I don't really think I need to give any background on Kesha, but fuck it I'll do it anyways.
Kesha, formally known as Ke$ha (you're damn right this girl rocked a fucking dollar sign in her name) is a pop star that came to fame right at the turn of the decade, when the charts were being run by other pop divas like Lady Gaga and Katy Perry (oh how the times have changed). She had her decade defining hit "TiK ToK" in 2010, as long as multiple other singles breaking the top 10 off her debut album Animal. She then released an EP labeled Cannibal, which regardless of quality, everyone unanimously agreed was a weird, gross project that definitely put Kesha in her own lane that no one would DARE follow her in. 2010 was the year of Kesha, whether people liked it or not.
Fast forward 6 years later, and the last half a decade or so hasn't been too kind to her. She was forced into rehab because her producer Dr. Luke (who I DO have some choice words for, don't worry) considered her "too fat" and "Not as attractive as other pop stars". The release of her sophomore album Warrior was INCREDIBLY shaky because of the arguments Kesha and Dr. Luke had on the album's tracklisting and overall direction of the album. Then of course you have the on going court case between Kesha and alleged abuser Dr. Luke, which I will get into later because it's practically impossible to talk about this album WITHOUT bringing it up. All that matters at this moment is that because a series of certain events, Kesha is now able to release her newest album called "Rainbow".
Now, I am a HUGE fucking Kesha fan. I absolutely love her sleazy party girl persona where her 2 motives in life is to fuck dudes and fuck with dudes. But on the other end, I also love the real Kesha, the down to Earth raspy singer from Nashville with interests in country and southern rock. The combining of these 2 completely opposite styles is what made Warrior such a brilliant album. It had the perfect balance of upbeat club bangers, loud and rowdy pop rock, and somber, touching country-rock ballads. I loved all 4 of the songs that she released before this album, whether I loved them on the very first listen (Praying & Woman) or after a bit of time they really grew on me (Learn to Let Go & Hymn). I was fucking ecstatic for this album, I was hyping it up to ridiculous proportions. Kesha said she doesn't need Dr. Luke to make a great album and gain mainstream as well as critical acclaim, and now it's time for her to prove it. So, did she?
Well, the latter 2 we'll have to wait and see, but as for the question "Did she make a great album?", I'm sure my answer isn't going to surprise you: she fucking did it. I had one of the highest expectations out of ANYONE who listened to this and she still met them. The part where she probably surprised me the most is the production! A lot of people were worried that the first 2 released songs were flukes and that Rainbow was going to be a very boring sounding album, and I'll admit I did have some doubts in the back of my mind. But that doubt was wrong, everyone was wrong, this album sounds absolutely gorgeous, the ballads especially. As someone who doesn't really have much of an interest in ballads, I love how songs like Praying and Rainbow start very simplistic and continuously build throughout the ENTIRE song to have an explosive final chorus. Every part of the song actually sounds different, it's not 4 minutes of the same exact sound over and over again. But even with Rainbow having some of the best ballads I've ever heard period, I am still much more of a fan of the upbeat stuff, which this album offers a lot of. Songs like Boots sounds exactly like stuff you'd expect from early Kesha projects and it sounds as good and fresh as ever. You have killer grooves with biting guitars and catchy drums on the 2 Eagles of Death Metal tracks Let 'Em Talk and ESPECIALLY the damn near perfect Boogie Feet, which reminds me a hell of a lot of Dirty Love (my favourite song of all time). Kesha also brings out her country side with the rowdy, extremely anthemic Woman, as well as the equally potent and equally country track Hunt You Down, which is as sassy and sinister as the title implies. Even the pop direction stuff that Kesha throws on this album I love. Hymn and Learn To Let Go sound basic sure, but it's a basic style that works, and I love them. Kesha also kills it with the stripped down, lowkey songs. Bastards is a great acoustic guitar ballad, and Godzilla is an even better one, despite everyone's disappointment that Godzilla WASN'T some crazy avant garde shit. There is no denying it in my eyes, on a musical level, Kesha nailed every single song, no matter what style it went for.
