Sam Smith

LOS ANGELES CALIFORNIA FEBRUARY 05 Sam Smith performs onstage during the 65th GRAMMY Awards at Crypto. Sam Smith (Kevin Winter/Getty Images).

Last year, she [unveiled a cover](https://pitchfork.com/news/kim-petras-covers-kate-bush-running-up-that-hill-listen/) of the Kate Bush song “Running Up That Hill” as part of Amazon Music’s Pride Month celebration. [Sam Smith](https://pitchfork.com/artists/31101-sam-smith/) and [Kim Petras](https://pitchfork.com/artists/kim-petras/) performed their song “ [Unholy](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uq9gPaIzbe8)” at [the 2023 Grammy Awards](https://pitchfork.com/topics/grammys/) tonight (February 5) in Los Angeles. During their acceptance speech, Petras—the first trans woman to win the award—paid tribute to the [late artist Sophie](https://pitchfork.com/thepitch/remembering-sophies-radical-futurism/) for inspiring her. [Follow along for all of Pitchfork’s coverage of the 2023 Grammy Awards](https://pitchfork.com/topics/grammys/). Last month, Smith and Petras performed “Unholy” on After being introduced by [Madonna](https://pitchfork.com/artists/2637-madonna/) (who arrived onstage holding a riding crop), Smith emerged surrounded by dancers on a circular platform.

Kim Petras, who performed on Sam Smith's "Unholy," made Grammys history when she became the first transgender woman to win best pop duo or group.

"All these years are going through my head of people saying I would be a niche artist and my music would only be played in gay clubs," Petras said. The video has sparked strong reactions on Twitter, where users have attacked and defended the singer. "I grew up next to a highway in nowhere-Germany, and my mother believed that I was a girl," Petras said. "I adore you, and your inspiration will forever be in my music." "Sam has been a special friend and supporter of mine," Petras said. "Sam, you are a true angel and hero in my life.

Sam Smith and Kim Petras took the 65th GRAMMY Awards to the depths with a transgressive performance of their hit song. GRAMMYs/Feb 5, 2023 - 07:22 pm.

[Samara Joy](https://www.grammy.com/artists/samara-joy/51872) was awarded the [GRAMMY for Best New Artist](https://www.grammy.com/news/samara-joy-best-new-artist-winner-2023-grammys-awards) — only the second time a jazz artist has won the award, and the first since [Esperanza Spalding](https://www.grammy.com/artists/esperanza-spalding/10114)'s win in 2011. [ Lil Wayne](https://www.grammy.com/artists/lil-wayne/4037), [Missy Elliott](https://www.grammy.com/artists/missy-misdemeanor-elliott/11451) and [Dr. [Kendrick Lamar](https://www.grammy.com/artists/kendrick-lamar/17949) was well-represented in both the General and Rap fields, and commensurately for Mr. (Songwriter Of The Year, Non-Classical), "Assassin's Creed Valhalla: Dawn Of Ragnarok" (Best Score Soundtrack For Video Games And Other Interactive Media), [Wet Leg](https://www.grammy.com/artists/wet-leg/52310) (Best Alternative Music Performance for " [Chaise Longue](https://www.grammy.com/news/wet-leg-chaise-longue-interview-video-2023-grammys-best-new-artist-meet-first-time-nominee)"), [Bonnie Raitt](https://www.grammy.com/artists/bonnie-raitt/15857) (Best Americana Performance for "Made Up Mind") and [J. Dre](https://www.grammy.com/artists/dr-dre/2199) was the [inaugural recipient](http://grammy.com/news/dr-dre-2023-grammys-global-impact-award-inaugural-recipient) of his namesake Dr. At the Telecast, [Kim Petras](https://www.grammy.com/artists/kim-petras/52054) scored a major win for the transgender community with her [Best Pop Duo/Group Performance victory](https://www.grammy.com/news/sam-smith-kim-petras-unholy-winner-best-pop-duo-group-performance-2023-grammys-watch-acceptance-speech), and [Dr. [Songwriter Of The Year, Non-Classical](https://www.grammy.com/news/tobias-jesso-winner-songwriter-year-non-classical-2023-grammys-watch-acceptance-speech) (Tobias Jesso Jr.) and [Best Score Soundtrack for Video Games and Other Interactive Media](https://www.grammy.com/videos/assassins-creed-wins-best-score-soundtrack-video-games-interactive-media-2023-grammys-premiere-ceremony) ("Assassin's Creed Valhalla: Dawn Of Ragnarok"). ( [Aaron Neville](https://www.grammy.com/artists/aaron-neville/13759) With [The Dirty Dozen Brass Band](https://www.grammy.com/artists/the-dirty-dozen-brass-band/52267) won in that category, for "Stompin' Ground." [2023 GRAMMY Nominations: See The Complete Winners & Nominees List](https://www.grammy.com/news/2023-grammy-nominations-complete-winners-nominees-list) [Germaine Franco](https://www.grammy.com/artists/germaine-franco/51750) said she believed herself to be the first woman of color to win the GRAMMY Award. [Lin-Manuel Miranda](https://www.grammy.com/artists/lin-manuel-miranda/14941), the ensemble song "We Don't Talk About Bruno" beat out works from [Beyoncé](https://www.grammy.com/artists/beyonce-knowles/12474), [Taylor Swift](https://www.grammy.com/artists/taylor-swift/15450), [Lady Gaga](https://www.grammy.com/artists/lady-gaga/3611), [Angélique Kidjo](https://www.grammy.com/artists/angelique-kidjo/9915), and [Billie Eilish](https://www.grammy.com/artists/billie-eilish/251741) and [Finneas O’Connell](https://www.grammy.com/artists/finneas-oconnell/251939). [very first trans woman](https://www.grammy.com/news/kim-petras-unholy-sam-smith-2023-grammys-interview-video-trans-artist-slut-pop-meet-the-first-time-nominee) to ever win in the category.

