Paper Magazine

**Paper** is a New York City-based independent magazine focusing on fashion, popular culture, nightlife, music, art and film. Kim Petras did multiple interviews and two photoshoots for them.

## Performance Video

Kim did a performance of her singles "Hillside Boys" and "I Don't Want It At All" for Paper Magazine's Youtube channel in a series called PAPER Penthouse.

PAPER Penthouse Kim Petras
## Interview #1

Kim Petras drew roller coasters as a kid, aspiring to what she calls a career as an Imagineer, Disney's word for the creative engineers behind their theme parks. As a pre-teen in Germany, after discovering her hand at writing songs and studying a documentary about Swede-songwriter Max Martin, she began instead to imagine her own pop career. Nearly a decade in the making, this past year saw the 25-year-old star achieve the skyrocketing success she's been engineering since her adolescence.

First, Petras' debut single "I Don't Want It At All" arrived this summer and sent her to the top of the Spotify Global Viral 50 Chart. The song's video, which surpassed a million views on YouTube, features Petras with a side-bun summoning Paris Hilton for a bedroom dance party. Her subsequent singles evoke the spirit of a Los Angeles where Hilton could still reign — songs like "Hills" ("Rollin' through the hills on drugs") and "Hillside Boys" ("Oh, it's over in your, in your Range Rover"). All three songs were co-produced by Dr. Luke (real name: Lukasz Gottwald), whose ongoing litigation has given listeners pause. Regarding this decision, Petras says, "It's complicated, but I have no reason not to work with him."

Earlier this month, she was featured on the track "Unlock It" from the latest mixtape by Charli XCX, prompting Pitchfork's Meaghan Garvey to dub Petras a "Hollyweird-via-Cologne pop conceptualist." Petras also released a new track, "Faded," which details a world where she stays high, but keeps her expectations low ("They crowd around you when you up/ Then disappear when you get stuck").

Reflecting on expectations over the phone, Petras says, "A lot of people didn't believe that I could be a great songwriter, or be super talented, and be transgender. I feel like a lot of people felt like 'transgender' would set you up to not be able to do that. I just want to prove people wrong. I want to get a Number 1 on the [Billboard] Hot 100."

**Is there a resolution for 2018 you don't mind sharing with us?**

My resolution is to get better at everything that I do. Also, to be happy. I guess that's always my resolution, no matter what, to have fun and be happy. I definitely want to make better songs, make better performances, make better music videos.

**How is your personal style different from your video style, if it is?**

Right now, very different. I wear a lot of Goodwill stuff. I kind of mix it in with stuff that's older from Germany, or I mix it in with stuff from Urban Outfitters. With music videos you get all the glam shit, stuff that I don't have. I feel like especially "I Don't Want It At All" was a character. It was more like the LA girl that goes shopping all the time and wears crazy outfits. The next video that's coming is more my personal style.

**How would you describe your forthcoming album?**

It's the last five years of my life on that album — my experiences, my heartbreak, my fantasies. It's very inspired by nostalgia, by nostalgic pop. I love Queen, The Cardigans, a lot of Italian '80s disco. Also living on Hollywood Boulevard for awhile, struggling in LA, songs that match where I go out at.

**What was the first pop culture moment that made you want to become a popstar?**

The Spice Girls. That Spice World album, and the movie. I know it has the worst Rotten Tomatoes rating that any movie can possibly have, but that was my jam.

**Has anyone reaching out as a fan of your music particularly surprised you?**

Honestly, everybody kind of surprises me. I've been buried in the studio for so long now that it's crazy that people are still checking for me. Right now, every single person that writes me something. I'm still able to check every single message. Troye Sivan surprised me. I've never met Troye, but he was supportive and cool. I'm a fan of his, too.

**What are some ways you get into the headspace of performing live?**

I really try to shut everything off. I try to not go on social media. I try to not look at my phone. I just breathe in deeply and do my warm up. I tell myself to have fun right before. That's the essence of a good performance, to have fun doing it, no matter how much you rehearsed or how hard it was. I think fun is the main ingredient of any good performance.

**Who are some of the most fun performers that you've seen?**

I've seen Charli XCX. She's super fun and I love her. Lunchmoney Lewis is a great songwriter, and his performances are fun. My homie lil aaron, he always has the coolest performances. My favorite performance I've seen in L.A. was SOPHIE. Oh my god, that show was incredible.

**I think we need a SOPHIE and Kim Petras collaboration.**

I completely agree. We just need to get together and do it. Friends of SOPHIE and friends of mine have talked about it, and it's going to happen.

