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Tag: Kesha Animal

  • Music Rewind 2025: Kesha Embraced A New ‘GLOW’ Up Era

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    Honey Bees and Kesha’s Animals, 2025 was such a big year for one of our favorite pop stars, Kesha. In 2024, she fully went independent and launched a record label called Kesha Records. In 2025, we saw her do a mix of everything to embrace her new era, including ‘GLOW’ing up with a new album, collaborating with other artists, and more. Let’s look back at some of the biggest moments of Kesha’s year.

    ‘YIPPEE-KI-YAY.’

    On March 27, 2025, Kesha had us singing “We lit up like a bonfire, singing yippee-ki-yay, yippee-ki-ya-ya” when she released her first single of the year, ‘YIPPEE-KI-YAY.’ With the song, we heard a different side of Kesha: a country pop side. We couldn’t help but embrace it. It didn’t stop there, however. She released a second version of the song on the same day, featuring rapper T-Pain. The collaboration is one we didn’t know we needed. T-Pain knows how to make a collaboration era, including ‘GLOW’ing up with a new album, collaborating with other artists, and more. Let’s look back at some of the biggest moments of Kesha’s year.

    . (PERIOD.)

    There’s nothing like a musician embracing their ‘FREEDOM’ when they become independent. For Kesha, she released her first independent album, .(PERIOD.) on July 4, 2025. The album consisted of 11 songs, with no collaborations. We got a raw, real Kesha who’s getting to make music she wants, without any restraints.

    The album features a range of pop songs, including the country pop song we mentioned above. We have Kesha embracing her ‘FREEDOM’ and yelling ‘YIPPEE-KI-YAY’ while taking us on a ‘JOYRIDE.’ Our favorite lyrics from the album? We have a lot of them, but if we have to narrow it down, it would be, “I’m a star, you ain’t even in my galaxy; Yeah, you on my TikTok, I’m the f*cking OG,” from ‘GLOW.’ The album is a beautiful insight into what we can expect from her in the future. She’s taking control of her career, and we love it.

    THE T*TS OUT TOUR

    The first thought we had was Period is right there to name the tour, but we had to remember this is Kesha we’re talking about! Her summer tour, THE T*TS OUT TOUR, was announced on April 3. Those who went on tour, or should we say, on the ‘JOYRIDE‘ with her, included the Scissor Sisters, Slayyyter, and Rose Gray in select cities across the United States. At a later date, she released tour dates for Europe and the UK.

    She put on a SHOW with each stop. We’ve seen her shredding a guitar, carrying around a Kesha-like mannequin head on stage, and reclaiming herself. So far, it’s been a tour for the books. While the first leg is over, the Europe and UK leg is right around the corner.

    J-Pop Collaboration

    “Sour, bitter, pour it up, キラ, Heaven, lemon, sugar-free venom,” catchy lyrics, right? The lyrics are from J-pop girl group f5ve’s song ‘Sugar Free Venom,’ featuring Kesha. It’s a tastefully sweet song empowering women. The song was perfect for her latest era. While she doesn’t make a physical appearance in the music video, her presence is still felt through her lyrics and the visual of her on a big screen.

    . (…)

    In the words or lyrics of Kesha, “Do I have your attention?” What’s better than Kesha releasing a brand new album? Her releasing, . (…) [PERIOD. (ELLIPSIS)] a few days after. The deluxe version of her album included nine bonus songs. Of these songs, she included ‘YIPPEE-KI-YAY’ featuring T-Pain, and ‘BOY CRAZY’ featuring JADE. Between extra versions of songs from the PERIOD album and the new songs, Kesha knew what she was going for when creating her new era.

    KPopped

    If you’re a fan of K-pop, music shows, or both, you might’ve heard of Apple TV’s newest show KPopped. The show paired the biggest in music with K-pop artists to recreate the former hit songs. One of the episodes featured Kesha performing her single ‘JOYRIDE’ with J-pop group JO1. To see how both artists did, check out the clip below.

    Animal + Cannibal (15th Anniversary)

    If you had to choose between Kesha’s Animal and her album Cannibal, which one would you choose? We could have a ‘Party At A Rich Dude’s House,’ or we could continue to live a ‘Crazy Beautiful Life’ without a party. Either way, we’ll be celebrating it being fifteen years since Kesha released her Animal and Cannibal albums in 2010. To celebrate on November 21, 2025, the singer released Animal + Cannibal (15 Anniversary), combining the two albums into one. The album includes ‘Shots on the Hood of My Car’ and ‘Butterscotch,’ two previously unreleased songs. The album was worth a double feature, as fans of both albums no longer have to switch between them.

