Kim Petras’ 2023 Grammy Acceptance Speech: What AI Tells Us

Kim Petras made LGBTQ history on Feb. 5, 2023, at the 2023 Grammy Awards as the first openly transgender woman to win a Grammy award. She was also the first trans woman to win the Best Pop Duo/Group Collaboration award. 

Who Is Kim Petras?

Petras is a German singer-songwriter based in Los Angeles who began recording songs as a teenager. She creates 90s- and 2000s-inspired music across a few various genres, such as bubblegum pop, electronic dance music (EDM), and electropop. Some of her musical inspirations include: 

• Madonna
• Boy George
• Cher
• Lady Gaga 
• Britney Spears
• Christina Aguilera 
• Beyoncé
• And Ke$ha, among others

Her 2017 hit, “I Don’t Want It All,” was her international debut single, and it topped a few of Spotify’s viral music charts. Billboard, ABC News, and Nasty Galaxy have all dubbed Petras the “new princess of pop.”

At the 2023 Grammy Awards, Petras accepted the award, along with artist Sam Smith, for their iconic hit, “Unholy.” 

“Unholy” was initially released on Sept. 22, 2022. It quickly went viral on platforms like TikTok and even hit No. 1 on charts across different countries, such as Australia and New Zealand. 

When “Unholy” topped the U.S. Billboard Top 100 in October 2022, Petras became the first openly trans woman to have a No. 1 song on the chart. Smith also made LGBTQ history, as they were the first openly non-binary person to do so.

In light of this historic win for Petras and Smith, we used Yoodli — a free platform that analyzes speech using AI technology — to analyze Petras’ acceptance speech. We’ll walk you through the key takeaways from the analysis, but you can check out the entire speech and detailed overview via the Yoodli platform. 

Kim Petras’ 2023 Grammy Acceptance Speech AI Analysis

Yoodli provided us with instant analytics for Petras’ acceptance speech, as well as a time-stamped, complete transcript of the speech. From the word choice to her delivery of the speech and even speech coaching comments, this AI communication coach provided us with some valuable insights.

Here’s what we found about Petras’ 2023 Grammy Acceptance speech based on Yoodli’s AI communication coach analysis. 

Summary of Key Points

Yoodli summarizes the key points and takeaways from speeches you record and upload. Here’s the summary of the key takeaways from Petras’ speech provided by Yoodli: 

• Kim Petras and Sam Smith won an award for Best Pop Duo/Group Collaboration for their hit song, “Unholy” 
• Petras is the first transgender woman to win this award
• Petras thanked those who helped her along the way, including her mother, (her late friend) Sophie, Madonna, and transgender legends who opened doors for her

Kim Petras’ Word Choice

Filler words: 4%

Non-inclusive language: 0%

Top keywords: award, believed, transgender, hit, go, home

Weak words: 1% (so, just)

The speech analysis of Petras’ Grammy acceptance speech provided many insights into her speaking patterns. She didn’t use any non-inclusive language and only used a few weak words (“so” and “just”), which made up 1% of her speech. This is great since it’s only natural to have fewer than 4% weak words.

However, Petras did use 4% of filler words, which — for her award acceptance speech length — was about eight filler words. Although most everyone uses filler words, the goal when public speaking is to get to 3% or lower, so she was close. Her most frequently used fillers were “um,” “uh,” and “OK,” which are very common across the board.  

It’s important to keep in mind that Petras was speaking on the fly; in other words, she didn’t have time to prepare a full Grammy acceptance speech ahead of time. To mitigate this, Yoodli recommends aiming for 3% and using pauses to help decrease filler word usage. 

Yoodli also includes personalized speech coach’s comments that are based on the speech itself. 

For example, the AI communication coach had one suggested rephrasing based on its analysis of Petras’ acceptance speech. 

Here’s what Petras said:

“I just want to thank, um, all the incredible transgender legends before me who kicked these doors open for me so I could be here tonight.”

Here’s the suggested rephrasing from Yoodli: 

“I am deeply grateful to all the brave transgender pioneers who have gone before me, making it possible for me to be here tonight.”

