Kesha is a survivor, a rock star, and an incredibly talented songwriter. Her third album, 2017's Rainbow, shot straight to the top of the charts and was a critical darling — Pitchfork noted that she "commits emotionally and vocally," and A.V. Club called the album "a bold, focused, universal statement about freedom — from self-hatred, from paralysing internal conflicts, from gender expectations, from negative influences, and (especially) from other people’s shit." (Disclaimer: I have contributed to both Pitchfork and A.V. Club) We couldn't agree more — Rainbow captures the raw authenticity of her struggles, revealing a heart of gold.
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Now, the "Tik Tok" singer graces the latest cover of Rolling Stone (disclaimer: I have also contributed to Rolling Stone), with a lengthy accompanying profile piece. She's so excited about this cover story that she shared her gratitude on Twitter.
This is heart-achingly so special. Thank you to everyone who made this happen.
— kesha (@KeshaRose) October 4, 2017
https://t.co/4x4rndppXS
The story is full of illuminating anecdotes about the aftermath of her lawsuit against Dr. Luke, aka Lukasz Gottwald. For instance, Taylor Swift donated $250,000 to Kesha "to help with any of her financial needs during this trying time," a spokesperson for Swift told Rolling Stone. The two became friends, and Kesha says that Taylor is a "a fucking sweetheart. Very, very sweet, very, very genuine, extremely generous, picks up the phone every time I call her. My mom doesn't even always pick up the phone!" Having Taylor Swift in your corner means you have a very devoted friend — for all the criticism Swift receives about her "squad", it's clear that she values her friends deeply.
Kesha also affirms that she is "always a feminist" and that relates to some of her old music: specifically, her references to being sexually playful with men. She says, "I was like, 'I'm going to talk about men this way and level the playing field.' And I still think that's fuckin' cool of a woman of that age. And I admire a lot of the stuff I did. Because I truly didn't give a fuck at moments, and that was very cool." Cool indeed. Her hits like "Party At A Rich Dude's House" and "We R Who We R" still make us want to dance into the night with our best girlfriends. Kesha is a portrait of strength, power, and healing, and that her music is so good makes us treasure her even more.
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