Sam Smith and Kim Petras sang "Unholy" at the 2023 Grammys. Get the details.

During her speech, she thanked Madonna for “fighting for LGBTQ rights,” her mother “who believed me that I was a girl” and the late artist-producer SOPHIE, a dear friend. 5) took the Grammy for best pop duo/group performance, [Madonna](https://www.billboard.com/artist/madonna) gave a stand-out speech about being daring, provocative, controversial and dangerous in music, deeming it all to be a sign that an artist is doing something important – if not “a bit unholy.” “[SOPHIE] told me this would happen and always believed in me,” Petras said during her acceptance speech. (Host Trevor Noah later joked on a fake phone call to his mother, “No, that was not the devil.”) 1 hit “Unholy.” Smith opened the set — stunning in latex thigh-high platforms — on the circular center stage, surrounded by dancers who looked fresh off the set of The Ring. They then turned it over to Petras for her verse, which she performed on the main stage in a cage as flames burned brightly behind her.

Sam Smith just rocked up to the 2023 Grammys in their most daring red carpet look to date. · You may have noticed that Sam has been a lot more experimental with ...

Violet Chachki and Gottmik also appear in the video, so it's fitting that they join the team for the red carpet. Sam and Kim are nominated for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance for their hit "Unholy," so it's fitting that the vibe matches the video: Yes, Sam took to the red carpet alongside Kim Petras, Violet Chachki, and Gottmik.

Petras, who paid tribute to the late artist Sophie in her acceptance speech, is the first trans woman to win the award.

[Love Goes](https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/sam-smith-love-goes/). [Sam Smith](https://pitchfork.com/artists/31101-sam-smith/) and [Kim Petras](https://pitchfork.com/artists/kim-petras/) have won [the 2023 Grammy Award](https://pitchfork.com/topics/grammys/) for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance. During the acceptance speech, Smith let their collaborator take the microphone.

Cruz was responding to a clip of Sam Smith at the Grammys posted by podcaster Liz Wheeler, who said: "Demons are teaching your kids to worship Satan."

"I personally grew up wondering about religion and wanting to be a part of it, but then slowly realizing it doesn't want me to be a part of it. Yeah, you did warn me about Hollywood." I could throw up." In the press room following the performance, Petras elaborated on the performance: "I think a lot of people, honestly, have kind of labeled what I stand for and what Sam stands for as religiously not cool. "This…is…evil," commented Cruz, a Republican, of the performance in a tweet Sunday. Ted Cruz denounced the Grammys as "evil" in a tweet on Sunday.

Smith and Petras are nominated for their chart-topping hit in the category for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance. While this is Smith's seventh Grammy nomination, ...

Sam Smith and Kim Petras blew everyone away with their performance of 'Unholy' and the 2023 Grammy Awards.

