All Hail the Material Girl

It's hard to believe it's barely a year since Kim Petras released her breakout single, "I Don't Want It At All. " Like Madonna's early hit, "Material Girl," or Marilyn Monroe singing "Diamonds Are A Girls Best Friend," it's song that revels in a timeless theme: wealth and how to spend it. Petras has described it as inspired by pillow talk, and the "Princess and the Pea;" it ends with her and Paris Hilton stomping on a miniature Hamptons in heels, what she calls a "girly Godzila moment." It's also her signature song, a crowd rouser that connects, and it helped propel her career, including a spot on Charli XCX's Pop 2 mixtape. Starting in August she'll be supporting Troye Sivan's Bloom tour.

Related | Gallery: Kim Petras Takes Over The Studio by HBO In Provincetown

At an intimate conversation at The Studio in Provincetown yesterday--part of a special program hosted by Out and presented by HBO, the 25-year old pop star talked about how she began song-writing as a young teen looking to escape the bullying she experienced as a trans kid in her hometown in Germany. That early dedication and years of perseverance paid off. At the age of 19, Petras moved to Los Angeles where her career has since blossomed. Her new single, "Heart to Break," has already been played 8 million times on Spotify. "I wanted to find the formula of pop" she recently told Paris Hilton in an interview for Paper. To which you might reasonable reply: Mission Accomplished.

Kim Petras and Aaron Hicklin at The Studio by HBO in Provincetown. (Paul Marotta/Getty Images)

Petras got the chance to play her hits later in the day, when she headlined at the Loveloud Concert in Provincetown, held beneath the historic Pilgrim monument. Part of an all-LGBTQ lineup that also included Vincint and Parson James, the concert drew a capacity crowd. At one point Vincint left the stage and wandered through the audience for an impromptu sing-off with concert attendees. James sang his gorgeous, melancholic hit single, "Stole the Show." As the sun set over the harbor, Petras came on stage to a wild welcome, bookending her set with "I Don't Want it At All" and "Heart to Break."

Petras has dreamed of being a pop star from the age of 12, and her first full-length album, when it comes--sometime after she wraps the Troye Sivan tour--will surely cement that promise. She dismissed the idea that she was a celebrity during her conversation at The Studio, but her trajectory is clear, and she's riding it all the way.