#drluke

Kesha has finally split from her producer Dr. Luke and his label, Kemosabe Records, after years of lawsuits.

In the world of pop music, Kesha is a household name. Since debuting in 2009, Kesha has sold nearly 76 million records. Over the course of her stardom, the public has witnessed a dramatic shift in her public persona. The world has seen her transform from a seemingly wild party girl, to a thoughtful and reflective artist. This shift in her public identity is mainly due to her legal battle with her longtime producer, Dr. Luke. In October 2014, she sued Dr. Luke for sexual assault, battery, and emotional abuse. Kesha sought to be released from Kemosabe Records because of this. By February 2016, her request to be released from the record label’s contract had been ruled against.

Kesha’s, or at the time, Ke$ha’s first debut came in 2009, when she was featured in Flo Rida’s song “Right Round.” Following this, “Tik Tok,” arguably Kesha’s most popular song to date, was released. “Tik Tok” spent 9 weeks at number one. Soon after in 2010, her album Animal debuted at number one and became certified platinum. Kesha had exponential success with her own music, but continued to write songs for other artists as well, such as Britney Spears.

Above: Ke$ha, 2009

Kesha’s persona during her early days reflected a party girl aesthetic with lots of glitter. A lot of her most popular tracks were released while I was still in middle school. They way I saw her then was a girl who liked to have fun and party, and brushed her teeth with bottles of jack.

Her music had a strong synth-pop sound, and the content of her songs reflected the free spirited image she put off. Some described her as being deliberately unpolished and “quickly made her a deeply polarizing figure” (Wikipedia). During work on Kesha’s second album, Warrior, Dr. Luke allegedly portrayed Kesha as being someone who is difficult to work with. Further, Kesha’s single from the album, “Die Young,“ was released the day after the Sandy Hook shooting. After receiving much backlash, she tweeted “I Understand. I did NOT want to sing those lyrics and I was FORCED to”. This tweet alluded to her having no lyrical control with her own music. She later deleted the tweet.

In January of 2014, Ke$ha was checked into rehab for bulimia nervosa. After she checked out, she removed the “$” from her name. This was strong evidence that Kesha was undergoing a change to her public persona. We truly wouldn’t find this out until she started to create music again in 2017. That same year, she began her legal dispute with Dr. Luke. After the court had ruled against her in February 2016, Kesha returned to making music after nearly five years. In 2017 she released her album Rainbow, which also debuted at number one. Kesha was no longer the young party girl artist. People immediately noticed the new direction Kesha had begun to take her music in now that Dr. Luke no longer had any creative involvement. Her single from the album “Praying”, “…is a heartfelt power ballad that shines some light on the traumatic experiences she has been through during her time out of the spotlight because of a messy breakdown in relations between her and the producer.” (The Telegraph). Kesha did away with the constant heavy foundation that used to cover all of her freckles on her face (which I never knew she even had until recently).

She’s put on some weight and seems like a happier and more content version of herself. Kesha has laid a claim to power over her image and has become a feminist icon in light of her dark experiences with Sony and Dr. Luke.

Above: Kesha, 2017

During and after the long trial with Dr. Luke and Sony, she revealed to the world and her fans a deeply vulnerable side. There is power in vulnerability, and she has showed that she is willing to fight for change and her rights within the music industry. The “Free Kesha” movement gained momentum, and many celebrities stood behind Kesha, such as Lorde, Lady Gaga, Demi Lovato, and Taylor Swift. After the ruling, Swift donated $250,000 dollars to aid with any financial difficulties due to the trials. Since coming forward about being a victim of sexual assault, Kesha has continued to advocate for women’s rights. At the 2018 Grammy’s, she gave an emotional performance of her song “Praying” in support of the #MeToo movement.

According to Kesha “…there was a little point in time I wasn’t sure if I would ever be able to put out music again and ‘Praying’ is the first song I got to put out,” the Grammy nominee continued. “I keep thinking it’s going to be easy to sing and it never f—king is.” (US Weekly)