    Kesha had so many amazing moments in 2025. Do you have a favorite or favorites? If you were to ask us, we can’t choose just one. Let us know your favorite moment in the comments or on our socials via Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram.

    TO LEARN MORE ABOUT KESHA:
    FACEBOOK | INSTAGRAM | TIKTOK | TWITTER | WEBSITE | YOUTUBE

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    Cherrelle Johnson

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  • The Only Thing to Celebrate This 4th of July? Kesha’s “Joyride”

    The Only Thing to Celebrate This 4th of July? Kesha’s “Joyride”

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    Reminding the corporate overlords that Pride Month is never really over (no Katy Perry reference intended), Kesha has brought us a balls-to-the-wall queer anthem for what marks her Independence Day far more than it does America’s at this moment in time. In fact, this musical release is just about the only thing to celebrate in the U.S. right now, with Kesha never disappointing in terms of the musical offerings she delivers (particularly in times of darkness—which seem to be all the time now). Mainly because, although each new song/album might take fans further and further away from the Dr. Luke-orchestrated sound they first came to love on her 2010 debut, Animal, she always maintains a core element of her original musical identity. Fourteen years on, Kesha has cultivated a sound all her own—something between psychedelia and electro dance-pop. This being established on her 2023 album, Gag Order.

    The title of that particular record was a nod to her ongoing legal entanglements with Dr. Luke, which were “resolved” (as much as such a thing could be)/settled in June of 2023. One year on, Kesha is finally releasing music that is independent of her unwanted Svengali. Thus, it was only right that she should wait until July 4th to poetically release her inaugural single from Kesha Records. That’s right, Kesha’s not making the mistake of releasing music through any other channels but her own again. Enter “Joyride,” a moody, almost Tove Lo-sounding (musically and lyrically) song that establishes the jubilance Kesha feels over her liberation.

    So while the U.S. as a whole has little to celebrate this “Independence Day,” at least Kesha can revel in her own liberty after decades spent under the thumb of a relentless oppressor. Especially creatively speaking. At last, without having to defer to Dr. Luke or his Kemosabe label any longer, Kesha truly is what Lady Gaga would call a “Free Woman.” Because if Britney could be freed from her conservatorship, then surely Kesha’s ability to release her music as she wanted to wasn’t far behind.

    Having teased the “Joyride” promo photos on June 30th with a photo of her seductively pumping gas into a white Porsche while wearing a skin-tight red number (this combination of colors being peak “America”) in front of a station labeled “Joyride,” Kesha continued the Lana Del Rey-but-gayer gas station/7-Eleven-esque aesthetics over the next few days leading up to her independence anthem. And, in the spirit of anthems, it is unabashed and unapologetic, with Kesha proclaiming, “Don’t, don’t, don’t, don’t even try to gi-give me shit/I’ve earned the right to b-be like this/Oh, you say you love me? (that’s funny)/Well, so do I.” The immediate sense of braggadocio established on the song is indicative of Kesha’s love of hanging out with drag queens (that’s right, she was doing so before Chappell Roan laid primary claim to the “practice”).

    As a matter of fact, Kesha chose to celebrate the single’s release into the world by posting a video of her and two drag queens singing along to it before her mother entered the frame to add to the overall campiness. And yes, Kesha has long been a provider and appreciator of camp (for one can’t provide it without also appreciating it). “Joyride” fits that very description with its zany, frenetic sonic landscape.

    An automatic earworm, Kesha proves, once again, that she’s never needed someone else pulling the strings to create her own hits. Her producer on this particular track, Zhone, also specializes in the hyperpop genre, citing Charli XCX and PC Music in general as major influences. But Kesha was doing a “beta version” of hyperpop already in the 2010s, further perfecting that sound with certain tracks on Gag Order. Thanks to “Joyride,” she’s reached a new height with the sound, which, while not “on par” with Charli XCX’s particular style, is something that Kesha has made all her own—meaning even kookier and more unclassifiable.

