Kim Petras

• From: Cologne, Germany
• Related Artists: Billie Eilish, Ariana Grande, Demi Lovato

Somewhere between nineties American pop and eighties European disco, rises the undeniable voice of Kim Petras. The “side bun”-sporting, Los Angeles-based songstress powers up a new pop paradigm, sharing intimate lovelorn storylines over addictive melodies and explosive production. Since her childhood in Cologne, Germany, Petras has been in love with pop music. It was a window into the bigger world outside of her little town. By the age of twenty, Petras started making regular trips across the world to Los Angeles to work on her songwriting craft and eventually her own music, which caught the attention of producer Aaron Joseph.

Petras’ 2017 breakout debut single “I Don’t Want It At All” has quickly amassed more than 8.4 million Spotify streams and went to #1 on the Spotify Global Viral 50 Chart just four days after release. The dreamy video features a special guest appearance by Paris Hilton. Petras, who was chosen as one of Spotify’s RISE artists and collaborated with Charli XCX for the Pop 2 mixtape, has been releasing a series of infectious singles including “Faded” ft. Lil Aaron, “Slow It Down,” “Hills” ft. Baby E, “Hillside Boys” and most recently, “Heart To Break,” a shimmering pop confessional that has racked up almost 7 million Spotify streams, bringing her total streams to over 31 million. The video for “Heart to Break,” a delectable pop fantasy that sees Petras re-imagined as a modern day Disney princess finding her dream man, reached 2 million YouTube views in less than two weeks bringing Petras' total YouTube views to more than 7.5 million.

Her imaginative artistry has earned her recognition as one to watch for 2018 by the likes of NY Times, EW, Billboard, Elle, Paper, V, Noisey, Out, I-D, Refinery29, Popcrush and many more. Petras notably began transitioning with female hormone therapy following her twelfth birthday before receiving gender reassignment surgery at the age of 16 and making worldwide headlines. Her latest album, Turn Off the Light, Vol. 1 (2018) perfectly showcases the Kim Petras we've all come to know and adore.