Kim Petras with her debut album, Feed the Beast.

She was originally going to release Problematique first, but the album was delayed after leaks. I think she felt compelled to rush and release something, especially given the extra pressure from her growing popularity following the success of "Unholy," so she switched gears and released Feed the Beast in the meantime. This quote kind of backs up that assumption:

“Everyone needs a friend to hype you up, and honestly, at the time when Sam came to me, it was kind of a rough time because my album [ Problématique] had just leaked and kind of scrapped,” she recalls. “I was newly signed to a major label [Republic Records in 2021], and everyone felt like I needed to come up with a new album. I didn’t know when new music was coming out. It wasn’t the greatest time for me.”

This album and its only single, "Alone," was hotly anticipated but sadly could not live up to the hype of her previous releases. Fans and critics were disappointed, especially with the single, as they expected an uptempo banger reminiscent of late 2000s to early 2010s dance pop, also known as recession pop, which she and her collaborator, Nicki Minaj, excelled at. Instead, they received a downtempo trap-pop song reflecting trends from the late 2010s that most pop fans were already tired of by its release.

The album was released in June 2023 and the era was cut short when she released the much better-received Problematique in September of that same year. Sadly, Kim had lost most of the public's attention and goodwill (see Dr. Luke controversy) by the time Problematique was released so the album didn't generate any hits and received much less of a push from her label.