    Granted, “Joyride” might be described as Kesha’s version of Charli’s 2016 signature, “Vroom Vroom,” during which she sings, “All my life, I’ve been waitin’ for a good time/So let’s ride (vroom, vroom)/Bitches know they can’t catch me (vroom, vroom)/Cute, sexy and my ride’s sporty (vroom, vroom)/Those slugs know they can’t catch me (vroom, vroom)/Beep beep, so let’s ride.” Kesha even uses the “beep beep” term when she says, “Beep beep, best night of your life/Get in, loser, for the joyride.” That last line obviously being a nod to Regina George’s (Rachel McAdams) illustrious quote from Mean Girls.

    For added pop culture reference cachet (which is always required of camp), Kesha also alludes to Cher’s “Mom, I am a rich man” aphorism in the opening verse, “Are you a man?/‘Cause I’m a bitch/I’m already rich, just looking for that (mm).” Her oozing-with-horniness vibe continues in the part of the chorus that goes: “Rev my engine ’til you make it purr/Keep it kinky, but I come first.” (And yes, Kesha also has a song called “Kinky” from High Road.) Elsewhere, she continues to maintain her cocky aura with the assertion, “Makin’ every motherfucker turn/Fell from heaven, no, it didn’t hurt.”

    At times, Kesha is also channeling her inner Beyoncé, arrogance-wise. To that point, on “Alien Superstar,” Bey sings, “Mastermind in haute couture/Label whores can’t clock, I’m so obscure.” But Kesha might try to nonetheless. After all, she proudly notes, “Keep your eyes on the road/A label whore but I’m bored of wearing clothes.” Or, as she once phrased it more directly on “Blah Blah Blah,” “I wanna be naked.” But that’s the thing about the new Kesha: her lyrics are more “elegant” even if still direct. Another case in point being: “You want kids?/Well, I am mother.” A.k.a. she doesn’t need to push out any children when she’s already raised so many sons (and daughters). All of whom have been waiting for this glorious day when she could at last be deemed “independent.” As for America, well, its so-called independence is becoming increasingly tenuous. A tenuousness that might just snap come this Election Day.

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    Genna Rivieccio

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  • As the Diddy Scandal Unfurls, Kesha’s “Tik Tok” Becomes Increasingly Sullied

    As the Diddy Scandal Unfurls, Kesha’s “Tik Tok” Becomes Increasingly Sullied

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    It’s one of the most iconic opening lines of any hit song: “Wake up in the morning feelin’ like P. Diddy.” When Kesha first came up with it back in 2009, the comparison seemed “harmless” enough. After all, women (especially white women) wanting to be as “badass” as men was a particular motif of the 2000s. That “Tik Tok” would be released just before the decade closed out was telling of how much it ultimately belonged in that time frame. Particularly after the revelations about Diddy (formerly P. Diddy, formerly Puff Daddy) and, among other things, the sex trafficking operation he’s cultivated over the years. 

    The entire dam was initially opened when Diddy’s ex-girlfriend, Cassie, sued him for sexual assault in late 2023. At that time, in fact, Kesha opted to change the lyric while performing it live during the Only Love Tour. Her quick fix?: “Wake up in the morning feelin’ just like me.” After all, how could someone like Kesha not stand in solidarity with a fellow victim of abuse? And yes, “sexual assault” seems like far too general (and gentle) a term for some of the things he did to Cassie, which included forcing her to have sex with other women (specifically, sex workers) in different cities while he filmed it and masturbated.

    Similar claims subsequently came from producer Rodney “Lil Rod” Jones, who has recently filed his own lawsuit against the disgraced rapper for coercing him into having sex with sex workers, in addition to being at risk of “constant unsolicited and unauthorized groping” by Diddy. Among other allegations laid out in the lawsuit are the mention of parties—which were, of course, attended by underage girls—where Diddy would lace alcohol with drugs for his sinister purposes and sexual power plays. So yeah, maybe waking up in the morning and feeling like P. Diddy isn’t the greatest look (or lyric) anymore. Because what kind of person wants to feel like such a piece of shit after what they did the previous night? Then again, what makes a true piece of shit is that they feel no remorse for their actions at all. 

    As the meme momentum gathers about Kesha and her now illustrious “Tik Tok” lyric (this includes the monkey meme positioned as a reaction to that particular line), one wonders if Kesha herself, as someone who suffered through her own abuser (who need not be named at this point), might soon feel inclined to make an official amendment to the song by re-recording it. But something squeaky clean that still rhymes (e.g., “Wake up in the morning feelin’ like so pretty”) inarguably alters the entire tone of the track, which is one of the peak examples of what is now more than somewhat vexingly referred to as sleazecore. Thus, on the one hand, leaving the P. Diddy mention is a careful preservation of 00s heritage. A way to maintain the reminder that there are many things about that decade that aren’t worth getting wistful over, or nostalgic about. That, while it was easy to romanticize abusive men (and abusive male behavior in general) then, it is no longer so easy to do so now. 

