Problématique is the second studio album by German singer Kim Petras, surprise-released on 18 September 2023 through Amigo and Republic. Originally planned to be her debut studio album, it faced multiple delays and was initially cancelled in 2022 in favour of Feed the Beast (2023).[2][3]
The album mainly explores themes of love and sex, heavily rooted on the premise of escapism, as the singer conceived the project during the COVID-19 lockdown.[4] Petras described the music as "very European" and "front to back pop", also experimenting with disco, French house and German techno for the songs.[5][6]
The singles "Future Starts Now" and "Coconuts" were released in 2021 to promote Problématique; following its initial cancellation, the latter was included on Feed the Beast, while the former was ultimately scrapped from the album's final tracklist.[7][8][9]
Problématique received generally positive reviews upon its official release in 2023. Most critics found the album catchy and entertaining, and lamented its initial shelving, calling it a "missed opportunity".[10]
Paris Hilton (pictured in 2021) features on "All She Wants".
Approximately 80 songs were considered for the album. Petras worked with record producers Alex Chapman and Aaron Joseph in Laurel Canyon, Los Angeles.[11]
In late 2021, Hilton Dresden of Paper wrote, "But this year alone, amidst a raging pandemic, has seen [Petras] complete an 18-track album — her longest and, based on our conversation, the pop star's favorite body of work ever."[12] In an interview with Dresden, Petras said of the album:
... it's 18 songs, so it's the longest album I've ever made. Everything is very uptempo. It's all inspired by different genres of dance music, or electronic music, or EDM, techno. It's hard to talk about because every song is completely different from each other, but when you put them all together they make an experience, which I love.[12]
According to Atwood Magazine's Julia Dzurillay, the album's title is "a nod to her French-inspired lyrics that also poked fun at her 'problematic' work relationship with producer Dr. Luke". The start of the title track has someone asking their friend if they listen to Kim Petras.[13] Other songs include "Je T'Adore" and "All She Wants" featuring Paris Hilton.[14][15]
In August 2021,[16] Petras released "Future Starts Now" as a lead single for her upcoming album, along with a French-themed music video. She debuted "Coconuts" and "Hit It from the Back" at the 2021 MTV Europe Music Awards,[17] becoming the first trans artist to perform at the award show.[18] According to People magazine's Jack Irvin, "Coconuts" was "released to viral success" in December 2021 and "Hit It from the Back" became available to pre-save at Petras' website without a release date.[14] "Coconuts" and "Hit It from the Back" were later included on Petras' debut album Feed the Beast.
In August 2022, Hilton confirmed her collaboration on "All She Wants". Sending Petras birthday wishes on social media, Hilton wrote, "Happy Birthday sis. Love you so much! So f---ing proud of you! Keep #Sliving! So excited for our new song". The end of her post included a hashtag of the song's title.[19]
Petras suggested the album was stalled by record producer and songwriter Dr. Luke (pictured in 2014), who owns Republic Records imprint Amigo Records. Atwood Magazine's Julia Dzurillay said the album's title "poked fun at [Petras'] 'problematic' work relationship" with the producer.
Between July and August 2022, Petras addressed rumors about the album's release on social media. She suggested the project was stalled by Amigo Records (the Dr. Luke-owned imprint of Republic Records) after a fan tweeted『R.I.P. PROBLÉMATIQUE! Please leave your flowers in the comments』along with a photoshopped image of a gravestone mentioning the album's title and lead single. Petras replied with a rose emoji and said,『It's ok if u wanna listen to the leaks … I'm not getting to put out any music anyways I'm f—ed. I'm devastated idk how all of this happened and I just wanna quit.』In subsequent tweets, she said "Nothing is scrapped I didn't get approval to release anything. It's limbo" as well as "I hope you enjoy the songs truly. I made them for you guys so I hope you like them."[20] Some of Petras' posts were deleted.[14]
In November 2022, Petras said of the project: "It's what I cooked up during lockdown. All I wanted to do was to escape, so I made Problématique, which was this super Euro-pop, gay pop explosion, which I adore and love and I worked very hard on and am very proud of. But it just felt like the moment had come for me to say something different than that." She told People magazine: "I signed to Republic Records, I started working with so many amazing creative people, and I just started having new things to say, and I just took a turn, and then Problématique leaked. I just was in a moment with my music where I felt like I really wanted to switch it up and I was a little bored of making club songs, especially after Slut Pop."[21]
Following her September 2022 release of "Unholy" with Sam Smith, Petras recalled in 2023:
Everyone needs a friend to hype you up, and honestly, at the time when Sam came to me, it was kind of a rough time because my album [Problématique] had just leaked and kind of scrapped. I was newly signed to a major label [Republic Records in 2021], and everyone felt like I needed to come up with a new album. I didn't know when new music was coming out. It wasn't the greatest time for me.[22]
After the album's initial scrapping, Petras released her debut studio album Feed the Beast in June 2023.[23]
In a positive review, Robin Murray from Clash classified Problématique as "ridiculously entertaining" and a "perfect kiss off to [our] collective summer", praising most of the songs, while being more critical of some others, such as "Treat Me Like a Ho".[26] Writing for DIY, Otis Robinson called the album a "course-correction" for Petras and stated that her "clubby hooks remains ecstatic", but thought the project felt "chained to its history without a proper roll-out".[27]
Following the initial scrapping of the album, Harry Brocklehurst of The Tab wrote, "Problematique getting shelved is a horrific loss to the pop universe, and I will never forgive Kim's label for doing this era the injustice that it has. I hope one day the record surfaces on streaming. 'Future Starts Now' should be taught in lead single class at music school til the end of time."[28]