Vocally, this is probably Kesha's best album. I've known for years that she had real pipes and could hit some crazy notes if she wanted to (and was brave enough to), and on this album her vocals are the fullest sounding they've ever been. She never cracks once, mostly because of her avoiding falsetto (apart from the high note on Praying which is breathtaking, check literally any reaction video and you'll see why). There's not a trace of auto tune on this album apart from maybe 1 or 2 songs that use it in Kesha's usual sing-talk style that is still as cool and ratchet as ever. Kesha is, in my opinion, the best pop singer of this generation. On an objective level, if we were to measure octave levels and time able to hold notes and yadda yadda, she wouldn't even be top 5, nowhere close. But I can't think of a single pop star that has more personality than Kesha does. She's sassy, charming, and fucking BURSTING with charisma. Even in the slower, very emotional songs on this record, you can feel the pain. You FEEL what she's feeling, and it really does spotlight how talented and underrated she is as a vocalist.
Fast forward 6 years later, and the last half a decade or so hasn't been too kind to her. She was forced into rehab because her producer Dr. Luke (who I DO have some choice words for, don't worry) considered her "too fat" and "Not as attractive as other pop stars". The release of her sophomore album Warrior was INCREDIBLY shaky because of the arguments Kesha and Dr. Luke had on the album's tracklisting and overall direction of the album. Then of course you have the on going court case between Kesha and alleged abuser Dr. Luke, which I will get into later because it's practically impossible to talk about this album WITHOUT bringing it up. All that matters at this moment is that because a series of certain events, Kesha is now able to release her newest album called "Rainbow".
Now, I am a HUGE fucking Kesha fan. I absolutely love her sleazy party girl persona where her 2 motives in life is to fuck dudes and fuck with dudes. But on the other end, I also love the real Kesha, the down to Earth raspy singer from Nashville with interests in country and southern rock. The combining of these 2 completely opposite styles is what made Warrior such a brilliant album. It had the perfect balance of upbeat club bangers, loud and rowdy pop rock, and somber, touching country-rock ballads. I loved all 4 of the songs that she released before this album, whether I loved them on the very first listen (Praying & Woman) or after a bit of time they really grew on me (Learn to Let Go & Hymn). I was fucking ecstatic for this album, I was hyping it up to ridiculous proportions. Kesha said she doesn't need Dr. Luke to make a great album and gain mainstream as well as critical acclaim, and now it's time for her to prove it. So, did she?
Well, the latter 2 we'll have to wait and see, but as for the question "Did she make a great album?", I'm sure my answer isn't going to surprise you: she fucking did it. I had one of the highest expectations out of ANYONE who listened to this and she still met them. The part where she probably surprised me the most is the production! A lot of people were worried that the first 2 released songs were flukes and that Rainbow was going to be a very boring sounding album, and I'll admit I did have some doubts in the back of my mind. But that doubt was wrong, everyone was wrong, this album sounds absolutely gorgeous, the ballads especially. As someone who doesn't really have much of an interest in ballads, I love how songs like Praying and Rainbow start very simplistic and continuously build throughout the ENTIRE song to have an explosive final chorus. Every part of the song actually sounds different, it's not 4 minutes of the same exact sound over and over again. But even with Rainbow having some of the best ballads I've ever heard period, I am still much more of a fan of the upbeat stuff, which this album offers a lot of. Songs like Boots sounds exactly like stuff you'd expect from early Kesha projects and it sounds as good and fresh as ever. You have killer grooves with biting guitars and catchy drums on the 2 Eagles of Death Metal tracks Let 'Em Talk and ESPECIALLY the damn near perfect Boogie Feet, which reminds me a hell of a lot of Dirty Love (my favourite song of all time). Kesha also brings out her country side with the rowdy, extremely anthemic Woman, as well as the equally potent and equally country track Hunt You Down, which is as sassy and sinister as the title implies. Even the pop direction stuff that Kesha throws on this album I love. Hymn and Learn To Let Go sound basic sure, but it's a basic style that works, and I love them. Kesha also kills it with the stripped down, lowkey songs. Bastards is a great acoustic guitar ballad, and Godzilla is an even better one, despite everyone's disappointment that Godzilla WASN'T some crazy avant garde shit. There is no denying it in my eyes, on a musical level, Kesha nailed every single song, no matter what style it went for.