## Interview #2

Kim Petras wants it all, or nothing at all. When the German-born singer talks about making and consuming pop music, she speaks with utmost urgency. The genre served as an emotional buoy when she was a child, and now, she is intent on rising to the top with gleaming pop songs of her own creation. Petras' music is both relatable and transformative; while her lyrics detail the specifics of heartache and desire, the glossy sheen of booming bass lines, undulating synths, and irresistible "Hillside Boys" also serve as euphoric escapism — and that's exactly what she wants.

Petras got her start writing songs in her bedroom as a teenager, and has since relocated to Los Angeles to broaden her career options in the music industry— a move she wishes she made earlier because of how beneficial it has been. In the last few years, the 25-year-old breakout pop sensation has worked with pop mainstays like Charli XCX and SOPHIE, and is touring with Troye Sivan this summer in support of his sophomore album, Bloom. With millions of Spotify streams and a rapidly growing fanbase, it's clear that America's ready for — and demanding — an artist like Petras.

Paris Hilton, who interviewed Petras for PAPER Pride, is, of course, one of the great pop culture icons of our time. She is a businesswoman, a socialite, a reality TV star, a social media pioneer, and a self-proclaimed expert in "words, pink lip gloss and making an entrance." As a symbol of the luxurious, fast-paced LA lifestyle that Petras' music naturally evokes, she was the perfect person to make a cameo in the music video for Petras' debut single, "I Don't Want It At All," complete with a hot pink "Paris" credit card and shrine.

The bubblegum track, which helped launch Petras' career, unabashedly pays homage to all the things women are shamed for: reveling in the dream of designer clothes, unapologetically demanding attention, daring to enjoy the saccharine rush of a catchy pop hook. Together, Petras' and Hilton, who both embrace these frequently shamed aspects of femininity, form an unstoppable team.

Kim Petras: I'm so excited. This is my first cover of anything ever, so it means a lot that you can do this.

**Paris Hilton: Hell yeah. Congratulations.**

Thanks! Congratulations on coming out with your clothing line!

**Thank you.**

Super dope stuff.

**What was the beginning of your music career like?**

Well, I started out writing songs in my room. I just got really obsessed with songwriting at 13 and was just like, "I want to be the next Max Martin," a big pop songwriter. I wanted to find the formula of pop. I was a little bit crazy. Ever since then, I've been writing songs. I realized early on that nobody was gonna write me any songs, so I needed to learn how to write them myself, and I basically spent my whole teenage years writing in my room all the time and not really going out much. And then at 19 I moved to LA because nobody in Germany is really into super pop. There aren't many pop producers. Everybody told me that pop wouldn't really work in Germany, so I was like, "Well, then I'm going to LA and gonna become a great pop songwriter. I've collaborated with amazing producers, learned so much, and feel so lucky to be able to have a shot at putting out music and to have an audience for it.

**Well, you're killing it and I'm so proud of you.**

Thanks babe. Yeah, like a lot has happened since our video!

**I know, it's crazy. So awesome. What was it like moving to LA? How does living in the US, and LA specifically, influence your sound?**

I love Cali hip-hop and trap, and just what my friends are listening to. I think it has totally influenced my music. In Germany, sometimes things are gray for a really long period of time and it's cold. I feel like in LA, I write a lot more feel-good music, which is ultimately what I want to do. I just want to write songs that make people happy and dance. That's my goal. It was a little scary moving out to LA by myself. I didn't really know anybody, I barely had any money. Then got like, a bunch of roommates and it took me two years to get a cut with anybody. It was definitely a struggle and a real hustle. I was working really hard to achieve something. There are so many songwriters in LA, it's crazy, but it's probably the best decision I've ever made. I kind of wish that I would have done it earlier even because I really feel like I have become myself and found my sound and grown so much in LA.

**Why did you want me in the "I Don't Want It At All" music video?**

Um, because you're the best! I was a super fan of you and still am. You were the perfect person. There was nobody else better. It was such a freaking dream. It really gave my video such a push, and made a lot of people click on it, so thank you so so much. It really helped kickstart my career super hard and I am so thankful for that.

**It was an honor for me to do it and I had so much fun. It was such a sick video, so thank you for thinking of me.**

Of course, no, thank you so much for doing it, and you were the best. Everybody came off the set and was like, "Paris was the best person. I feel inspired to become like Paris!" You just have this amazing attitude about you. I really admire it a lot.

**Thank you. It's just me. What was the creative process and direction like on that video?**

My roommate and I were putting together the whole concept and pulling from movies that we really love, like Pillow Talk and Dallas Love. We just kind of decided, "Okay let's write this treatment." And then we involved Charlotte Rutherford who's an amazing photographer. She shot you a bunch, so that was kind of our way in. Then we sent you the song, and you loved it, so it just worked out super well. Will all of the videos, I have a vision, whether it's like a color or a crystal castle or shopping on a treadmill. I love making music videos. It's a skill to learn, and feel like I'm getting better at it. It's really interesting to do a bunch of music videos and find yourself as an artist.

