For those who haven’t strolled out into the Chicago air lately, might I tell you one thing: It is cold. Not just any sort of cold weather. This is an aggressive cold. A cold with an unwavering vengeance on anyone who dares to stand in its charted path. To step out into the wind is to feel as if you are being attacked by a barrage of knives.
Which is to say that winter is upon us, frigid and depressing and — might I add once again — cold. Life feels so dim. The sunlight is out for as long as it takes to get your rapid Covid test results, and the nights are never-ending. Sad music playlists are in, and the world of vibrant pop music has fallen into hibernation while we await the glorious summer sun to return with some fun summer anthems. Yet, despite all the snowy gloom and being stuck in our rooms, the hyper-pop music of Kim Petras has descended through the dark clouds of winter to banish our blues with a bright taste of summer fun.
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For those unaware of pop artist Kim Petras, here is a quick introduction.
Born in and raised in Germany, Kim Petras is a singer and songwriter of pop, EDM, dance-pop, and other pop-adjacent genres. Having risen to popularity in the last five years, working with artists such as Charlie XCX and Kygo, Petras signed with Republic Records in 2021 and plans to release her first album in 2022. Recognized as a trailblazer for the transgender community, having transitioned publicly in 2008 at 16. Kim Petras represents a part of LGBTQ+ community underrepresented in mainstream music and makes music for her people— her music having gained extreme popularity in the queer night scene especially.
Her newest single, “Coconuts” released two months earlier, to the shock of her fans, on December 3rd, 2021, following the release of “Future Starts Now” a few months prior. “Coconuts” is a provocative and bubbly pop anthem that celebrates the body, sexuality, and summer.
But before I continue this article, I feel I must affirm what you may be thinking: Yes. This song is a tribute to Kim Petra’s breasts and breasts in general. You may feel jarred by this, but you will come to love it.
“Coconuts” is inarguably a memorable song. With a bouncy melody with whimsical summer-themed lyrics underscored by a deep bassline. While the song follows the well-constructed pop formula—a formula that we are all well acquainted with—the song is fresh and ripe among other pop songs. There isn’t a song closely comparable to “Coconuts” adding to the song’s exciting authenticity. That is to say, the song has created a league of its own. Which in part are thanks to its unabashedly creative and fruity sexual euphemisms, implanted in every sentence and the cherry on top.
The euphemisms are addictive. Paired alongside the melody, they stay with you. They are bubbly and encompass many points of reference. A great example is in the first pre-chorus: “So juicy and so ripe / You wouldn’t believe (believe) / I give em’ different names / Mary-Kate and Ashley”.
In this single pre-chorus alone, Petras draws from many places. From comparison to fresh fruit to a reference to notable twins Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen, there is an array of summer and pop culture references is throughout. Nearly every line in the song is a euphemism, and even the song title itself “Coconuts” has its own sexual connotation. While the song’s euphemisms are on the nose, the song isn’t always direct about it. Instead, Petras opts to masquerade her song as a bubbly radio-friendly anthem that with each listen becomes a colorfully energetic homage to breasts.
The song has exploded online because of how it blurs the line between blatant sexuality and summer anthem. Everyone on Twitter has taken a taste and clearly adores this carbonated summer anthem of sexual confidence that Kim Petras.
Besides the song itself, what is so brilliant about “Coconuts” is its release. The timing is perfect. What makes “Coconuts” the perfect release is that it aims to subvert what we expect of the winter music market and does so by flawlessly opposing the status quo. Following the mass release of somber and contemplative music, such as Adele’s 30, the release of “Coconuts” is the fantastical summer sun among the slippery ice. It is surprising, bright, and opposes winter so avidly. Also, followed by the release of a lyric video and dance video, reminiscent of 2010’s music videos (i.e., California Girls by Katy Perry). By giving us a winter pop anthem, Petras makes the song stand out in our minds and in the eye of the media. She has held our attention with her coconuts.
But Petras knows this. Framing the publicity for the single around this idea of a winter anthem as seen in this Paper Magazine shoot.
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Kim Petras clearly understands her audience, what they want, and how to best deliver it. She is irreverent and unabashed and has defined her career in her choice to do what she pleases. Petras isn’t afraid of pushing bounds, having performed “Coconuts” at the EMA’s in Hungary despite intense laws regarding “vulgar content,” risking an arrest. “Coconuts” is a prime example of Kim Petras and her understanding of what her career needs while best releasing this song so it can be best appreciated. “Coconuts” is the perfect winter anthem. That is what is so brilliant, as it pushes past our expectations. We don’t expect pop during this time of year, yet I can’t imagine a winter without “Coconuts” bringing the sun we need. It encapsulates escapism, giving the world three minutes to live Kim Petras’s coconut-filled world of summer and sex when the world outside can’t be that.
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