Yoodli had another actionable suggestion. The AI speech coach commented on Petras’ speech wondering if she could elaborate by answering the following question: “What inspired you to collaborate with Sam Smith on the song, ‘Unholy’?”

The speech coach targets areas like these and prompts users for elaboration, to make their speech the best it can be, and this is a prime example of that.  

Of course, the Yoodli AI speech coach comments will vary from speech to speech. So, for example, you’ll receive different analytics and coach comments depending on the quality of the speech. 

Kim Petras’ Delivery

Pacing: 145 words per minute (relaxed and conversational)

Pauses: 5 times

Smiles: 4 times

Eye contact: 30%

Centering: Off-center

The delivery of Petras’ acceptance speech was strong overall. Her pacing was about 145 words per minute, which is considered a relaxed and conversational pace. She also paused about five times, which let the audience take a second to digest what she’d said. If Petras were to include a few more pauses, she could probably decrease the number of fillers she uses. 

In terms of body language, her facial expressions were largely positive and Yoodli highlighted four distinct times during the speech in which she was beaming. However, her eye contact could’ve been better. She made eye contact with the camera about 30% of the time, which came out to 51 seconds. Still, Petras’ speech was recorded and she was focused on maintaining eye contact with the Grammy Awards’ audience, so this percentage could vary slightly depending on the camera angles. She was also a bit off-centered, but again, this could be more of an issue with the camera angles. 

Can I Use Yoodli to Analyze My Speech?

Yes! It’s easy to analyze your speech or speaking patterns on Yoodli. 

Here’s how to do it. 

1. Upload a video of yourself speaking or having a conversation with someone (like during a Zoom call), or record it directly on Yoodli in real time. You can also learn how to record Google Meet to analyze a conversation between a friend to see all the usual insights, plus analytics related to talk time (AKA, did you talk the entire time, or were they able to get a word in?). 
2. Next, enjoy the instant analytics with regard to your word choice, delivery, and listening skills (if you’re uploading a conversation or interview). You can use these insights to improve your speech and speaking patterns. This will also help build up your confidence when public speaking, impromptu speaking, giving presentations at work or at school, or in everyday conversation. 

Yoodli’s free services are beneficial, no matter who you are. Even if you feel like the best, most comfortable speaker on the block, there are still areas to improve, whether that’s your pacing, your word choice, or your body language. 

If you have a speech coming up or you’re just looking for some inspiration, check out the best public speaking books to motivate you. 

Can I Use Yoodli to Analyze Someone Else’s Speech?

Absolutely! Just like we analyzed Petras’ 2023 Grammy acceptance speech, anyone can use Yoodli for free to analyze someone else’s speech. 

You can get insights on your most recent job interview, your high school valedictorian’s speech, your CEO’s company-wide address, or any other recording of a speech you have. There are only a few qualifications to remember.  

There are two important things to remember: 

1. Yoodli accepts uploads of MP4 or WebM videos, or any type of audio file.
2. There is a time limit for video uploads, which means the file you upload has to have a duration of no more than 1 hour.

Key Takeaways

Based on Yoodli’s AI analysis and individualized insights, Petras’ Grammy acceptance speech was strong overall. Her excitement over being the first trans woman to win that award was elucidated through her positive body language. 

Although there are aspects of her speech that she could work on — namely filler word usage and eye contact — Petras did a phenomenal job for someone who was not only public speaking, but giving an impromptu speech in front of such a huge crowd, during such a thrilling time.  

Petras’ 2023 Grammy acceptance speech isn’t the only speech available on Yoodli. Visit Yoodli’s platform to check out even more famous speeches and addresses, including: 

• Elon Musk’s 2014 University of Southern California undergraduate commencement speech at the Marshall School of Business 
• Oprah Winfrey’s 2018 Cecil B. DeMille Award Acceptance Speech at the Golden Globe Awards
• King Charles III’s 2022 speech addressing the death of his mother, Queen Elizabeth II
• Steve Jobs’ 2005 Stanford University commencement speech
• And many more!