**Yeah, it's amazing. I really love what you do. You're so creative and you're a true artist.**

Thanks!

**You had your first on-camera kiss in the video for "Heart to Break." What was that like?**

Really so much more work than it seems. I was really really nervous and I brushed my teeth like five times in an hour and just went a little crazy. I was really scared of it, really frightened, and then we did it and we kind of just plowed the whole thing through and everybody watching was like, "Hot! Yeah!" So it was a fun experience, but totally not romantic in any way. Also the dancer, Julio, is amazing. He's my prince in the video. Totally the sweetest dude, so he just made it super easy. How was it being killed on camera? I loved your iconic death in House of Wax.

**It was brutal because they had to put all of that fake blood all over me, and I had to sit in one position for like hours while they filmed every angle. I love it but I also felt weird. It wasn't the most glamorous thing ever. What artists influence your sound?**

All kinds of artists, really. I love old school music. I love Freddie Mercury and Queen and Boy George, Blondie, Cyndi Lauper, early Madonna. I also listen to a lot of rap music. I love Rae Sremmurd and I love Kanye and Drake. I stan a bunch of the other pop girls. Like I love Ariana, I love Selena, my friends that I see in the studio like Baby E and Lil Aaron that are always around are really inspiring because they write like, six songs a day. I get really inspired by my songwriter friends, too. So many artists! I could like go on for a year!

**What do you love about pop music specifically?**

I just love that it puts you out of your real life and your problems and takes you to this little bubble of pop music. That's what it always did for me in school. I was bullied pretty hard and I had no friends. I felt like nobody liked me and then I put on Gwen Stefani music videos and I felt okay. I felt like I could escape my struggles. Ever since then I want to do the same thing and make crazy music videos that are their own little world that weird kids like me can watch.

**How does your work relate to mainstream radio pop?**

Well, right now it is a very specific sound on radio. I feel like everything's a little softer. There's a lot of tropical house. I'm on the super pop side of things. I go all in and I sing really high-pitched songs, with a bunch of ad libs. I really go there. I just started this crazy radio tour through America, and so far it's going pretty well and people seem to like it. People have been playing my single. I hope there is a space for it on radio.

**I always play it when I get dressed to get ready, at night like I always play your music, I love it.**

That's so cool. That's my favorite thing I've ever heard.

**I've been watching your tour on your Insta story and you've been killing it. I know how much work it is to travel the world and do all that, but you're really just doing it amazingly.**

Thanks so much. Yeah, it's been back to back, two shows a night, then off to the next city, how you really imagine it. It's been really great hustling. I've always loved doing this and I used to just be sitting on my couch with chips and being like, "When do I get to be a pop star and do pop star things?" And now I'm doing them, so it's been amazing, even though there's not much sleep involved. I'm sure you know that from like, crazy promo tours. I feel like you probably never sleep. Like, you also have your fragrances, damn, you must not get much sleep.

**I don't stop.**

Yeah but those are the best people. I love people who are just go-getters and hustle.

**Hustler for life. You have said that you hate using your identity as a tool, and often feel pressured to make your work or your public persona about your identity. At the same while you don't want to be restricted to any one identity, you have also said you always fight for the transgender and LGBTQ+ community. Does it feel limiting or empowering to claim that identity?**

Well, both sometimes. Sometimes I do interviews and people are literally only talking about me being transgender and asking really weird, rude questions. In Germany, on a radio interview they asked me, "Do you think you have better sex then men because you used to be one?" It's crazy shit like that that makes me want to not speak about it and makes me want to be like, "Hey, I worked really hard and moved out of my home country to be a songwriter in LA, and have hustled my way over the last 10 years of writing songs, and you guys want to ask me is about my literal genitals." So sometimes, it can feel a little frustrating and a little sad.

But at the same time, I always think about the kid that's like me that doesn't really see the way to live as a girl and gets bullied in school and is scared. Because I hated my gender. I cried every day of my youth because I didn't identify with my gender. And the suicide rate is so high, so I always want to be a good person to look up to and help make things better and be like, "Hey, you can be transgender and live a really cool life and be a happy person." I definitely want to help, but sometimes it can feel like people want to make it this gimmick, or people wanna make me only a trans artist, and I really just speak about the things that I feel and at the end of the day, I am a woman. I feel like I should be treated the same way.

