Transgender singer Kim Petras talks religion, community’s representation ahead of Grammys

German-born pop princess Kim Petras — who made history last year as the first openly transgender singer to hit the top of the U.S. charts — is nominated for best pop duo/group performance for “Unholy,” a collaboration with British nonbinary music star Sam Smith in a category that includes industry powerhouses such as ABBA, Camila Cabello and BTS.

The track, a pulsating club-ready song about adultery, debauchery and a “dirty, dirty boy,” reached global phenomenon status after debuting in the No. 1 spot in the U.K. charts in late September. It later reached the top of the charts in several countries besides the U.S., including Australia, Austria, Canada, Ireland and New Zealand.

That was an impressive accomplishment for the 30-year-old singer and songwriter, who first became known in her native Germany at the age of 13, when she appeared on a television show to discuss her transition.

Speaking ahead of this weekend’s celebration of the best in music, Petras reflected on her Grammy-nominated duet and the song she released as a follow-up to it, “If Jesus Was a Rockstar.”

The acoustic guitar-driven track shows a more vulnerable side of a trans person who felt excluded from religion from an early age. The song shows “how I feel as a human in the world right now,” she told The Daily Beast late last year.

“I just never got a chance to even know about spirituality or be accepted by God,” Petras said in an interview published Thursday. “So, to me, it’s like mythology. To me, it’s like a fairy tale or any other story.”

As a trans person who started living her true self as a young girl, Petras sees her rebellious relationship with religion as a way to deal with the trauma it has caused her.

“I just, since a young age, had to be like, ‘I’m going to hell.’ That was my growing up experience,” she said. “Had I had the chance to be a part of a religion, I maybe would have. And maybe I would have lived more the way that people who protest my concerts want me to live.”

With her latest single, the beat-heavy pop track “brrr,” Petras is once again celebrating her dance-floor roots — but still hoping her music can offer people more than just a good night out at the club.

“It’s a scary time for transgender kids and people and I think there are just a lot of things that really need to get figured out,” she said. “I’m scared for the trans community and I just hope I can be a person that makes them forget about those troubles and just makes them have fun for a little bit.”

With News Wire Services