Sam Smith and Kim Petras became the first non-binary and transgender artists respectively to reach No. 1 with 'Unholy'. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100.
Kim Petras is still reeling from the fact that her collaboration with Sam Smith on the single 'Unholy' topped the Billboard charts and garnered a Grammy nomination.
"I cried a lot," Kim Petras told Variety of how she reacted to the happy news.
The singer explained why she was vindicated by the song's success and recalled that before her collaboration with Sam Smith: "Record executives were saying to me: 'You make music for gay clubs, you're in a certain area and we don't know how to promote you.' ».
After working with the British artist, Kim Petras admitted that she did not expect the success of "Unholy" to change her life
“I've been doing this for years and I've never had such a massive impact. Sam really believed in the song from the beginning and fought for it,” he said.
"Unholy" was an instant hit with listeners, and Kim Petras is still trying to come to terms with the warm reception it received.
“It was my first entry on the Hot 100 and it went to No. 1, which is crazy. It really made me proud of all the work it took to get to this point and all the years of clubbing and fighting," she said.
The success of the song had another positive development for Kim Petras, who became with "Unholy" the first transgender artist to reach No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 (and Sam Smith the first non-binary artist).
"She proved to a lot of people that if you make good music, it doesn't matter what your gender identity is," she noted.
"I hope I'm opening doors for new artists," she continued, adding that her inspiration is the transgender DJ and music producer of the experimental pop scene Sophie, who was killed in Athens in January 2021 when she fell from the balcony of her apartment.
"I feel like I'm carrying the torch of everyone who came before me," Kim Petras said of where she feels she is now in the music industry, adding, "It feels really cool and amazing to be able to do this."