The entire set design was adorned with red everything, and Sam and Kim matched their scarlet-sporting ensemble of dancers – it was a full production! The win was a historic moment as Kim Petras became the first transgender woman to win the award for the award. Sam Smith and Kim Petras blew everyone away with their performance of 'Unholy' and the 2023 Grammy Awards.

They leaned more toward basics and didn't experiment much with color or texture. Now, the English singer-songwriter has grown into themselves and has become ...

[Academy Award](https://www.lofficielusa.com/film-tv/oscars-2020-how-to-stream) for Best Original Song, and five [Grammys](https://www.lofficielusa.com/beauty/best-beauty-looks-from-the-2022-grammys-red-carpet) (most recently the [Grammy for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance](https://www.lofficielusa.com/music/2023-grammy-awards-winners)). Most recently, Smith made an appearance at the [Valentino](https://www.lofficielusa.com/fashion/valentino-spring-summer-2023-haute-couture-show-collection-runway) show during [Paris Couture Week](https://www.lofficielusa.com/fashion-week/celine-dion-haute-couture-paris-2019) to promote their new album Gloria, which was released on January 27. [Sam Smith](https://www.lofficielusa.com/music/logic-adds-powerful-remix-for-sam-smith-s-pray) has really come into their own when it comes to their fashion choices.

Sam Smith and Kim Petras' "Unholy" Grammys set is called "Satanic" and "evil" by conservatives, including Ted Cruz.

During the ceremony on Sunday Another added some conspiracy-baiting into the mix, [saying](https://twitter.com/robbystarbuck/status/1622450108641021953) Madonna (who introduced the performance) [ looked like a statue](https://www1.cbn.com/cbnnews/us/2023/january/nyc-elevates-horned-statue-paying-homage-to-rbg-and-abortion-critics-say-it-looks-satanic) erected in New York City that conservatives have called “satanic” as well. “I know we on the right probably use the word satanic too often but this performance from Sam Smith is literally a tribute to Satan,” [wrote](https://twitter.com/ben_kew/status/1622451517759315969) one viewer. 5), [Sam Smith](http://billboard.com/artist/sam-smith) and [Kim Petras](http://billboard.com/artist/kim-petras) offered a rousing [performance](https://www.billboard.com/music/awards/sam-smith-kim-petras-unholy-2023-grammys-1235213311/) of their hit single “ [Unholy](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uq9gPaIzbe8&ab_channel=SamSmithVEVO),” in which Petras performed alongside drag stars Violet Chachki and Gottmik dressed in devil costumes, while Smith was in a bright red top hat with devil horns sticking out from it for the final chorus. “I just want to thank all the incredible transgender legends before me who kicked these doors open for me so I could be here tonight,” she said during her speech, especially thanking the late SOPHIE for her constant support. “Everyone who believed in me to this point, I love you so much.”

Ted Cruz, Marjorie Taylor Greene, and other conservatives are raising hell about Sam Smith's "Unholy" performance at the Grammys.

[Marjorie Taylor Greene](https://www.rollingstone.com/t/marjorie-taylor-greene/) (R-Ga.). “So what’s the story with Satan and the transgressive ideology? It would be laughable if so many people didn’t believe in it, and those who do, do so so rabidly that they’ll use absolutely anything they can, [even President Biden talking in front of red light](https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/biden-speech-jan6-fascism-trump-satan-hitler-1234586365/), to push it. The buttoned-up, right-wing political commentariat was not pleased, particularly about [Sam Smith and Kim Petras](https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/kim-petras-becomes-first-trans-women-to-win-grammy-1234674280/)‘ performance of “Unholy” — which featured fire, red lighting, and Smith sporting a pair of horns. There was a time when conservatives would point to harmless allusions to the devil in popular culture, throw up their hands, lament the youth, and that would be the end of it. [Sam Smith](https://www.rollingstone.com/t/sam-smith/)’s demonic performance and was sponsored by Pfizer,” wrote Rep.

"Unholy" collaborators Sam Smith and Kim Petras went for a red-hot coordinated fashion moment on the Grammys 2023 red carpet, joined by Gottmik and Violet ...