**Well, you are a huge inspiration to so many people around the world and you inspire me. I think you are so beautiful and talented.**

Thanks so much. You inspire me back.

**Aw, good. What is on the horizon for you?**

Well, I am going on the Troye Sivan tour in America. I think it's gonna be like 32 days, so it's my first legit full tour which is gonna be so lit, I can't wait. And I want to drop my album as soon as possible. I have a bunch of collaborations and stuff coming that I am super excited about, and yeah, performing in clubs as much as I possibly can. It's go time!

**Keep killing it and send me a song soon because I want to record one!**

Yes! I still have to — it's been hard finishing anything, but I'm going on a writing trip with the perfect people to write a song for you. So we're gonna do it. It's on my mind all the time! It's going to happen.

## Interview #3

In honor of the spookiest season of the year, PAPER asked two Halloween queens — Kim Petras and Elvira herself — to join in conversation about their favorite holiday. Cassandra Peterson, the iconic Queen of Halloween who created the beloved, vampy character known as Elvira around the world, appeared on Kim's horror-themed mixtape TURN OFF THE LIGHT, VOL. 1. The two chatted about their holiday traditions, favorite costumes and why Halloween is the only true day a year you can really be yourself.

Cassandra Peterson: Hi Kim, by the way, I've never met you.

Kim Petras: Yes, thank you so much for doing this — having a Halloween mixtape and then having Elvira on it was really sick. I'm super thankful and you sound amazing.

CP: Thank you, it was fun! I love the stuff that you're doing.

KP: Thank you!

CP: There aren't that many Halloween-themed things out there that get in the mainstream, that's for sure. Not since "Thriller," maybe. Which did you hear, they were supposed to use me for the "Thriller" video. The Vincent Price part. I met Michael Jackson and he told me that and then the man that wrote the song also told me it turned out Quincy Jones' wife was best friends with Vincent Price's wife and they decided it should be Vincent Price. Which you know I'm happy and thrilled it was because he's one of my idols. So that was fantastic. But I must say it would've been nice.

KP: You would have killed it!

CP: It would have been pretty awesome, right?

PAPER: Kim, why make a full project dedicated to this holiday?

KP: It started with one spooky song. So me and my friends wrote this song called "Close your Eyes," which is also on the mixtape, and I was really excited about it and it happened out of the blue. It was kind of spooky. We started thinking, Why are there so many Christmas albums and almost no Halloween albums? It's my favorite holiday ever.

CP: Tell me about it.

KP: [Laughing] Yeah! So we just locked ourselves in, writing it for a week and a half. It went pretty quick. We were just hoping people would dig it. I just have a big passion for Halloween.

CP: You and me both.

KP: You're the Queen of Halloween. I could never ever.

CP: Thank you. It was nice that you thought of me to be on this, I was pretty thrilled.

KP: So how crazy is your Halloween every single year? I'm so interested, you must be booked every single day, the whole month of October.

CP: I start in August and start shooting things, doing different TV shows and different appearances and interviews, all through September and October. Pretty much everyday is Halloween for me all year round.

KP: That's amazing.

CP: But the fall season does get particularly crazy. I'm just flying all over the country right now doing different gigs. love Halloween but I can't wait for November 1st. [Laughing]

KP: I'm sure. What are you doing on actual Halloween?

CP: Normally I do this live show. I wish you could have seen it, but last year was my last year at Knott's Scary Farm which is the biggest Halloween venue in the country and the world for that matter. I did this big live show where I did singing and dancing and jokes and all of that. But I decided last year would be my last year. This year, it's different for me. I'm flying all around doing different spooky venues, haunted houses, conventions dedicated to horror and just getting out and meeting fans.

KP: Some of my friends saw you at Knott's Scary Farm and they were raving. They said it was amazing and life-changing. I can't wait to see you live, I've seen a bunch of clips, I love your movies, and I'm just a total fan and I can't wait to see your show.

CP: I'm kind of like the Madonna of the Macabre.

KP: Yeah totally, I would say that too. Maybe I could be the Paris Hilton of the Macabre.

PAPER: What was Halloween like growing up for you both?

KP: Well I grew up in Germany, and my family loves Halloween so in my house it was always Halloween. We had pumpkins and the whole thing, my mom was just a huge Halloween fan. All my friends from school didn't have Halloween parties so they'd all come over to our place and have Halloween parties. I think I just got it from my mom who was a fan because it really isn't a big thing in Germany. But I remember watching scary movies all of October and really getting into it. It's really my mom and two older sisters who taught me about it. Then I came to America when I was 19 and I was blown away all the amazing things you can do on Halloween — all the mazes and everybody decorating their house like crazy and all the parties.

