Kesha’s (yes, without the dollar sign) current legal issues have been front and center over the past year. Although many have tried to discredit her, Kesha was once the undeniable queen of radio, and she still holds an incredible amount of hit singles. At only 18, she signed with Dr. Luke and being so young, of course, she became an easy target for predators. Sadly, as we all know, one of them was that very same producer she signed to. In 2014, Kesha filed a civil suit against Dr. Luke on the basis that he drugged, emotionally abused, and raped her while she was signed to his label. We didn’t hear about the case until early last year when it blew up. Kesha filed to break her contract with Kemosabe Records and Sony so she would be able to continue her career without Dr. Luke. However, she still remains unsuccessful in this.
At Firefly Music Festival, Kesha didn’t hold back at all. She did a cover of “You Don’t Own Me” by Lesley Gore (yes, the original is actually by Gore, and G-Eazy’s version is just a cover), and it was exceptionally inspiring. The lyrics have always been powerful, but Kesha’s unique delivery made the message all the more clear: we are all humans and deserve to be treated as such. Kesha hasn’t been very public in the media for many years. She hasn’t released a new album since 2012 but has been holding small concerts here and there (like the one at a pride event last week) and is about to finish her Kesha and the Creepies: Fuck the World Tour. She also just had an emotional letter about overcoming her eating disorder published in Teen Vogue. And although she has been, for the most part, silenced musically (except for her 2016 song True Colors with Zedd), she still garners a very strong fanbase that decks out in glitter and comes out in doves to see her. Her audience chanted ‘Kesha’ over and over again as she preformed her classic hits.
At the very end of her set, she let her fans know that she will have music out very soon and that she has a lot of it! It’s safe to say that we can expect a Kesha album in the near future (hopefully some new summer bops!). Sadly, Kesha cannot release new music at the moment due to her legal woes, because Sony has yet to allow her to work with another producer besides her abuser. She spoke on how this whole legal journey has been quite a rough ride, and how grateful she is that everyone is being so patient for new tracks.
The support people have shown for Kesha has been really admirable. The #FreeKesha campaign has been really visible throughout social media, and Kesha’s message as always been one of unwavering and uncensored positivity. I’m sure people are excitedly awaiting the return of Kesha.
You can watch videos of ‘You Don’t Own Me’ and the rest of her kickass Firefly performance here.
