Kim Petras becomes first openly trans woman to win Grammy Award for Best Pop Duo

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By Phoebe Egoroff

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Kim Petras has made history as the first openly transgender singer to win a Grammy.

The 30-year-old singer - who hails from Germany - had taken home the coveted golden gramophone for Best Pop Duo for her and Sam Smith's song 'Unholy'.

Smith and Petras appeared on the red carpet alongside several others who star in the pair's music video, including RuPaul's Drag Race stars Gottmik and Violet Chachki.

Petras took to the stage to accept the award alongside Smith, revealing that they had encouraged her to accept the award alone, given how momentous the occasion was, given that Petras was the first openly transgender pop singer to win the award.

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Sam Smith and Kim Petras walked the Grammy red carpet together on Sunday night. Credit: UPI / Alamy

"Sam [Smith] graciously wanted me to accept this award, because I'm the first transgender woman to win this award," Petras began. "This song has been such an incredible, incredible journey for me. I just want to thank all the incredible transgender legends performing who kicked these doors open for me so I could be here tonight."

In her speech, Petras specifically thanked her late collaborator, Sophie, who sadly passed away two years ago, telling the audience: "[Sophie] told me this would happen, and always believed in me. Thank you so much for your inspiration, Sophie. I adore you."

The Los Angeles-based singer then took the time to call out Madonna, who she pointed out has always fought for LGBT rights. "Madonna for fighting for LGBTQ rights, thank you so much, I don't think I could be here without Madonna," she stated.

Later on in the evening, the 64-year-old 'Hung Up' singer introduced Smith and Petras for a standout rendition of 'Unholy'.

The song - which Smith received their fifth Grammy nomination for - debuted at number three on the US Billboard 100, slowly making its way to the number one spot within a month, Entertainment Weekly details. The song has been Smith's most successful song since their 2014 hit 'Stay With Me'.

After the awards ceremony ended, Petras wrote a now-viral tweet that reads: "omg i'm a tranny with a grammy …"

Fans on Twitter have congratulated Petras for her win, while also calling for greater recognition of Wendy Carlos, who won three Grammys during the 12th Grammy Awards in 1970 - though she collected the awards prior to coming out as transgender.

"lots of love for Kim Petras winning last night, but seeing lots of 'first trans woman to win a Grammy award!' posts and I need to remind you that Wendy Carlos won 3 of them," one user wrote.

Featured image credit: Sipa USA / Alamy