Sam Fang
There is something deeply satisfying about Kim Petras making an album called Detour and then making the deluxe version even more excessive. It’s hardly a literal detour from her previous pop-loving trajectory – but it is putting the pedal to the metal as it approaches pop perfection.
Petras has spent much of her career being accused of manufacturing pop hits, chasing trends, and embracing the artifice of celebrity a little too enthusiastically. So naturally, the new deluxe edition of Detour opens with a song called “Pop Sound,” where she essentially says: yes, bitch, that is exactly what I’m doing.
It’s self-awareness without an apology, and it sets the tone beautifully for what has quickly become one of 2026’s best pop records. Detour (Rare N’ Deluxe) is playful, sexy, experimental and occasionally ridiculous in exactly the ways Kim Petras is at her best. It doesn’t seem particularly interested in proving that pop music has to be serious to be worthwhile. Instead, it understands that there is an art to making something feel effortless, glamorous and completely addictive. Because when Petras gets it right, very few people do pop quite like her.
“Pop Sound” Is the Perfect New Beginning
“Pop Sound” is an almost absurdly appropriate way to open the deluxe edition. Petras has arguably been accused of manufacturing hits for years, and here she turns that criticism into the premise of the song. It’s catchy, knowingly commercial and completely comfortable with the idea that pop music is, in fact, manufactured.
There is something wonderfully cheeky about hearing Petras essentially acknowledge the machinery behind the music while still delivering exactly the kind of earworm that machinery is designed to produce.
It’s also a fantastic introduction to this expanded version of Detour. The only problem is that it makes the transition into “Detour”—now the album’s second track—feel slightly stilted. The original opener worked perfectly well on its own, but “Pop Sound” now feels like such a deliberate curtain-raiser that moving into the previous starting point doesn’t quite have the same natural momentum.
Still, it’s a minor complaint about an otherwise excellent addition.
“Rare N’ Deluxe” Is Kim Petras in Her Element
The bonus material begins properly with the fifteenth track with “Rare N’ Deluxe,” a song that die-hard Petras fans may already know, but which finally gets its full studio treatment here.
And yes, she’s talking about designer labels again. “Rare n’ deluxe like 2004 Dior”
It’s not exactly groundbreaking material, but groundbreaking isn’t really the point. This is Kim Petras speaking fluent Kim Petras: expensive things, impeccable taste, ridiculous confidence and an absolute refusal to pretend she isn’t interested in any of it. “Get what I want, cause my taste is superior” is basically the mission statement.
There are worse things in pop music than knowing exactly what your audience came for, and Petras always delivers what they want – all while leaving them craving for more.
“Like a Cherry” Is Pop Perfection
“Like a Cherry” might be the most immediately satisfying of the new additions. The production feels gloriously rooted in the 2000s, while the lyrics indulge in the kind of luxurious, sensual imagery Petras has always done particularly well:
“Like a cherry, so soft so sweet, so rare, divine / Just yours, just mine / Tonight, pick me”
It’s glossy, uncomplicated and outstandingly effective. Sometimes a pop song doesn’t need to reinvent anything. Sometimes you just need the right production, the right melody and Kim Petras telling you to pick her.
“Autobahn” Takes the Detour
“Autobahn” initially feels like the oddball of the new additions. The production is more experimental at first, and it takes a little while to settle into its formula. But once it does, the track becomes an honest standout.
Much like “Brutalist” earlier in the album, Petras uses the song as an opportunity for lyrical exploration. The difference is that “Autobahn” isn’t nearly as intimate or confessional. Instead, it feels like Petras playing around with ideas, imagery and identity.
“God thinks I’m out of my mind / I think I’m perfectly fine / Let’s do some damage tonight.”
There is also something particularly fitting about Petras using the Autobahn as a backdrop for a song that feels this freewheeling. The German reference gives the track another little layer of personality without turning it into some giant statement about her heritage.
“What a Night” Is the Perfect Ending
Then there’s “What a Night.” Oh, this is the shit. From beginning to end, this might be the strongest new song on the deluxe edition. It’s pure Petras: the production, the delivery, the melodrama, the glamour. Everything clicks.
“He doesn’t care about fame and notoriety / It used to mean so much to me / Til he grabbed me by my waist and he said / What a night to run away”
That’s the kind of songwriting that makes the entire Detour concept work. There are references to fame, desire, escape and romance, but none of it feels like Petras is desperately trying to convince you that there’s something profound happening underneath the glitter. She’s simply telling the story and letting the pop production carry it.
Ending Detour (Rare N’ Deluxe) here is almost unfair because the album goes out on its highest note.
The Original “Detour” Still Has Plenty of Pop Hits
For anyone coming to Detour for the first time because of the deluxe edition, there’s a lot more to discover beyond the new tracks.
“DTLA” is one of the album’s hottest moments, turning a hookup into a road trip with clever driving imagery that fits the Detour concept almost suspiciously well. It’s sexy without taking itself too seriously.
“I Like Ur Look” is similarly fun, but with a little more yearning behind it: a flirty song about wanting someone who is already taken.
And then there’s “Brutalist.” “Brutalist” is the peak of this album. It’s also, quite possibly, Kim Petras’ best song to date.
This is where Detour becomes more than a collection of fun pop songs. “Brutalist” feels intimate, personal and startlingly authentic. Petras drops some of the polished exterior and gives us an unusually direct glimpse of the person underneath the pop star persona. The result is one of the rare moments in her catalog where the artifice falls away without the music becoming less interesting.
If you’ve ever wanted to know what Kim Petras sounds like when she isn’t performing Kim Petras, start here.
The album’s clubbier material is just as enjoyable. “Need For Speed,” “101” and “Freak It” are all excellent additions to any imaginary late-night playlist, while “Korea”—a clever play on the way the word sounds like “career”—returns to the more personal side of the album. It’s a particularly nice track to wind down with after some of Detour‘s more chaotic moments.
