By Jenna Rittman
Correspondent
Pop singer Kim Petras, who released her first studio album “Feed The Beast” earlier this year in June, surprised her fans by releasing her originally-shelved album “Problématique.” The album, released on Sept. 18, is Petras’ second studio album.
Petras is a singer-songwriter who mainly releases pop, EDM and dance-pop tracks. She released her first EP “One Piece of Tape” in 2011 and her first single “I Don’t Want It At All” in 2017. In 2022, Petras released the song “Unholy,” a collaboration with fellow singer-songwriter Sam Smith. This single went viral on TikTok and hit number one on the music charts in multiple countries after its release.
In February, Petras and Smith won the Grammy Award for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance for “Unholy.” According to Billboard, this made Petras the first transgender woman artist to win a major-category Grammy.
The path to the album “Problématique” being released was not an easy feat. According to Billboard, in August 2022, Petras confirmed the rumors that “Problématique” was being shelved in response to a fan tweeting a picture of a gravestone that had the name of the album, the lead single and the years 2020-2022 on it. Later on, Petras reassured one of her fans that her project was still around, but that she didn’t get approval to release it yet at the time.
The album “Problématique” is inspired by French house music and contains ten tracks, with a guest appearance from Paris Hilton on the third track, “All She Wants.” Alongside this album being inspired by house music, it also has dreamy pop vibes.
The title track of the album starts the album off in an upbeat mood. The first few lines of the song, “That's cool... Hey, do you listen to Kim Petras? / Um, isn't she like, problematic? / No, she's problématique!” sets the mood for the rest of the song, which is Petras singing about how she acknowledges her haters, but that she is doing her own thing and enjoying making music. With this song being so upbeat, it prepares the listener for what the rest of the album has in store for them.
The third track on the album, “All She Wants,” is a fun dance song about a girl wanting the more luxurious things in life. Petras mentions the brands Gucci and Chanel, while Hilton mentions Tiffany, Cartier, Goyard and Gaultier in her verse. Petras and Hilton have collaborated on songs before, and I think the two collaborating together always creates a fun pop song. I personally find this song to be very catchy, and it is one of my favorites on the album.
The two tracks “Something About U” and “Confession” both talk about being in love with someone. In “Something About U,” Petras sings about her romantic interest by using space metaphors, such as when she sings, “Something about you, you, you, you that makes me go/Takes me to the moon, moon, moon, moon, celestial.” This is generally a slower song than the other ones on her album, but I feel like it works well. The instrumental in the background makes it sound very dreamy, almost like the listener is in space.
In “Confession,” Petras sings about having all these materialistic things that don’t interest her anymore, but the person she is interested in does.
Overall, the album “Problématique” is an enjoyable pop, dance and house album about being yourself and having fun. I always look forward to Petras’ albums because they are all just pleasing to listen to and put me in a good mood. If you are a fan of Charli XCX and like pop, dance or house music, this album might be for you.
