be featured. Around this time, she made a further appearance at the Met Gala, where she advertised an off-black-and-white outfit and sequinned platform boots designed by Marc Jacobs; some people thought that her yellow vape pen was part of the outfit.
In June, she featured on a rerecording of Paris Hilton's "Stars Are Blind", a track she had covered in 2020 for a Stonewall Gives Back livestream, and released her own album Feed the Beast×Feed the Beast23 June 2023 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 15 tracks1Feed the Beast2:302Alone3:053King of Hearts2:514Thousand Pieces2:235uhoh2:506Revelations2:507BAIT2:358Sex Talk2:359Hit It From the Back2:2810Claws3:1311Minute3:0512Coconuts2:4813Castle in the Sky2:2514brrr2:3215Unholy2:36; the latter charted at No. 44 on the Billboard 200. She then featured on a remix of Sofía Reyes and Danna Paola's "TQUM" in July and on James Hype's "Drums×Drums6 October 2023 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1Drums2:32" and a remix of City Girls' "Flashy" in October; the second sampled Justin Timberlake's "Like I Love You". In November 2023, Petras teamed up with David Guetta for "When We Were Young (The Logical Song)", which interpolated Supertramp's "The Logical Song". She was scheduled to craft the theme song of UEFA Euro 2024 with OneRepublic and Meduza, but was replaced with German singer Leony. She judged an episode of series two of RuPaul's Drag Race: UK vs. the World in early 2024 and booked a series of festival dates for the following summer, but cancelled them on medical advice in April and later stated that she had damaged her vocal cords during her recently-completed Feed the Beast World Tour. She featured on Sophie's single "Reason Why×Reason Why24 June 2024 · SingleSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1Reason Why3:52" in June and on the Chainsmokers' single "Don't Lie" and Katy Perry's song "Gorgeous" in September; the first and third appeared on Sophie's self-titled posthumous album and on Perry's album 143 that month.
Petras released "Polo" and "Freak It×Freak It25 July 2025 · SingleSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1Freak It3:05" in July 2025, featured on Frost Children's Sister album track "Radio" in September, and released "I Like Ur Look×I Like Ur Look14 October 2025 · SingleSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1I Like Ur Look2:51" in October. She requested to be dropped from Republic in January for allegedly refusing to give her a date for her album and withholding payment to collaborators, following which she independently released the songs "Pop Sound×Pop Sound10 February 2026 · SingleSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1Pop Sound2:49", "Mr. Producer×Mr. Producer17 February 2026 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1Mr. Producer2:43" (featuring BC Kingdom), "Cha Cha×Cha Cha24 February 2026 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1Cha Cha2:31", and "Get Some×Get Some3 March 2026 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1Get Some2:07" (featuring Cortisa Star) weekly from February. These songs – collectively known as the EP Pretour×Pretour3 March 2026 · EPSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 4 tracks1Pop Sound2:492Mr. Producer2:433Cha Cha2:314Get Some2:07 – were released on SoundCloud and YouTube and did not appear on major streaming sites. Detour and its singles "Need for Speed×Need for Speed22 April 2026 · SingleSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1Need for Speed3:15" and "Jeep", were released in May, April, and May; the last featured Porches. A deluxe version released in September was promoted with a music video for "Autobahn".

Artistry and public image

Petras's works often make use of the producer tag "Woo Ah!" and are generally genre-agnostic with the exception of Turn Off the Light, which was made to sound like a horror soundtrack. She is inspired by Cher, Madonna, Britney Spears, Kylie Minogue, and Sophie. Her fans call themselves Bunheads in reference to both her love for the show Sailor Moon and a sideways-bun hairstyle she used to wear.
Petras worked with Dr. Luke, the founder of Prescription Songs, on her solo releases between "I Don't Want It At All" (2017) and 2022, and then on Problématique and Slut Pop Miami. She defended working with Dr. Luke, who in 2014 was accused of abusing Kesha, in interviews with Out (2017), NME (2018), and BuzzFeed News (2021), and in tweets in 2018 and 2022. She apologised after her 2018 interview implied that he was not an abuser of women. Following the release of Slut Pop, #FreeKesha trended on Twitter and fans criticised a lyric in "Throat Goat" that referenced sexual assault survivor Lady Gaga. In 2026, after Petras posted about her issues with Republic Records, Kesha expressed support for her.