CP: They don't do it anywhere else like the US. Since even I started being Elvira it's spread, kind of going around to a lot of different countries. I hope it catches on everywhere because it really is the best holiday. You don't have to buy anybody presents, you don't have to have any dinners with your relatives or go to church or do some crazy thing like that. You just go out, dress as your fantasy and have fun right?

KP: Yes! I'm so interested what Halloween was like for you as a kid?

CP: It was really, really crazy. It's so bizarre, I have a picture of me dressed this way, like Elvira, when I was 5 years old. My mom asked me what my first Halloween costume should be and I said I wanted to be the Queen of Halloween, so she made me this princess dress out of black and orange crepe paper with a crown and a sceptre. So pretty bizarre that my first costume I wanted to have was Queen of Halloween, that's something I came up with in my little kid brain.

KP: Seems like you manifested it.

CP: I think I did. I'm sure I did. I just saw that Meghan Markle, she said growing up she either wanted to be the Queen of England or Elvira and there were pictures of her when she was 7 years old dressed as Elvira and dressed as the Queen of England on Halloween. So she kind of manifested her dream too, right? It's kind of trippy that she ended up doing that too. So be careful what you wish for. Halloween was super big in my family because my family owned a costume shop. And our two biggest holidays were Halloween of course and also Oktoberfest. Did you guys ever celebrate that?

KP: Of course, that is the biggest celebration in Germany. Everybody drinks so much beer and passes out.

CP: Strangely, the town I grew up in Colorado Springs, has a ton of military bases and for some reason Oktoberfest was a really big deal there. I think because a lot of people from Germany worked at the military bases and were enlisted there too. So it was a huge big deal in Colorado Springs and we kind of got two Halloweens, but Halloween was number one for my family. That was when everyone was working, all my relatives flew in from other states to help at the costume shop because it was so crazy. I used to sit and help iron the costumes and stuff and make devil horns out of foam or whatever. And also, I always had the most awesome costume. Every single year people were afraid of me because I entered every costume contest and I always won because everybody was wearing, back then it was these dorky little plastic outfits with little plastic masks, but I would have this really awesome outfit, whatever character was popular on TV at the time because my mom and aunt would sew it for me and make it really fabulous. So I was just dressing up from the beginning of time, I was always meant to be a drag queen.

KP: [Laughing] Amazing. I remember costumes as a kid. I would always love dressing up. Also, I'm transgender so for me as a kid I would make it a little spooky, but I would always go for the most girly things ever because Halloween was a little bit of an excuse to just dress as a princess or a ballerina or something I wanted to dress as.

CP: You can be your fantasy on Halloween and no one thinks you're weird.

KP: Totally. Which is such an amazing thing about it. I think that's why I have a deep connection to it and I've always loved it.

CP: I'm sure. It's the other 364 days you have to worry about when you have to be a normal person.

KP: Yes, which I'm trying to avoid at all times everyday.

CP: Me too.

PAPER: What were some of your favorite costumes you've worn?

KP: I was Sailor Moon, big Sailor Moon fan. I did a Dracula moment, I've always loved vampires. Sometimes I just go as dead. Just dead with blood all over myself. I'll take random characters like Baby Spice and go as dead Baby Spice. That's kind of my go-to.

CP: Well for the last 36 years I've worn the same costume, can you believe it? I never get to wear anything fun anymore. But when I was little I always wanted to be the characters on TV. And even when I was really little I always wanted to be the major sex symbols. When I was about seven I won a contest dressed as this character from a show called "Gunsmoke" and it was a dance hall girl named Miss Kitty. I won a hundred dollars, that was like a million dollars back then. So I was seven-years-old wearing high heels and a garter belt and fishnet hose, not very appropriate. And later I'd go to school dressed as Ginger from Gilligan's Island or Morticia Addams from the Addams Family show, or Genie from I Dream of Genie. So I was always trying to be miss sexy girl when I really wasn't that sexy at that time.

KP: I love that.

PAPER: It's the one day a year you can be a little freer and not be shamed for it!

CP: Exactly. I always say that. It's the one day a year you can dress really slutty and not be called a hoe. If you wore that kind of thing to your job the rest of the year as a woman you'd be drummed out of the place. It's crazy. It's so much more free.

KP: Totally. I love to be dressed slutty all year round.

CP: Me too. But we're able to do that, but not everyone can. We have a lot of freedom in that area. Unfortunately the normal woman who has a regular job doesn't have that freedom.

KP: Totally. I wish it was different. I wish people would appreciate slutty outfits.

CP: Guys love for you to wear slutty outfits but then when you do everyone's always attacking you.

KP: Totally.

PAPER: Cassandra, what's it like to see people dressed up as yourself?

