What Madonna told Kim Petras before 2023 Grammys performance

Kim Petras made history at the Grammys — with a little help from Madonna, she says

Kim Petras in a copper strapless dress holding up a peace sign with her right hand, which is in a brown patent leather glove

June 23, 2023 8:56 AM PT

Kim Petras said Madonna offered her just four words of encouragement the night she made history at the 2023 Grammy Awards.

Three months after the singer became the first transgender woman to win a Grammy (for her song “Unholy” with Sam Smith), Petras is looking back at how Madge calmed her nerves before she took the stage to perform with Smith. In an interview with People, the singer recalled she “was so nervous, I was freaking out.”

“After her speech, [Madonna] turned around and mouthed to me, ‘Go get it, b—,’” the “Feed the Beast” artist said. “That made me feel like, I got this.”

At February’s 2023 Grammys, held in Los Angeles’ Crypto.com Arena, Madonna introduced the performance by Petras and Smith. The duo, clad in matching bright red outfits, performed their sensual song on a dark and fiery set.

That evening, Petras and Smith also shared the Grammy Award for pop duo/group performance. During her acceptance speech, Petras spoke about the historical moment and honored late friend and transgender musician Sophie, who died in 2021.

Fans on social media weren’t the only ones celebrating Petras’ accomplishment. In an Instagram post shared days after the music ceremony, Madonna said “it was an honor” to introduce the “Unholy” duo.

“I wanted to give the last award which was Album of the year, but I thought it was more important that I present the first trans- woman performing at the Grammys — a History making moment!!,” she said of Petras. “And on top of that she won a Grammy!! ♥️”

The “Material Girl” icon also used her Instagram post to shade critics who paid more attention to her face than to her efforts to celebrate trailblazing LGBTQ+ artists. The singer claimed she was once again “caught in the glare of ageism and [misogyny].”

Petras spoke about her moment with Madonna hours before releasing her major-label debut album “Feed the Beast” on Friday.

Kim Petras in a sparkling black dress, standing next to Sam Smith in a red outfit, and holding a Grammy Award

The singer’s love for Madonna goes back to before the 2023 Grammy Awards. In an interview with Los Angeles Times music critic Mikael Wood, Petras said the Grammy Award-winning “Vogue” singer was “the first person where in her music she was so masculine at some points and so feminine at some points.”

She added: “The music was so much about your mind and how that’s all that matters.”