In defence of bad taste: Kim Petras on her ‘debut’ album Detour
Kim Petras on why her seventh album is her self-proclaimed debut, and how embracing bad taste alongside a cohort of anti-pop artists made for tunes you can’t help but lose yourself to.
You’d assume Kim Petras had always had her sights set on the stage. But, growing up as an avid rollercoaster rider, the 33-year-old’s first dream was to design rides for her fellow thrill seekers. It was a lack of mathematical skill that caused her to re-route, setting the artist-in-waiting on her track.
During her teen years, Petras discovered her passion for performance in her mother’s dance studio. That passion soared as she took to YouTube. She flaunted her impeccable vocal agility whilst uploading covers of Alicia Keys’ Girl On Fire and Rihanna’s Stay, layered with her own backing vocals which she crafted with GarageBand. Pop music became an act of rebellion for the future star, who gravitated towards glossy, sugar-coated hooks as an antidote to the steady soundtrack of jazz playing in her family home.
The German artist quickly formed a cult following with the release of mixtapes such as Clarity and the Halloween-themed Turn Off the Light. That following then grew when her uber-provocative Slut Pop dropped, with some tracks amassing over 95 million streams since its 2022 release. That same year, Petras burst into the mainstream with her first Grammy win with the earworming track Unholy, featuring British artist Sam Smith. The win was one for the history books, with Kim becoming the first openly transgender woman to win Best Pop Duo/Group Performance at the awards.
With a catalogue that spans almost a decade and over 12 million monthly listeners on Spotify, it’s safe to say that Petras is no stranger. But with new album Detour, she’s taken a sharp turn, sonically and emotionally.
After being trapped in an unsupportive label deal, Petras has broken free from her shackles, and Detour is the product of that liberation. A self-proclaimed debut album, this is the dance pop artist as many have never seen her. She’s making music for her and her friends – bad taste is encouraged, and sales numbers aren’t a concern. You’ll find Kim’s name in the producer credits for the very first time, and her confident vocals add to a head-banging sound. But beneath the deliciously distasteful electronic pop and surging beats is something much more intimate. For the first time in her career, Kim is opening up about the stories that have shaped her. Exploring themes of depression and what she describes as “sex change trauma”, the album draws on deeply personal memories, including childhood journeys with her father to receive hormone replacement therapy.
With an elusive Pretour EP, unavailable on streaming services, opening up this new era in Kim’s career, and Detour establishing it as her official reinvention, the ‘post tour’ era promises to bring with it a deluxe album and touring. But, until then, Kim wants you to enjoy her new songs that have “more meat” on them than ever before.
Kim joined EE72 three days after her album’s release to chat her childhood ambitions, the liberation she felt after departing from a toxic label, and the stories that lie at the heart of Detour.
Who were your earliest musical inspirations?
Kylie Minogue. She was the European Madonna. The Spice Girls, too. My mom would play a lot of jazz music such as Etta James and Billie Holiday, and my dad would always play free jazz. Pop was a way to rebel against jazz. Now I’ve come around to it and I understand that jazz is so musical and amazing. I used to hate it as a teenager, and I was like, ‘Well, I’m going to make pop music just to piss you guys off.’
You’ve made music from a really young age. How did you decide that this is what you wanted to do?
At first, I was torn. I was a huge theme park fan as a kid, so I was like, ‘I want to design rollercoasters.’ For things like that, you need math, and I wasn’t great at it. My mom had a dance studio because she was a dance teacher, and she would throw annual shows. I just fell in love with live performing in front of an audience. I open up when I’m on a stage.
Detour has just been released. Why did Detour feel like the right name to sum up this group of songs?
There was pressure from my previous label to do things that my heart wasn’t in. I felt like sonically driving off a cliff and reinventing myself from the ground up. That’s the purpose of the album. I’m getting to tell stories that I wasn’t encouraged to tell and it’s cool, especially right before Pride. There’s a song called Brutalist where I speak about trips to hormone therapy that I took with my dad when I was a kid. On the journey, he would show me buildings because he’s an architect. I’m comparing those torn-down buildings to how people see me as a trans woman. I couldn’t have dreamt of getting away with saying stuff like that on the last few records. It feels really freeing.
