If Jesus Was a Rockstar

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"If Jesus Was a Rockstar"
Single by Kim Petras
Released11 November 2022 (2022-11-11)
GenrePop[1]
Length2:50
Label
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
Kim Petras singles chronology
"Unholy"
(2022) 		"If Jesus Was a Rockstar"
(2022) 		"Brrr"
(2023)

"If Jesus Was a Rockstar" is a song by German singer Kim Petras, released on 11 November 2022 through Amigo and Republic Records.[2] The song was originally planned to serve as the lead single from Petras' debut studio album Feed the Beast (2023), but it was ultimately dropped from the tracklist.[3] It was written by Petras, Ilya Salmanzadeh, Savan Kotecha, Max Martin, Omer Fedi and Peter Svensson, with Ilya, Martin and Fedi serving as producers.

Background and recording[edit]

Petras expected to write the song with just Savan Kotecha and Ilya, but Max Martin was also present when she met with the writers, and he ended up co-writing and producing the song as well as providing backing vocals on it. Petras and the three "talked about the song" then tried out things "to see what stuck".[4]

The song was described as "guitar-driven" and a "new era" for Petras, with Petras calling it "fun" but "also really lyrically intense", as it was written after she "struggled with her spirituality over the [COVID-19] pandemic" and reflected on her feeling "excluded" from religion growing up.[4] Petras also spoke about wanting to "switch things up" from the "gay club music" she had become known for and "sing about something deeply meaningful, something that I struggle with and something that is just honest".[4]

Petras elaborated that "the song kinda says maybe if religion was cooler, then I would wanna be a part of it. So, if Jesus was a rockstar, maybe I'd want to be just like him."[5]

Promotion[edit]

Petras first revealed the song on TikTok in September 2022, before revealing the release date on social media on 1 November.[6] An acoustic version was released on 13 December 2022.[7]

Charts[edit]

Chart performance for "If Jesus Was a Rockstar"
Chart (2022) Peak
position
Japan Hot Overseas (Billboard Japan)[8] 19

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Kim Petras shares new single "If Jesus Was a Rockstar"". The Fader. 11 November 2022. Retrieved 11 January 2023.
  2. ^ "Kim Petras is releasing a new song next week". DIY. 1 November 2022. Retrieved 11 November 2022.
  3. ^ "Kim Petras Imagines 'If Jesus Was a Rockstar' on New Single". Rolling Stone. 11 November 2022. Retrieved 11 January 2023.
  4. ^ a b c Ackroyd, Stephen (10 November 2022). "Kim Petras: "No one's heard anything like this from me before"". Dork. Retrieved 11 November 2022.
  5. ^ Daw, Stephen (18 October 2022). "Kim Petras Broke Records With 'Unholy' — Now She Wants to 'Break The Cycle' for Fellow Trans Artists". Billboard. Retrieved 11 November 2022.
  6. ^ Kenneally, Cerys (1 November 2022). "Kim Petras' "If Jesus Was A Rockstar" single comes out next week". The Line of Best Fit. Retrieved 11 November 2022.
  7. ^ Schube, Will (13 December 2022). "Kim Petras Shares Acoustic Version Of 'If Jesus Was A Rockstar'". U Discover Music. Retrieved 24 May 2023.
  8. ^ "Billboard Japan Hot Overseas – Week of November 30, 2022". Billboard Japan (in Japanese). Retrieved 30 November 2022.
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