Kim Petras believes she's faced a "double standard" in the music business.
Kim Petras has bemoaned the double standards she's faced
The 31-year-old singer has enjoyed huge success with her upbeat tunes, and Kim insists that her music requires "just as much effort as writing a slow ballad".
Kim - whose 2022 single, 'Unholy', saw her become the first openly transgender solo artist to reach number one in the US - told the BBC: "I think there's a double standard in music where the stuff that gets taken seriously is sad and depressed, because those emotions are so hard. But a lot of the time, I feel very depressed and the way to get myself out of it is to write a ridiculous song. If I write a sad one, it's just going to make me sadder.
"So, for me, making happy songs, or slutty songs, takes just as much effort as writing a slow ballad. Just because it doesn't seem like there's any hurt or pain going into the creation of that, it doesn't mean it's not there."
Kim has always found joy in music and at times, it's helped her through some of her personal struggles.
The chart-topping star - who went through her gender transition as a teenager - said: "I was always singing. Music was my happy place and honestly very helpful in my transition. I went through that stuff very early and music allowed me to sing and twirl and forget about how the world reacted to me.
"Once I started learning how to write, it immediately became my job. I figured, OK, you live in the middle of nowhere, no-one's going to write songs for you, so you'd better learn to do it yourself.
"I wanted to be like an Indiana Jones of music and find the magic formula to pop."