Kim Petras was born in Cologne, Germany. She gained notoriety in her childhood as being one of the youngest people to undergo gender transformation, appearing on the Stern TV show at age 13 to discuss her decision. A documentary and talk show appearance followed, which boosted her name recognition considerably, even landing her a modeling gig. She completed her reassignment surgery in 2008.
All along, she was interested in pursuing a career in music. Working with producers Aaron Joseph and the Stereotypes team, she recorded her the song, "STFU," and released it on SoundCloud. Her first official single, "I Don't Want It at All," in 2017. The single went viral on Spotify and earned her a spot as a Spotify RISE artist. She released several more singles and videos while she worked on her full-length debut.
That came in 2019. Clarity prompted NME to declare “the German singer-songwriter already sounds like a legit pop star.: The New York Times called her debut “outstanding, “adding the songs are “stitched so tightly and varnished so brightly...and transcend into something utterly new. “ She has dates in the U.S. throughout the fall.
Broken