Vocally, this is probably Kesha's best album. I've known for years that she had real pipes and could hit some crazy notes if she wanted to (and was brave enough to), and on this album her vocals are the fullest sounding they've ever been. She never cracks once, mostly because of her avoiding falsetto (apart from the high note on Praying which is breathtaking, check literally any reaction video and you'll see why). There's not a trace of auto tune on this album apart from maybe 1 or 2 songs that use it in Kesha's usual sing-talk style that is still as cool and ratchet as ever. Kesha is, in my opinion, the best pop singer of this generation. On an objective level, if we were to measure octave levels and time able to hold notes and yadda yadda, she wouldn't even be top 5, nowhere close. But I can't think of a single pop star that has more personality than Kesha does. She's sassy, charming, and fucking BURSTING with charisma. Even in the slower, very emotional songs on this record, you can feel the pain. You FEEL what she's feeling, and it really does spotlight how talented and underrated she is as a vocalist.
But the lyrics are really the main topic point of this album, and that's because of the whole Kesha vs Dr. Luke court case, where she sued him for physical, emotional, psychological, AND sexual abuse, as well as not paying her certain royalties, the whole nine yards. Now, I'm not gonna say that Kesha is automatically right here. I don't want to bias your viewpoint by calling Dr. Luke a scumfuck shitlord who deserves to rot in hell, that's NOT what I'm saying. You can easily go and read the court case yourself and all the evidence offered. From what I believe, Kesha is very much in the right, and if she truly is, she fucking sold it on this album. Everyone knows how emotionally driven and powerful Praying is.
"I hope you're somewhere prayin’, prayin'
I hope your soul is changin', changin'"
We all expected Kesha to return with a massive fuck you song to Dr. Luke, but instead we got a song in the complete opposite direction. Kesha instead hopes that Dr. Luke regrets what he's done, and hope that he's trying to change himself for the better, which is a powerful ass statement considering what she's gone through. It shows a lot of growth and maturity in Kesha to do that. As Bed Reviews said: "If you can do that, you're a real fucking artist".
A same mentality comes to the title track Rainbow, which is one of the best songs on the entire album. It was a song Kesha wrote in rehab on a keyboard she was only allowed to use for an hour in a state of depression over her eat disorder. It's about a promise she made to herself that no matter how bad it gets, she has to get through it. Which yes, is a topic many has used, but I don't think it's been done this well. The way the production builds to get brighter and more full, as if to represent her escaping the darkness she was encapsulated in and into the light, is absolutely beautiful.
"I hope you're somewhere prayin’, prayin'
I hope your soul is changin', changin'"
We all expected Kesha to return with a massive fuck you song to Dr. Luke, but instead we got a song in the complete opposite direction. Kesha instead hopes that Dr. Luke regrets what he's done, and hope that he's trying to change himself for the better, which is a powerful ass statement considering what she's gone through. It shows a lot of growth and maturity in Kesha to do that. As Bed Reviews said: "If you can do that, you're a real fucking artist".
A same mentality comes to the title track Rainbow, which is one of the best songs on the entire album. It was a song Kesha wrote in rehab on a keyboard she was only allowed to use for an hour in a state of depression over her eat disorder. It's about a promise she made to herself that no matter how bad it gets, she has to get through it. Which yes, is a topic many has used, but I don't think it's been done this well. The way the production builds to get brighter and more full, as if to represent her escaping the darkness she was encapsulated in and into the light, is absolutely beautiful.
But don't worry, if you're not a fan of hearing this type of emotional, sorta sad but still uprising music, that's cool, because Kesha still has you covered. Hunt You Down is Kesha talking to a dude and blatantly saying "I'm not usually a bad bitch, but don't think I can't be one. If you fuck with me, I'll hunt you down & kill you". Which you gotta admit, is INCREDIBLY believable from the same girl who wrote Cannibal, a song LITERALLY about eating a guy. Woman is also a blast lyrically, as it's a response to Donald Trump's "Grab them by the pussy" controversial remarks, with her screaming her opinions on the matter fairly clearly.
"I'M A MOTHERFUCKIN WOMAN!"
Along with various other feminist-like chants thrown in, like stating she makes her OWN money and doesn't need no man to hold her when shit goes down. Which yeah, I'd agree with her, Kesha really doesn't need ANYONE at this point.
If you still don't like that, maybe it's too politically charged for you, which is fair enough, you got a track like Boogie Feet, easily my favourite on the album, which is just about dancing! Dance, the best medicine! Everything is happy go lucky, it's a hell of a lot of fun, and every line is iconic.