    For Kesha to have envisioned “being a G” after a night of partying to equate with being like P. Diddy is also a reflection of women’s attitudes and more pronounced internalized misogyny during that period. Another prime example being Marina and the Diamonds’ (before she became simply MARINA) “Girls,” first released in 2009 (just as “Tik Tok” was) and featured on her 2010 debut, The Family Jewels. It only took about a year for MARINA to look back on it and realize how misogynistic it might come across. A rallying cry against “basic” (read: hot and looks-obsessed) women that was liable to brand her as a “pick me” in future years (the same way Pink would be for 2006’s “Stupid Girls”). 

    Indeed, even after she first mentioned it being problematic in 2011, she brought it up during a 2021 interview when asked about the songs she would likely never perform again live, calling “Girls” just “very 2009” in its misogynistic sentiments, including, “Look like a girl, but I think like a guy/Not ladylike to behave like a slime/Easy to be sleazy when you’ve got a filthy mind” and “Girls, they never befriend me/‘Cause I fall asleep when they speak/Of all the calories they eat/All they say is, ‘Na-na-na-na-na.’”

    One can’t imagine that Kesha would ever do that (i.e., cease performing it) with “Tik Tok,” knowing full well that it’s one of her fans’ favorites (along with other Dr. Luke-era fare such as “Blow,” “Your Love Is My Drug,” “We R Who We R” and “Die Young”). Which again brings up the question of whether or not, as the R. Kelly-esque scandals in Diddy’s closet continue to come out, Kesha will buckle under the pressure and alter the lyrics in a more official capacity as a means to “not trigger anyone” going forward. 

    Obviously, “Tik Tok” isn’t the first song in recent years to be given a retroactive “ick factor” after a public figure was effectively canceled. And at least 1) Kesha herself isn’t the reason for its cancellation and 2) the single had more longevity before certain “unmaskings” occurred—far more years of guilt-free airplay/streaming than, say, “Pink” by Lizzo, which features prominently in the opening scene of Barbie. But it’s not like that song slapped nearly as hard as “Tik Tok,” so it didn’t feel like any big loss. With this, however, it just goes to show that referencing “lotharios” (read: predatory assholes) in music is not without its unique set of risks. 

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    Genna Rivieccio

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  • Gagging For Gag Order

    Gagging For Gag Order

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    Although traces of the raw, ethereal Kesha everyone’s talking about on Gag Order had appeared in flickers on 2017’s Rainbow, something about her, let’s just say it, “aura” on the latest record seems to be resonating far more with listeners. Between Rainbow and Gag Order, 2020’s High Road was Kesha’s attempt at toeing the line between her then-fractured persona of party girl/goddess of sleazecore and her newfound sense of spirituality post-trauma. That COVID-19 waylaid any chance of touring High Road could have perhaps been interpreted as a sign to Kesha that she ought to “dig deeper.” Not to say that High Road doesn’t have many gems, including “My Own Dance,” “Raising Hell” and “Resentment,” but perhaps something about it didn’t ring true for Kesha as she sought to marry her “old self” with her “new” one. Billed as a “full return to Kesha’s pop roots, after leaning into a more country–soul sound,” High Road got its fair share of praise, but, in the end, it still seemed like the proverbial “ugly, redheaded stepchild” of Kesha’s discography.

    Perhaps being on some kind of autopilot in order to function contributed to a roteness in creating High Road that had to be obliterated for the making of Gag Order. And it is on the opening track, “Something to Believe In” that Kesha admits, “You never know that you need something to believe in when you know it all.” Prior to her epiphany in the summer of 2020 (the one that led to the inspiration behind “Eat the Acid”), Kesha likely felt she, in some sense, “knew it all” as she ignored the need for something “higher” to believe in—however cheesy that might sound. But when you exist in an industry that’s ultimately as nihilistic as the entertainment one, a girl could do well to find some spiritual guidance (after all, that’s what Madonna did).