C: It's awesome. At first it was kind of surprising and now it's kind of like an everyday thing. I see men, women, children, dogs, you name it all dressed as Elvira. It's really fun and very flattering to have people honor a character that I created.

KP: I think you know you've made it when there's a dog costume of yourself.

CP: That might be true yes.

PAPER: Have either of you had paranormal experiences?

CP: I've been into that stuff since I was little. I love tarot cards and fortune telling and things like that. I never had an experience of haunted things until I moved into a particular house here in Hollywood that was built in 1901. From the minute I moved into that house to the minute I moved out five years later, things happened in the house nonstop. Noises, seeing people, hearing footsteps above my head on the next floor, seeing a shadow at the bottom of the swimming pool swimming around. I actually got an exorcist and a Native American kind of medicine man to do things to the house and it stopped eventually. But ever since I moved from there, never again, never anything weird at all happening and never before, just that house. And I ended up selling that house to Brad Pitt so I'm wondering how he's doing over there.

KP: Ah, poor Brad Pitt! [Laughing] I'm so hungry for a paranormal experience. I've been looking for them. I've always been obsessed with Ouija boards and tarot cards and the occult and witches. I haven't been lucky enough yet to have any of those experiences yet, but I really want to. Hopefully I'll catch a haunted house one day.

CP: Go over and visit Brad Pitt.

KP: Let's go!

## Interview #4

Six years ago, Kim Petras was in her German hometown of Cologne, listening to Britney Spears' "Toxic" and wishing she wrote it. As a teenager in an emo phase, she crossed the Rhine to go to school, wearing checkered Vans and a single hot pink hair extension, clicking on an outdated Hello Kitty phone. By the time she was in her early twenties, she had written hundreds of songs hoping someone, someday would hear them. She still has the notebooks stashed in her childhood home. "I was kinda trash," a refreshingly candid Petras says upon recalling her angsty years. "JK, it was tragic yet also amazing. I had a great childhood, but we all have to start somewhere."

Now, Petras is based in Los Angeles, likely still listens to Britney Spears (who doesn't?) and, as she sings on Clarity, her debut full-length project's lead single, "Broken," she's "in Paris with Marc Jacobs [...] Lookin' lavish, dipped in carats [...] Life's amazing." That song introduced new sonic terrain for the already-proven bop star. But that was a year after she wrote about "all my clothes designer" and wanting "someone else to buy 'em" on 2017's "I Don't Want It at All," a contemporary "Material Girl" update that saw Petras fantasizing about a life that wasn't yet hers.

Material extravagance is nothing new in pop music, but consider the dream and the source. While the American Dream — and its promise to make you rich, successful, and happily lording over a white-picket fence behind a gated community — engenders cynicism in citizens here at home, carving out her own was a worthwhile pursuit for Petras. Many Americans are now overwhelmed by pop star/influencer/politician/self-made public figure rags-to-riches narratives. But Petras, a 26-year-old German woman who, at 14, became known as the "world's youngest transsexual" to have undergone gender confirmation surgery, found Western culture inspiring enough to leave her past behind and forge a new life in the States.

Western culture is forever undecided on who it champions and why. One one hand, America loves a take-down that cancels and nullifies anyone we've previously adored, yet we also always love a "sweetheart," someone who keeps the American Dream alive when it's dead for everyone else. It's done through a savvy mix of capitalism and personal triumph, and our elected Sweethearts are usually women — the "It Girl" archetype — with double the responsibility to make it all look good.

Who else can patriarchal societies both uplift and scrutinize quite like women? In different but parallel timelines, America's Sweetheart was Marilyn Monroe or Britney Spears (who still wears that crown, albeit reluctantly, for some). These days, it's more like the Obama's, Cardi B, and Lizzo. But more than anything, America's Sweethearts shift old paradigms and inspire millions to work towards becoming them. Petras is on that track already, and it's hardly been two years since her first song dropped. If she can make Forbes' 30 Under 30 Europe list, it'll be no time before she does the same in America.

Petras used money saved from waitressing and writing German commercial jingles to fly to Los Angeles six years ago. When she first arrived, she met producers and wrote with anyone she could. She'd crash on studio couches, making friends from work sessions and sleeping at their apartments. It took her two and a half years to get placement for any of her music. In that time, she wrote 300 songs in addition to the 200 she wrote back home. Finally, in 2015, Petras got a break penning "Bratz What's Up," performed by teen pop singer Skylar Stecker for what would've been the long-rumored Bratz movie sequel. The anthemic song about dreams fulfilled was produced by The Stereotypes and gives a look both into Petras' star-powered potential and her aspirations for a bigger, better life: "I got one shot/ That's all I got/ I'm 'bout to blow up and tear it up."

