TL;DR
- Kim Petras reflects on her transition starting at 12.
- She releases her new album, Detour, with no regrets.
- Petras addresses the stigma around trans youth.
- She stands proud against her critics.
- The singer emphasizes the importance of her journey.
Kim Petras has no f***s left to give. The Grammy-winning sensation is back in the spotlight, and this time, she’s not holding back. With the release of her vulnerable new album, Detour, the German pop star is reflecting on her journey and the bold choices she made along the way. And yes, that includes starting her transition at just 12 years old.
In a candid interview with The Fader, Petras opened up about the challenges she faced in the music industry. After her historic Grammy-winning collaboration with Sam Smith on “Unholy,” she found herself feeling lost and frustrated. “If you work with the wrong people who don’t care about the artist and the artistry first, it becomes about money,” she explained. “You become a product and you become a joke in many ways. That’s what it felt like to me.” Talk about a mood!
But don’t get it twisted; Petras isn’t just a product. She’s an artist, and she’s reclaiming her narrative. Reflecting on her experiences, she revealed how a certain label executive’s comment—”You’re our first trans artist”—made her feel like a sideshow. “That felt icky. It just didn’t feel good, being paraded. I want to be an artist,” she asserted. And she’s doing just that.
In her new track “Brutalist,” Petras dives deep into her transgender identity, recounting the emotional journey of driving around Germany with her dad to access hormone therapy as a child. “Now that I’m in America, there’s so much shame around sex, sexual education is such a taboo,” she lamented. “It’s such a weird climate right now, especially about trans kids in particular. They’re the enemy right now…” It’s a powerful statement from someone who knows the struggle all too well.
Standing firm against critics who claim she transitioned too young, Petras fires back with confidence. “I have people saying I ruined my body and I ruined my life. They don’t know me at all. They don’t know my history, that I went to so many psychologists and so many doctors and that it was a real thing that had an assessment. It saved my life and then there’s people who are like, ‘This saved your life, but you ruined everything.'” Talk about slaying the naysayers!
With her new album Detour now available on all platforms, Kim Petras is not just making music; she’s making a statement. She’s proud of her journey, proud of her identity, and ready to stand up for trans kids everywhere. So, if you’re looking for inspiration, look no further than this fierce queen. She’s here to remind us all that being true to oneself is the ultimate form of empowerment. Get ready to turn up the volume and embrace your own journey with Kim Petras leading the way.