<p id=”par-1_46″>Some artists make good <a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/music/”>music</a> for years and years before getting any mainstream attention. For example, <a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/entertainment/2-coconut-songs-end-kamala-harris-campaign.html/”>Kim Petras took</a> a long time to break through with her hit song “Unholy.” Does she count as a one-hit wonder? Let’s take a look at her career so far.</p>
<h2 class=”wp-block-heading” id=”h-kim-petras-has-2-charting-songs-in-the-united-states”>Kim Petras has 2 charting songs in the United States</h2>
<p id=”par-2_57″>So far, two songs by Petras have carted in the United States. One was “Unholy,” which reached No. 1 on the <a href=”https://www.billboard.com/artist/kim-petras/chart-history/hsi/” target=”_blank” rel=”noreferrer noopener”>Billboard Hot 100</a> for a single week and lasted on the chart for 35 weeks. “Unholy” was one of the biggest hits of 2022 and it was a watershed moment for transgender representation in pop music. </p>
<p id=”par-3_52″>Petras’ other charting single is “Alone,” a collaboration with Nicki Minaj. That track reached No. 55 and lasted on the Billboard Hot 100 for a week. Considering the tune didn’t hit the top 40 and it didn’t last on the chart for a long time, “Alone” cannot really be considered a hit. </p>
<p id=”par-4_45″>So why did “Unholy” do so much better than other singles by Petras? She’s definitely released plenty of other radio-friendly songs over the years, such as “Coconuts,” “Heart to Break,” and “I Don’t Want It at All.” There are two main factors at play here.</p>
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<iframe title=”Heart to Break – Kim Petras (Official Music Video)” width=”925″ height=”520″ src=”https://www.youtube.com/embed/5CPeHQHAQyo?feature=oembed” frameborder=”0″ allow=”accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share” referrerpolicy=”strict-origin-when-cross-origin” allowfullscreen></iframe>
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<h2 class=”wp-block-heading” id=”h-why-unholy-is-different-from-other-songs-by-the-same-artist”>Why ‘Unholy’ is different from other songs by the same artist</h2>
<p id=”par-5_69″>Firstly, Smith was key to the success of “Unholy.” Not only was Smith a star, but <a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/entertainment/ringo-starr-compared-songs-wrote-the-beatles-sam-smiths-stay-with-me.html/”>the “Stay with Me” singer</a> also had a large fanbase of listeners who love soul music and ballads. Smith got a lot of people to listen to a Petras track who would never have listened to a Petras track otherwise. That sort of crossover appeal is a great way to rule the radio.</p>
<p id=”par-6_41″>On top of that, “Unholy” is a unique song. It’s a bizarre mix of sexuality, dance music, Catholic mass, and experimental electronica. Love it or hate it, it didn’t sound like anything else on the popular music market at the time.</p>
<figure class=”wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio” id=”emb-2″><div class=”wp-block-embed__wrapper”>
<iframe title=”Sam Smith, Kim Petras – Unholy (Official Music Video)” width=”925″ height=”520″ src=”https://www.youtube.com/embed/Uq9gPaIzbe8?feature=oembed” frameborder=”0″ allow=”accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share” referrerpolicy=”strict-origin-when-cross-origin” allowfullscreen></iframe>
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<div class=”related-article related-article–simple”>
<span class=”related-article-flag”>Related</span>
<p class=”related-article__title”>
<a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/entertainment/kim-petras-this-song-was-inspired-by-madonna-and-sephora.html/”>
Kim Petras: This Song Was Inspired by Madonna and Sephora </a>
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<h2 class=”wp-block-heading” id=”h-kim-petras-had-wanted-to-write-a-track-with-sam-smith-for-a-long-time”>Kim Petras had wanted to write a track with Sam Smith for a long time</h2>
<p id=”par-7_87″>During a 2022 interview with <a href=”https://www.billboard.com/culture/pride/kim-petras-interview-unholy-if-jesus-was-a-rockstar-1235157349/” target=”_blank” rel=”noreferrer noopener”>Billboard</a>, Petras discussed what it was like to compose “Unholy” with th <a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/entertainment/1-james-bond-song-popular-billie-eilishs-no-time-to-die-u-k.html/”>“Writing’s on the Wall” singer</a>. “Honestly, though, it’s such a magical collaboration for me, because it was really a situation where Sam and I were really just connecting and being slutty writers saying, ‘No, we’re gonna do it our way,’” she said. “It’s been such a pleasant collaboration with someone I truly respect and feel very inspired by. I’m extremely happy for Sam — and of course for me, too.”</p>
<p id=”par-8_113″>Petras framed “Unholy” as the culmination of years of aborted songs. “Sam and I have been trying to collaborate for about four or five years,” she recalled. “We’d been sending songs back and forth, and it was just never the right vibe. Then this song came along. Sam DM’d it to me, and I was like, ‘Yes, this is the one, when can we get in the studio?’ Sam was so cool, saying, ‘I want to write it with you, I want it to feel like a complete story and really collaborate on this.’ It was so awesome, because I’m a writer first, I’ve been in songwriting rooms for the last 10 years.”</p>
<p id=”par-9_17″>Petras has been a one-hit wonder thus far — but she can change that any day now.</p>