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02. 03. 11. - 14:00

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02. 03. 11. - 14:00

Kims New Album: A Piece Of Tape

Sex change German teenager Kim Petras has unveiled her first EP with four new songs that she wrote and sung herself in between finishing her A levels at school.

The EP - that goes on release on 11 March but is now available as a pre-order - was previewed on German breakfast TV today (Wednesday) with a live performance and followed on from a rave review about her in German national tabloid Bild at the weekend.

The EP has four songs, Money Got Her Hot, Feel It, Supersonic and One Piece of Tape which was inspired by the NoH8 campaign.

Blond Kim said: "I wrote the last song for people who find themselves in the minority. It's just about being different and having people respect you for it."

She said it was inspired by the NoH8 campaign in California that a close friend had told her about.

NOH8 is a silent photographic protest by photographer Adam Bouska and partner Jeff Parshley in direct response to the passage of paragraph 8 banning same-sex marriage in California. Photos feature subjects like Spice Girl Mel B with duct tape over their mouths, symbolizing their voices being silenced by Prop 8 and similar legislation around the world, with "NOH8" painted on one cheek in protest.

The short album entitled One Piece of Tape follows on from Kim's appearance with Thomas D. from top German band Die Fantastischen Vier on the Telekom campaign "A Million Voices" and a number one hit "Beautiful Lie" with German singer Keemo.

Kim, now aged 18, became the youngest person to have a sex change aged 12 and has since launched a career as a designer, model and musician - writing and performing her own songs. She is currently rehearsing for a tour to take place later this year.

Kim's producer Alex Breuer described her as an "extraordinarily talented songwriter and composer" and praised the professionalism with which she works, despite her young age.

Kim, born Tim, says she has never seen herself as a boy and is happy now that she is a girl. She has never put herself forward as a campaigner for gender disfunctional children - but she has become a pin up for others who see themselves in the same situation. She started having medical treatment to become a boy at the age of 12.

She told German TV Sat 1 breakfast show: "I am always being asked what it was like to be a boy, the answer is I don't know - I always felt myself to be a girl, I like fashion and design, when I was a child I played with dolls and made my own dresses - I didn't let my parents give me a short hair cut. Almost as soon as I could think I realised there was something wrong. There was never a moment when I woke up and said I'm a boy and I want to be a girl. I was always a girl. "

Kim, from Bonn in Germany, faced an uphill struggle first to convince her parents and then to convince a sceptical medical profession - but eventually she was allowed to start hormone treatment at 12 and by the age of 16 had completed surgery to make her physically a girl.

Her parents Lutz and Konni Petras admitted they had hoped it would be a phase but realised eventually that Kim was "a special child" and had supported her throughout. Kim had even started saving at the age of four to have the operation.

She is currently still at school promising her architect dad and dance instructor mum that she would finish her studies before launching her pop career full time.

She says Lady GaGa, Gwen Stefani and Beyoncé are her inspirations - and Red Bull that helped her stay awake during the long sessions to writing her music - recording and finishing her studies.

She said: "People tell me I'm young but I feel old - I've had a lot of things to get through - it's taught me to have faith in your own judgement and to take responsibility for your own future - and I've been lucky to have really good friends and family to support me."

She shares a flat with her sister Sina (20) and manages to find time for parties in among the other work.

German Herald

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