Kim Petras on how working with Nicki Minaj changed her life

Kim Petras has had a huge year so far. After becoming the first openly transgender woman to receive a Grammy in the Best Pop Duo/Group Performance category with Sam Smith for the song ‘Unholy’, and becoming the first transgender woman to be honored at the Billboard Women in Music Awards, her collab with idol Nicki Minaj is just another high point in Petras’ life.

As a self-admitted “Barb”, that is, die-hard Nicki Minaj fan, having the ‘Starships’ singer join her on the song ‘Alone’ was a dream come true for the German pop star.

“She changed my life”

“It doesn’t feel real still,” Petras told Zane Lowe in an Apple Music interview. “Her singing ‘It’s Barbie and it’s Kim Petras,’ I cried,” she admitted.

In the song, Minaj even gives Petras a new nickname–Kim Petty. “All my friends are like, ‘How do we not come up with that our entire lives?’ So she just changed my life in so many ways with that verse–and that verse rips.”

“I love her and I’m so inspired by her always, it’s crazy to me. I don’t know how she does it, but she’s just the greatest ever. I’m so happy that she likes the song.”

Reworking a classic 90s dance track

‘Alone’ features a sample of the 1999 club hit ‘Better Off Alone’ by Alice Deejay, an instantly recognizable piece of trance music.

Petras changed the lyrics to better fit the current era, with a chorus that goes: “I’ve been tryna give it to you all night, what’s it gonna take to get you all alone?”

“I was born and raised in Germany and that song is a classic in clubs and all over Europe, so I grew up to it, I had a lot of amazing moments, some bad moments, so many club moments in general to that song.

“So that song is like, in me, and I feel like it inspired me to make music. So I’m so honored that Alice Deejay let us do this because it’s epic.”

Excitement for the music video

Minaj was instantly a fan of ‘Alone’ Petras says when she met the ‘Chun Li’ singer on the set of the ‘Alone’ music video.

“We shot the music video together and she was like, ‘Ugh, when I heard the song, I just loved it,’ and that just made so happy,”

“I feel like I’ve learned so much. I feel like I love her more. When the camera’s on, it’s crazy. She just goes into full superstar.”

‘Alone’ is now available to stream on all major music streaming platforms.