I felt like sonically driving off a cliff and reinventing myself from the ground up. That’s the purpose of the album
KIM PETRAS
You’ve said that this is your debut album, which is so interesting considering we’ve known your work for so long. Why do you consider this to be a debut?
It took this long to feel like I had a record that legitimately felt like my debut. I know it’s a joke and, technically, it’s my seventh album or project. But I like making fun of it. The Frost Children, who are these two amazing siblings who know their shit on EDM and electronic production, have this philosophy that’s really anti-pop in a refreshing way, even though it feels pop. Then there’s Margo XS, who’s become my best friend through the making of this project. I’m also working with two trans women on this album. We put aside what we thought would sell and just thought, ‘What do I want to play for my friends?’
What made Frost Children and Margo XS the right collaborators?
I think looking towards the future is always so much more interesting than trying to go back to the past. We were exploring this 2010, 2011 and 2012 pocket of sound that some consider bad taste. Pop always needs to have an element of what’s generally considered bad taste, because I think that’s the stuff people want to scream in the bar. We’re defenders of bad taste. I always want to poke at what’s considered socially acceptable. I feel like I’ve always said a little too much, and I think a lot of LGBTQ kids or ADHD kids feel like that. That explains our collective efforts because I think we’ve all come from a place where, at one point, we felt like the freak in the room.
The album has been out for three days. How have the fans reacted?
The reactions have been so reassuring, sweet and organic. People are analysing the songs a lot more, and I attribute that to the songs having more meat on them. It’s like, ‘Finally, people don’t label me as making stupid, vapid pop.’ I like stupid, vapid pop music, and I think there’s nothing wrong with it, but revealing really vulnerable parts of myself has been great.
It’s like, ‘Finally, people don’t label me as just making stupid, vapid pop.’ I like stupid, vapid pop music, and I think there’s nothing wrong with it, but revealing really vulnerable parts of myself has been great
KIM PETRAS
We’ve had the Pretour EP, and now we’ve had the Detour album. What does ‘Posttour’ look like?
There’s enough music for a ton of deluxe content. We know what we want to do, and we have it mostly finished, but we want to keep it exciting and not too predictable.
What’s one of the biggest things you’ve learned about yourself in the process of creating this album?
Success is defined by you. To me, this is the most successful I can be because I feel like I’m putting out things that make people understand me. Doing this feels better than having a hit record. I wasn’t having a good time when I had a number one song, and it didn’t feel as good as this.
Gabriela Hearst on designing the FIFA World Cup uniforms for her native Uruguay Gabriela Hearst on designing the FIFA World Cup uniforms for her native Uruguay
Gabriela Hearst on designing the FIFA World Cup uniforms for her native Uruguay
From Maya Jama to Daphne Guinness: why fashion loves pilates From Maya Jama to Daphne Guinness: why fashion loves pilates
From Maya Jama to Daphne Guinness: why fashion loves pilates
Adriana Lima kickstarts summer in the latest issue of 72 magazine Adriana Lima kickstarts summer in the latest issue of 72 magazine
Adriana Lima kickstarts summer in the latest issue of 72 magazine
Here is what the Central Saint Martins Class of 2026 is doing next Here is what the Central Saint Martins Class of 2026 is doing next
Here is what the Central Saint Martins Class of 2026 is doing next
Fashion’s new summer culture and the rise of Alémais Fashion’s new summer culture and the rise of Alémais
Fashion’s new summer culture and the rise of Alémais
“I just want to shout the words ‘humanity’ and ‘joy’: Haider Ackermann’s bright future “I just want to shout the words ‘humanity’ and ‘joy’: Haider Ackermann’s bright future
“I just want to shout the words ‘humanity’ and ‘joy’: Haider Ackermann’s bright future
Intimate and wholly electric; Gabriel Moses photographs his girlfriend Shiva Ruby Intimate and wholly electric; Gabriel Moses photographs his girlfriend Shiva Ruby