[tweeted](https://twitter.com/maemurrayxo/status/1619996988111720448?s=20&t=t1d_lHLyQ1Tyz9ZaWLut1w) in response. [took the stage](https://nypost.com/2023/01/25/bad-bunny-mary-j-blige-more-to-perform-at-grammys-2023/) during the Grammys for a fiery performance of “Unholy” that polarized viewers; conservative types (including Texas Sen. [Added](https://twitter.com/OwenJones84/status/1620004014531448833?s=20&t=t1d_lHLyQ1Tyz9ZaWLut1w) author Owen Jones, “Sex has always been a running theme in modern pop music, and music videos often flaunt it. “If Sam Smith were thin, cis, and straight, they wouldn’t be ridiculed for how they present and dress. If Harry Styles wore the same fits on a magazine cover, y’all would be screaming YAS QUEEN. [on the Grammys 2023 red carpet](https://pagesix.com/2023/02/05/grammys-2023-live-red-carpet-all-the-celebrity-outfits/) Sunday.

The satanic panic never seems to end, especially when a queer artist takes the stage.

and having people shouting at me in the street. Someone spat at me in the street. “What people don’t realize with trans non-binary people in the U.K. [anti-trans bills](https://www.texastribune.org/2023/01/09/transgender-laws-gender-care-texas-legislature/) ravaging states such as the Cruz-led [Texas](https://www.kut.org/politics/2023-01-20/anti-trans-legislation-texas-legislature), the anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric of the satanic panic unfortunately motivates political repercussions. And not being able to live the way that people might want you to live, because as a trans person I’m already not kind of wanted in religion. have emerged looking to eliminate trans-affirming care, and even the mere existence of [drag shows](https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2022/11/texas-transgender-ban-drag-shows-criminalize-parents.html). “So that was the hardest part, I think, was being at home in the U.K. The two took the Grammys stage for a performance of their song “Unholy,” which [won the award](https://www.avclub.com/here-are-the-winners-for-the-2023-grammys-1850076342) for Best Pop Duo Or Group Performance. It all feeds into the conspiracy that Hollywood’s trying to cause the collapse of society and poison the next generation, a dated but enduring theory. This form of political violence works on a macro and micro level. “So it’s a take on not being able to choose religion. [first out transgender woman](https://www.avclub.com/kim-petras-becomes-first-transgender-woman-to-win-best-1850076438) to win in the category, she and Smith stoked the flames of controversy with a fiery, hell-themed performance—much to conservative’s chagrin.

Ted Cruz and more Republican figures are melting down over Kim Petras and Sam Smith's Grammys performance of "Unholy."

“Unholy” won the Grammy for best pop duo/group performance, making Petras the first openly transgender woman to win in the category. “So it’s a take on not being able to choose religion. “I just want to thank all the incredible transgender legends before me who kicked these doors open before me so I could be here tonight,” Petras said in her acceptance speech. “Satanism is the worship of the self. The playful and relatively tame “Unholy” performance featured Smith wearing a hat with devil horns, Petras singing from inside a cage and background dancers wearing red outfits and holding whips. Several conservative figures stormed social media in the aftermath of the performance to detest Smith and Petras for bringing a “satanic ritual” to screens across America.

Sam Smith's song "Unholy" was praised by CBS before the Grammys on Twitter, with the outlet saying they were 'ready to worship' the singer dressed as Satan.

I mean I already know this but here they are saying it," he mocked. "This is what CBS said to Sam Smith right before he did his demonic performance as Satan. It’s all out in the open now," he tweeted. "I mean i think it’s a pretty big story that a TV network with a News Department that is relied on by a lot of people openly says they worship satan. The strange tweet drew eyeballs Monday morning. [CBS was](https://www.foxnews.com/media/mccarthy-spars-cbs-host-election-denial-hypocrisy-why-dont-hold-democrats-accountable) "compromised by evil."

The duo took home the award for their hit single, "Unholy," which they performed during the awards ceremony.

She is best known for scoring Stanley Kubrick's 1971 cult classic, "Clockwork Orange." "I adore you, and your inspiration will forever be in my music." It was the first number one hit for both artists, according to The duo took home the award for their hit single, "Unholy," which they also performed during the awards ceremony. [Billboard](https://www.billboard.com/music/chart-beat/sam-smith-kim-petras-unholy-number-one-hot-100-1235160237/), and Smith and Petras were the first publicly nonbinary and transgender artsts to top the Hot 100. Kim Petras and Sam Smith become the first transgender and nonbinary winners of the Grammy for Best Pop Duo Performance