It’s official, Kesha’s back. And her new music video takes a more sombre mood than what we have known from the artist.
Kesha has released her first single in four years after a bitter dispute with Sony and her producer, Dr Luke, in 2013. The singer had filed a lawsuit against her producer citing ‘mental manipulation, emotional abuse and sexual assault’. The highly publicised suit was eventually dropped after Dr Luke countersued for defamation which launched a bitter court battle.
Kesha’s new single ‘Praying’ was released ahead of her new album Rainbow, which she has worked on with Grammy Award-winning Ryan Macklemore. After announcing the single’s release on Instagram, the singer talked about her fears that she would never be able to release music again in an emotional speech.
The Praying music video is very emotional with the opening speech by Kesha seeming to both acknowledge the distress caused by the legal battle ‘Horrible dreams that seem like they last forever’ and seems to hit out at Dr Luke and Sony in the lines ‘Why have I been abandoned by everyone and everything.’ The singer appears to be resentful of the attack she faced in the light of her allegations against her producer and the seemingly blind eye that Sony had turned to the issue. The case gathered attention from a wide range of the public from famous figures raising money in support Kesha, to discussions among the public about the treatment of women in the Music Industry. The story certainly bought into sharp focus the difficulties artists can face if they wish to leave aa hostile work environment but are confined by a contract. The dropping of the suit against Dr Luke by the Singer sparked outrage among the public who saw this as a response to the pressure from the producer and label.
Despite these initial statements the song itself takes on a much more forgiving attitude with lyrics such as ‘I can thank you for how strong I have become’. A message of self-belief and mending after a time of intimidation and aggressive domination. Even the name of the album Rainbow seems to symbolise light at the end of this dark tunnel for the artist. The song builds to show off Kesha’s vocal skills whilst having her voice rising above the music to symbolise the artist’s strength growing to drown out the negative past and moving forward towards a stronger future. The sense forgiveness is equally praiseworthy after a toxic couple of years.
Whilst not a modern day David and Goliath story, Kesha’s return with renewed strength is a positive message for anyone who has faced adversity and been silenced by a stronger force.
See the Artist, but here’s to hoping but a tour with the new album is not too far away;