    And Kesha has apparently found hers through not just Ram Dass (whose words of wisdom are wielded on the “Ram Dass Interlude”), but through a fondness of creating her own “Jesus Prayers,” if you will, on this record. For the repetition of phrases is key on many of the tracks (in a manner that goes beyond mere chorus). On “Something to Believe In,” that phrase is the aforementioned, “You never know that you need something to believe in when you know it all.” Among two of the only divergent verses from the chorus is the concluding one that goes, “I’m so embarrassing/So used to abandoning myself/I can’t believe I’m still alive.” This referring to all the times she let herself be denigrated for the sake of “going along to get along,” as so many women feel they have to in order to “succeed.”

    But her enlightenment about this and a plethora of other things arrives on the second track, “Eat the Acid,” a single that actually urges against eating the acid if “you don’t wanna be changed like it changed me” (this being the warning about LSD that Kesha’s mom, Pebe Sebert, gave to her). Funnily enough, it was Ram Dass who said, “I didn’t have one whiff of God until I took psychedelics.” Kesha appears to have found whatever “God” is without use of such drugs though. This much made clear as she imparts, “I searched for answers all my life/Dead in the dark, I saw a light/I am the one that I’ve been fighting the whole time/Hate has no place in the divine.” Even for someone who did her as wrong as Dr. Luke, her erstwhile producer/wannabe Svengali figure.

    He being at least part of the reason for all the toxic thoughts swirling in her head, as elucidated on “Living In My Head.” This being a track that was given a precursor on “Something to Believe In,” during which Kesha addresses some of the racing thoughts in her mind. For example, “Mind’s been racing like a stallion/While I watch it all collapsing/Kill the chaos, find the balance/‘Round we go, around we go/Greatness just a shade of madness/Ego just a face of sadness/Pain is just part of the package/Around we go, ’round we go/I sit and watch the pieces fall/I don’t know who I am at all.” But that was only a small preview of the hell that is solipsism compared to “Living In My Head.” Wanting desperately to escape her flesh prison, Kesha laments, “Oh, I don’t wanna be here anymore/Stuck inside my head here anymore/Stuck inside my head here anymore/Mm, I don’t wanna be scared anymore.” Though it’s hard not to be with the climate and AI apocalypse being upon us. Those who remember Ashlee Simpson’s 2008 single “Outta My Head (Ay Ya Ya)” will also recognize similar sentiments in the lines, “Get me outta my head/Outta my head/Outta my head.” This is, to be sure, a more relevant desire than ever in the landscape of constant social media infection, wherein we’re all made to compare ourselves to others (whether we know them or not) on a daily basis. Olivia Rodrigo acknowledged something similar on “jealousy, jealousy” via the lyrics, “Comparison is killing me slowly I think, I think too much/‘Bout kids who don’t know me/I’m so sick of myself/I’d rather be, rather be/Anyone, anyone else.” Kesha, too, alludes to the detriment of comparing herself to others when she bemoans, “God, I hate myself/Got to stop comparing.”

    By the time “Fine Line” rolls around, she’s started to achieve a more “I don’t give a fuck” state as she ruminates on the various fine lines between such things as “genius and crazy,” “sellin’ out and bein’ bought,” “hope and delusion” and “famous and bein’ forgot.” That “bein’ forgot” element likely a strong fear of Kesha’s as she was forced into silence amid her ongoing lawsuit against Dr. Luke that started in 2014. Which is part of why it took five years for her to put out Rainbow after the release of her sophomore album, Warrior, in 2012. Over the years of hardship and emotional rollercoastering, it seems Kesha learned one key lesson: “Only Love Can Save Us Now.” As the third single from the album, it marks the jubilant, “party girl” stylings she assured were no longer present on Gag Order. But hey, you can take the girl out of the party, but you can’t take the party out of the girl. Even if it’s a party with apocalyptic vibes (as Kesha once also said, “We’ll keep dancin’ till we die”—a similar assertion to Britney saying, “Keep on dancin’ till the world ends”). With regard to the frenetic, “all over the place” nature of the song, Kesha remarked, “I wanted ‘Only Love Can Save Us Now’ to sonically, lyrically, and emotionally reflect the severity of my mental pendulum swings. The world is so overwhelming sometimes. It requires a moment of surrender. The ludicrosity of life can make you crazy. If anything, IF ANYTHING, can save us, I believe only love can. This song is a desperate and angry prayer. A call to the light when all feels lost.”

