PHOTOS: Kim Petras – Seattle, WA – 10/22/2019

In the world of modern pop, you’d be hard pressed to find an artist more exciting than Kim Petras. Since the release of her debut single “I Don’t Want It At All” in 2017, Petras has been stunning the world with sticky-sweet hooks, bouncy production, and lyrics that welcome the listener into her world of pop bliss. After releasing 11 singles in what has become known as her “Neon Hair Era”, Petras released ten new songs in ten weeks before fully releasing her debut studio album Clarity in June of 2019. The album is pop music at it’s finest where a fully assured Petras shows herself diving headfirst into the spotlight.

Only a few months after Clarity‘s release, she debuted her second full length project TURN OFF THE LIGHT. An expansion of her 2018 Halloween themed EP Turn off the Light, Vol. 1, the full length project is an homage to campy horror, through the lens of some of the year’s most infectious and ambitious electronic music. Half the album is instrumental tracks that add a brooding sense of atmosphere while staying fun and danceable.

On the Seattle stop of “The Clarity Tour”‘, Kim Petras seamlessly brought the different eras of her career together, making for a near flawless pop show. Opening with the Clarity title track and tour namesake, the crowd was enamored with Petras from the second she stepped on the stage. Through shrieks of excitement, the audience could be heard screaming every word. The first part of the show included standouts like “Hillside Boys” and “Blow It All”, with Charli XCX collaborations “Unlock It” and “Click” closing out the first part of the show.

While the beginning and end of the show was dedicated mostly to Petras’ neon haired singles and Clarity standouts, the middle third of the show was dedicated entirely to TURN OFF THE LIGHT. While Petras was off stage, instrumental track “Purgatory” blared through the speakers. As the song came to a close, Petras appeared atop a spinning platform for “There Will Be Blood”, kicking off the second act of the show. “Death by Sex” and “Everybody Dies” were absolute standouts, and instrumental tracks like “<demons>” and “Knives” gave Petras a chance to dance right along with the crowd.

The show’s final act included some of her biggest and brightest cuts, and a couple acoustic tracks as well. The acoustic arrangement of The Killers’ “Human” was a beautiful cover, and the punchy “Heart to Break” and booming “Sweet Spot” were perfect tracks to close out the show. The overall production, spectacle, and presence shown is something usually reserved for arena shows, but no matter where Kim Petras performs she makes it feel like the world’s biggest pop show. To everyone in the room, Kim Petras was the biggest superstar on the planet, and we think that someday she just might be.