German singer and composer Kim Petras (/ptrs/; born August 27, 1992) is based in Los Angeles, California. Before signing with Amigo and Republic Records in 2021, she released songs as an independent artist between 2016 and 2020 under her own imprint, BunHead Records. Petras released a number of digital singles after experiencing early popularity, and these songs later came to make up her unofficial body of work known as Era 1. On June 28, 2019, Petras released Clarity, her self-titled debut album.
The album’s release was preceded by a nine-week advertising effort in which Petras released one tune with a lyric video every week. Music critics praised Clarity, which also made it to number seven on the Heatseekers Chart and position 26 on the Independent Albums chart. Turn Off the Light, Petras’ second studio album, was subsequently released in October 2019. With her songs “Malibu” and “Broken Glass,” the latter of which was a collaboration with Kygo, Petras experienced additional popularity in 2020.
The seven-track EP Slut Pop was released in 2022 after Petras signed with Republic Records in 2021. Later on in the year, Petras and Sam Smith jointly released the track “Unholy.” It was Petras’ first number-one single on the Billboard Hot 100 and the UK Singles Chart. Petras won the Grammy for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance for the song as well.