    There’s another call to the light on “All I Need Is You”—the “light,” in this case, being Kesha’s beloved cat, Mr. Peeps (and yes, on “The Drama,” she’s sure to note that in the next life she wants to come back as a house cat). After nearly losing him in 2022, the seed of the song sprung to life. Sampling Indian philosopher Osho at the beginning, he states, “Authentic love is beyond your control. And the most basic thing which is dangerous in you is the possibility of love. Because if you are possessed by love, you can go even against the whole world.” Yes, a woman possessed by unconditional love for her cat is not to be trifled with. Which is why the full quote from Osho is actually, “They were afraid of your authentic love, because authentic love is beyond their control. You are possessed by it. You are not the possessor, you are the possessed. And every society wants you to be in control. The society is afraid of your wild nature, it is afraid of your naturalness, so from the very beginning it starts cutting your wings.” That Kesha’s early career is founded on some notion of “wildness” that eventually caused her to be suppressed therefore feels only too fitting for this particular assessment.

    Through the traumas and the tribulations, perhaps the only being she could truly trust was her cat. Thus, the potential of losing him prompts her to demand, “Tell me that you’ll live forever/‘Cause I’ve taken years for granted.” Speaking to the emotional dangers of opening one’s heart and becoming vulnerable—even to a cat—Kesha also adds, “Your love might break my heart harder than being alone.” As a song that’s representative of just how much the millennial generation has swapped out real children for pet children, Kesha insists, “You know parts of me nobody else will ever know” (cue the barrage of scenes featuring any cat’s voyeuristic antics) and “I don’t need much, but there’s one thing I can’t lose/All I need is you.” The Beatles might have said, “All you need is love,” but Kesha begs to differ here. All she needs is her cat to live forever. Or for it to at least outlive her à la Choupette.

    Among the most experimental tracks on the record is “The Drama,” which feels like a sonic companion to the moody viscerality of “Only Love Can Save Us Now.” Opening with a serene tone that explores more “Living In My Head” themes with the lyrics, “There’s a violence in the silence/And it’s coming for me/Oh, the paranoia/It’s creeping closer/Swimming in my head like a Great White,” the temperament changes entirely just when you think you’ve got it pegged as some kind of ballad. So it is that at the thirty-nine second mark, the auditory landscape shifts entirely as Kesha sings, “Build me up to feel the fall/And fall in love to break my heart/I’m bored and I’m broken/I’m self-destroying/At least it’s something to do/Oh, the drama of it all.” “It all” referring to being, well, human. Which is, despite any modern “conveniences” still a fucking bitch. Co-written with Kurt Vile, Kesha throws another lyrical curveball into the fray of “The Drama” by incorporating The Ramones’ “I Wanna Be Sedated” (specifically, “In the next life, I wanna come back as a house cat, as a house cat/I wanna be sedated”). At moments giving LCD Soundsystem fare a run for its money, Kesha takes us back to the wonderfully weird experimentation of a song like “Rich White Straight Men.” At another point, Kesha notes, “I desperately wanna think people are good/But if you’d seen the things I’d seen/I don’t know if you would.” This echos another lyric she sings on “Fine Line”: “Don’t fucking call me a fighter/Don’t fucking call me a joke/You have no fucking idea/Trust me you’ll never know.” This idea that she’s seen horrors so indescribable they can’t actually be put into words is just the type of Hollywood cautionary tale to give any aspirant the chills. And yet, fame, no matter how frivolous, is a temptress that can’t be quelled.

    Maybe that’s why Kesha segues this track into the “Ram Dass Interlude,” a reminder of how ridiculous it is to place any emphasis on such thoughts as, “Do you approve of me? Do you like me? Am I good enough? Have I achieved enough?” Ram Dass then assures, “And then thеre comes a period whеre you’ve just gone through enough. And the space starts, that little blue sky starts to develop. And you start to identify with the blue sky instead of the cloud.”

    This is where Kesha’s at on “Too Far Gone.” And, while she might have found that space with the “little blue sky” Ram Dass was talking about, she can’t deny that there’s a part of her that will never come back. And that’s still difficult to reconcile. Hence, the lyrics, “Love comes with pain/I don’t know why/My whole life/Too far gone and I’ll never come back/Slipping through my fingers, damn, it’s going fast/Trying to find some meaning, something that lasts/Am I missing you or am I missing pieces of me? Am I missing you or am I missing who I used to be?” Part natural aspect of the “growing pains” that come with aging and part nostalgia for a seemingly simpler time, “Too Far Gone” also explores the theme of an “old self” being dead (“Think I killed the part of me that I like”) the way “Only Love Can Save Us Now” does via the line, “The bitch I was, she dead/Her grave desecrated.”

