Kim Petras Releases First Solo Single Without Dr. Luke in 5 Years

Kim Petras is flying high with her songs "Unholy" (with Sam Smith) and "If Jesus Was a Rockstar." Not only are they two of her most critically acclaimed songs, but they represent a new direction for Petras -- one that moves away from Dr. Luke.

In her terrific new song "If Jesus Was a Rockstar," Petras steps into new pop heights. It's an acoustic track that shows off Petras' great vocals and delivers a memorable hook that will leave you singing along.

The song was produced by pop icon Max Martin, a producer she's wanted to work with for years. This means that it is not produced by Dr. Luke, the controversial producer she has worked with for most of her career.

While we stan Kim, many fans have been upset by her consistent work with producer Dr. Luke (real name Lukasz Gottwald). In 2014, singer and fellow pop icon Kesha, who had long worked with Dr. Luke and is still on his record label, accused the producer of emotional and sexual abuse over several years.

Petras is now starting to open up about why she worked with Dr. Luke for so long, and what her future will hold.

"I think people underestimate how hard it was for me to find anyone who truly believed in me," she told i-D. "I had a lot of great times with the people I worked with, but it's also time for me to be my own person, and do my own shit, and explore what's out there. It definitely took a little courage for me to do that right now."

She told The Guardian that coming into her own as a trans woman pop star has been difficult, but she's ready for her next steps.

"I'm learning how to be myself more as well - from trying to get everyone to like me to being unapologetic in who I am," she said.

When Billboard talked to Petras about her hit song with Sam Smith, "Unholy," her first top 40 charting song, and one that doesn't involve Dr. Luke, she said she was excited to move on.

"I'm just grateful that I have a hit, period. I've spent so long in this industry, and I feel like the music industry in general is just this weird game that people play, and it feels awesome to actually have success with an artist I adore," she said. "That's been a really authentic journey for me, coming along the way that it did. So yeah, I'm just grateful people like a song I made."

Petras first addressed her work with Dr. Luke in 2018. "While I've been open and honest about my positive experience with Dr. Luke, that does not negate or dismiss the experience of others or suggest that multiple perspectives cannot exist at once," she said at the time. "I didn't communicate this clearly in the past."

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