As a kid, Petras says that her parents, though supportive in most ways she expressed herself, didn't allow her to have Bratz dolls because they were "too slutty." "They were just crazy looking with plastic surgery faces, and had low-rise jeans, like fucking exposing the thongs. Which is all incredible. I wanted the Bratz so fucking bad, because honestly, that was so me and what I wanted to be — which was a slut," she says.

Eventually, Petras achieved her dream, yes, of being a slut, she jokes, but also, in her own pursuit of pop stardom, signing a publishing deal with BMG that ultimately led to her recording "I Don't Want It At All." The breakout song, co-written by regular collaborators rapper Lil Aaron and producer Aaron Joseph, is grounded in big-budget, glitzy '80s synths and bright, instantly memorable hooks about shopping and sugar daddies. By the time the song came out, she had entered into a work relationship with embattled pop producer Dr. Luke. Controversy is a hallmark of any Sweetheart, but that partnership was especially so, given #MeToo's widespread, on-going impact around the world and especially in entertainment.

Petras, perhaps wisely, released a statement declaring her support for survivors who come forward with stories of abuse. She then dug into her work, which was not only getting better, but more attention. "I Don't Want It At All" topped Spotify's Global viral chart. Paris Hilton made a cameo in the video. In October 2017, Spotify named her a RISE Artist, a category designed to identify and break the next wave of music superstars. Petras released other standalone singles like the summertime bop "Hillside Boys" and the chilled-out "Hills." Her efforts built hype and acclimated listeners to her diverse musical tastes. Pop tastemaker Charli XCX handpicked Petras to sing on Pop 2's "Unlock It." The upbeat "Heart to Break" became Petras' first Top 40 radio hit. Self-empowerment ballad "Can't Do Better" showed Petras' range, vocally and emotionally. This phase of her still-early career — including last year's experimental Halloween-themed mixtape, Turn Off the Light, Vol. 1, which smartly traced the links between queerness, Camp, and horror through expensive-sounding pop — became known collectively by her fans as "Era 1."

Era 1 gained Petras a legion of loyal pop fanatics and some indie cred, positioning her both as an artist unconstrained by mainstream appeal while successfully pandering to it. Typically, when a woman in pop accesses mainstream success, she's treated as if she can't have engineered or envisioned that for herself. Her collaborators are credited with the heavy lifting, and we find things to pick apart about our supposed female idols. "She can't sing; she can't dance; she doesn't write her own music." Petras co-writes everything she sings, and her live singing only solidifies her credibility. Onstage, she adds improvisational runs in surprising places, sings to the back of the room (and beyond), and doesn't let herself take any vocal shortcuts.

Getting to that place did not come without challenges, though. When Petras was pursuing record deals, her trans identity was made an issue by several major-label industry executives. "It became a huge deal with everybody and they were talking about either marketing strategies with it, or keeping it a secret, or what to do or not to do," Petras says. "Some people were religious and were like, 'We can't work with you because it's against God.' And that was just two years ago."

Having already developed an independent streak, Petras took the feedback in stride, and set out to make even bigger moves. "I decided to do it myself," she says. "I performed at every gay club in America. I promoted my damn self, with help from my team, of course. But I did all of it with integrity and how I wanted to do it. I feel like that wouldn't have been possible even 10 years ago."

Starting in her adolescence with her confirmation surgery, Petras became familiar with what it meant to be the first, and to do so in the public eye. She first appeared on a German news program called Stern TV to discuss her transition at age 13, in 2006. The year after, Petras gained more attention from international news media following more German TV appearances in an effort to get permission to undergo confirmation surgery by age 16. (German law states a person must normally be 18.) When Petras completed her confirmation, outlets then breathlessly marveled at the presence of the "world's youngest transsexual."

None of this public history is something Petras can run away from, but she is rewriting the narrative. Now, having become the artist she once dreamed of embodying, Petras is at the center of a different conversation about trailblazing: that of a pop star normalizing trans experience for the masses.

"I heard from a lot of people that trans people cannot be lucrative," Petras says. "At the end of the day, people weren't really willing to take me seriously and all the talks were just about being transgender and not about the music. I always came in [to industry meetings] not telling anybody and then they would Google me and find out, and they would be like, 'Write a song about it.' Like am I supposed to sing, 'I'm transgender, I'm so sad?'" Petras considers this, laughs, then takes a deep breath: "Fuck that."