    Regardless, Kesha declares she won’t go gentle into that good night on “Peace & Quiet.” Accordingly, the track bears no aural tones that connote “tranquility,” so much as another frenetic dance experiment (in the spirit of “Only Love Can Save Us Now” and “The Drama”) co-produced by Kesha, Rick Rubin and Hudson Mohawke. As she considers, “Maybe I should stop and take a breath/Maybe I’m not making any sense,” Kesha realizes, “But I would be lying if I said I could do peace and quiet/Loving me is running into a house that’s burning down, baby/Honestly, make it out alive and you’ll get the best of me/So get into it or get the fuck out.” At a point in her life where she has no room for anything but candor and bluntness, Kesha riffs on the chorus of The Cure’s “Friday I’m In Love” by chirping, “Monday, I’m praying/Tuesday, I’m heinous/Wednesday, I’m stable/Thursday, I’m up to something/Friday, I’m screaming/When I’m a-sleeping/Then by the weekend, I’ll need a restraining order.” So yeah, get into it or get the fuck out.

    Kesha goes back to her “zen” place on the “Only Love Reprise,” wherein she enlists her niece, Luna, to deliver the verse, “This is reality, can’t you feel it? I am one with what I am. Everything in color, everything. You have to see the air, you can’t believe it.” Needless to say, she’s passing on her “Kesha-ness” quite easily not just to her “Animals,” but to the next generation of the Sebert family.

    From that place of zen-ness comes the next song. And yes, in contrast to Ariana Grande demanding to “Love Me Harder,” Kesha, instead, goes in the opposite direction with “Hate Me Harder.” Yet, to use her “fine line” wisdom, there’s a fine line between love and hate. So maybe all “haters” are secretly obsessed (or they just happen to have a knack for the art of criticism). Either way, Kesha declares she can handle it as she sings, “I’ve graduated from caring about your opinions/Tell you the truth, babe I’ll never know that you existed…/So if hating me helps you love yourself/Do your worst, baby, gimme hell/Hate me harder, hate me harder/There’s nothing left that I haven’t heard/And I can take it, so make it hurt.” As such, she appears to want to alchemize the hate directed at her by radiating it back as love (besides, like she said on “Spaceship,” “Nothing is real. Love is everything. And I am nothing”). Plus, Kesha also seems to be of the Wildean belief, “There is only one thing in life worse than being talked about, and that is not being talked about.” So, as far as Kesha is concerned, let the haterade rain down if it keeps the commentary flowing.

    While MARINA might have kicked off 2015’s Froot with a song called “Happy,” Kesha opts to conclude her album with a track named as such. After all, it’s the ultimate goal/achievement for anyone, famous or otherwise. And it seems that, at least for now, that’s what Kesha is. Or is striving to be. The sparse, yet rich instrumentation (which sounds a lot like The Beatles’ “A Day in the Life”) heightens the bittersweet tinge of lyrics like, “If you asked me then where I wanted to be/It looks something like this living out my wildest of dreams/But life sometimes ain’t always what it seems/If you ask me now/All I’ve wanted to be is happy.” That, too, is what Beyoncé claimed as her “aspiration in life” on “Pretty Hurts.”

    More recently still, Lana Del Rey assured her fans at the 2023 Billboard Women in Music Awards that she wants them to know she’s happy. Then there was Billie Eilish naming an entire album Happier Than Ever after her breakup with Brandon “Q” Adams (a.k.a. 7:AMP). The bottom line is, famous people have been making it clear how much more challenging it can be to be “happy” while subjected to public scrutiny. Touching on the evolution of her mental state and perspective since becoming famous, Kesha ruminates, “I remember when I was little/Before I knew that anyone could be evil/These egos, some people, playing with my innocence like at a casino.” This, of course, reminds one of the fate that befell Britney when she was put under a conservatorship for little better reason than she was acting “hysterical.” Kesha, perhaps like Britney, has overcome that period of oppression, and whatever comes next, she wants to make one thing clear: “I refuse to be jaded/Still painting rainbows all over my face, oh/I’ve gotten used to the fall.” And with Gag Order, Kesha keeps falling upward.

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    Genna Rivieccio

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