Cash Me Spending My Cash on a Kesha Concert

by Kate Andrews

I will be the first to admit it: I have not always been Kesha (formerly known as Ke$ha)’s biggest fan.

Sure, I had fun singing “Tik Tok” with my friends in my junior high’s computer lab, but that was where my fandom for her (and many others—sorry 3OH!3) ended: middle school.

Ironically, it was only through her personal tragedy that I became a fan again—of her music and her.

In 2014, Kesha filed a lawsuit against Dr. Luke claiming he had sexually, physically, verbally, and emotionally assaulted her. Through the legal battles, Sony would not allow Kesha to leave her contract with recording company, claiming that she had the ability to record without interacting with Dr. Luke.

While she was prevented from releasing any records, she stayed active, performing occasionally at universities and “low-key” locations. Now, Kesha is back and, honestly, better than ever. With country-inspired tunes such as “Hunt You Down” and “Bastards,” the Nashville-native shows off some surprising twang.

“Praying,” her first single off her new album Rainbow is intimate, powerful, and vulnerable in a way that we seldom see in modern pop music.

The song serves as a victory hymn after, what she calls, “[a] shitstorm…and the beginning of the good stuff.”

The album as a whole is full of lyrics that allow the listener to feel as if they are listening to the recital of Kesha’s diary over the past three years, and highlights her natural talent that once were drowned out by 808 drums and autotune.