Clarity, Petras' first full-length "project," finds her even more determined to break through barriers. Its opening track of the same name boasts atmospheric twinkles and trap beats, which she's been trying on adeptly these days. Front and center is Petras' voice, high and clear as a bell, singing: "I'm the bitch with the sauce, apparently." And referencing what's changed: "VVS's 'round my neck, now they stare at me/ Ain't no wonder why they all so scared of me/ I'm a rarity."

When it comes to the harder-edged new dimensions to Petras' sound, she says incorporating those styles is not as complicated as some might think. For her, cultivating a sense of limitless expression was the most important goal, especially when recovering from heartbreak. "When I was in that phase, that's just what I was doing," Petras says. "After being heartbroken and seriously thinking I couldn't do this, I starting writing about fucking and horny shit over beats that sounded really sexy. I just found fun and freedom in that, and expanding my sound."

She continues: "Most of my favorite songs are about a certain kind of freedom, and are also usually about sex and I think they are extremely empowering. Especially for girls and trans girls and the gays, it's important to express yourself in a world where we grew up with people being like, 'That's gross.' Coming from where I was in Germany, there, people can be standoffish about sex and it's not something you talk or sing about. Here in America, it's just different."

For Petras, most of the project also came together in light of her new life: post-tour, feeling displaced and depressed after realizing a partner had been unfaithful, and getting advice from her circle of successful musician friends to get her through it. So much has happened to Petras in the past year, from supporting slots on Troye Sivan's Bloom Tour to performing at Pride events worldwide, and slaying New York Fashion Week. Spotify, which played a role in launching her, counts more than 2.5 million monthly listeners on her page, with "Heart to Break" sitting pretty at 23 million streams. Those figures of support might live online, but they show up in her real life today.

The idea of having fans isn't new to Petras. She's been getting letters of appreciation since her teen years. She calls the real ones her Bunheads (a nod to her original signature hairstyle). In person, she's not only candid and present, but excitable, and, if she likes you, gives lots of hugs and tells you she loves you. As she headlines sold-out shows on The Broken Tour, she's in awe of what's materializing. But she's playing a longer game.

"I'm very excited about doing this and dedicating my life," Petras says. "I feel like that's what my destiny is; all I need to be doing right now is touring and making amazing music and writing and working on it. So, that for me was clarity."

As a project, Clarity finds Petras doubling down on the proven formulas that work in pop music: wildly catchy melodies, sprinkled in details about her proclivities in love and sex, space for her bright, big voice to shine, and the openness to experiment. Petras exhibits the kind of mastery and elasticity that suggests she could do anything from here. Take for instance how she goes for the jugular in songs like the synthesized '80s hair metal of "Do Me," off Clarity: "Hurt me so good/ make me wanna be bad." Or on "Icy," where she draws a connection between VVS ice and going cold in a relationship on the rocks. Pop metaphors are so amazing if you let them be.

It's incredible that Petras, who was once told she couldn't be successful because she was trans, is now singing about sex and feeling empowered to an audience of millions. What kind of paradigm does that shift? It alters reality and it makes way for a future of greater inclusion. We begin to think of her story not as exceptional, but as the norm. The idea of Kim Petras as a household name becomes more palpable. Her transness as public consideration becomes secondary, then tertiary, until all that's left to discuss is her music and its profound impact on hearts and minds across the globe.

And as technically good as Petras' songs are thus far, it seems Petras is still saving her best work for later, hence her reluctance to consider Clarity a proper album. Plus, Turn Off the Light, Vol. 2 is coming, she says. So the real statement Petras is making is still happening in real time. Such is the journey of the first. Most Sweethearts are.

"I hope that –– my struggle to either people being like, 'You're using your identity to get somewhere,' or being like, 'You're not supporting the trans community by wanting to be an artist and not wanting to talk about that all the time *— I hope that can just lead to people that come after me, young and trans artists that are probably going to be fucking sick and amazing. I want them to have it easier and not having to go through that shit. I really hope so."*

Petras pauses. "But I don't mind doing it because at the same time I'm so proud of that little person who I used to be and I know that I would be so proud of myself now," she says.

America loves to be inspired by someone who has reached great heights after scaling even greater adversity. Or at the very least, we love someone extremely likeable. That's just perfect.

Of course, this is not unlike Spears' early, homegrown, and unstoppable success. Petras, having studied Spears as a pop master all her life, must understand this, somehow. Every Sweetheart knows how integral the narrative of overcoming obstacles is to winning over the masses. Look closely for clues in Petras' lyrics to "Shinin'," Clarity's closing track, which could be thought of as her lighters-up "Stronger" statement. Every history-making pop star authoring her story should have at least one of those.

"Sometimes, you gotta jump through fences with the barbed wire/ You wanna wave a white flag for the hard times/ You're just a little unprepared for the long ride/ But that's fine... You're a star, you are."