Sam Smith & Kim Petras delivered a Fiery Performance of their hit collaboration “Unholy” at the 2023 GRAMMYs that brought crowds to their feet! Keep reading to know more about this controversial performance…
Image Credit: Courtesy of CBS
Before Petras made her grand appearance in a huge cage accompanied by she-devils wearing a latex suit and satanic headgear, Smith opened the performance in a red leather outfit with stunning latex thigh-high platforms, surrounded by a group of dancers who appeared to have just arrived from the set of “The Ring.”
As a wall of fire erupted on stage behind Petras’ prison, the pair screamed in hellish harmony, “Mummy don’t know daddy’s gettin’ hot/ At the body shop, doin’ something unholy.”
[Performance] Sam Smith y Kim Petras interpretando “Unholy” en los #GRAMMYs. pic.twitter.com/Kl0aH9655Y
— Top Music Universe (@TopMUniverse) February 6, 2023
The performance took place shortly after they accepted the GRAMMY for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance, making Petras the first trans woman to win in the category.
Kim said, amid applause and standing ovations from many of the musicians present, “Sam graciously wanted me to accept this award because I’m the first transgender woman to win this award.”
She also thanked her late friend and collaborator Sophie in her acceptance speech for paving the way with her own GRAMMY nomination for Best Dance/Electronic Album for her album Oil of Every Pearl Un-Insides in 2019.
Petras discussed her place in the long line of trans GRAMMY nominations and winners saying “I’m proud,” she told GRAMMY.com. “I just feel like they’ve all kind of been overlooked a lot, and never really got what they deserved regarding their influence… It’s cool to be in the same category as those artists that I really look up to.”
“Unholy” was released in September 2022, it quickly fired to the top of the charts everywhere, making Smith and Petras the first openly non-binary and trans musicians, respectively, to win the Billboard Hot 100.
Another significant turning point for Petras came from the industrial dance track. Not only was “Unholy” her No. 1, but it was also her very first Billboard chart appearance and first platinum-certified song by the Recording Industry Association of America.
Published by HOLR Magazine.