"Some people, they look so sexy
Pop and fizzle like a Pepsi"
A bunch of fun, really doesn't get much better than that.
Then you got the WEIRD shit. The closing track, Spaceships, is Kesha admitting that she's an alien (which, if you really were one, is probably not something you want to put on an album). But even then, nothing is as weird as Godzilla, an acoustic guitar song (with some touches of piano here and there but it's still an acoustic guitar song fuck you) where Kesha confesses her love to Godzilla despite all his flaws and it's quite possibly one of the most touching songs I've ever heard. The best part is, this could easily be interpreted as Kesha using Godzilla as a metaphor for a boyfriend, where everyone thinks he's an asshole but she can't see why because she's blinded by love. But no, that'd be too easy, Kesha seriously made a song talking about wanting to have a relationship with the real deal Godzilla.
The features on here do a marvelous job as well. The Eagles of Death Metal gave Kesha a true rock edge on their 2 tracks, making some of the best songs of the entire year, the Dap-Kings Horns made a very potent and fist pumping horn drop for Woman, and fuck, Kesha even got Dolly Parton to do a damn near perfect rendition of Old Flames (Can't Hold A Candle To You), a song that Kesha's mom actually wrote! The features here were unexpected to say the least, but they still made sense and worked perfectly for what they were supposed to. I'd much rather have this then what other pop stars usually do. #NoMoreFuckingQuavoFeatures.
I have spent the majority of this year (and ESPECIALLY on this blog) shitting on pop music. People have called me out on it for being "too harsh", and I've given pop albums negative score after negative score after negative score. And the reason for that is because of this album. THIS is a fucking pop album. Production that not only sounds great and works on a competent level, but is varied and dabbles in different styles. Vocals that tonally match, bring emotion and charisma to a track, singing songs that sound like only them themselves could pull off. Writing that has some fucking weight behind it, has genuine quotable moments for good reasons, doesn't show toxic attitudes for no rhyme or reason, and can be catchy enough to sing along to and striking/relatable enough to cry to at the drop of a dime. The melodies are infectious, and unlike Warrior, the tracklist is ordered perfectly. I fucking loved this album. I'd say Kesha just made a strong contender for Album Of The Year, but that would imply anyone has a chance of beating her.
OVERALL: 10/10 (!!!)
BEST: Boogie Feet ft Eagles of Death Metal, Godzilla, Rainbow, Woman ft The Dap-Kings Horns, Let Em Talk ft Eagles of Death Metal, Praying, Old Flames (Can't Hold A Candle To You) ft Dolly Parton
WORST: N/A
"I'M A MOTHERFUCKIN WOMAN!"
Along with various other feminist-like chants thrown in, like stating she makes her OWN money and doesn't need no man to hold her when shit goes down. Which yeah, I'd agree with her, Kesha really doesn't need ANYONE at this point.
If you still don't like that, maybe it's too politically charged for you, which is fair enough, you got a track like Boogie Feet, easily my favourite on the album, which is just about dancing! Dance, the best medicine! Everything is happy go lucky, it's a hell of a lot of fun, and every line is iconic.
"Some people, they look so sexy
Pop and fizzle like a Pepsi"
A bunch of fun, really doesn't get much better than that.
Then you got the WEIRD shit. The closing track, Spaceships, is Kesha admitting that she's an alien (which, if you really were one, is probably not something you want to put on an album). But even then, nothing is as weird as Godzilla, an acoustic guitar song (with some touches of piano here and there but it's still an acoustic guitar song fuck you) where Kesha confesses her love to Godzilla despite all his flaws and it's quite possibly one of the most touching songs I've ever heard. The best part is, this could easily be interpreted as Kesha using Godzilla as a metaphor for a boyfriend, where everyone thinks he's an asshole but she can't see why because she's blinded by love. But no, that'd be too easy, Kesha seriously made a song talking about wanting to have a relationship with the real deal Godzilla.
The features on here do a marvelous job as well. The Eagles of Death Metal gave Kesha a true rock edge on their 2 tracks, making some of the best songs of the entire year, the Dap-Kings Horns made a very potent and fist pumping horn drop for Woman, and fuck, Kesha even got Dolly Parton to do a damn near perfect rendition of Old Flames (Can't Hold A Candle To You), a song that Kesha's mom actually wrote! The features here were unexpected to say the least, but they still made sense and worked perfectly for what they were supposed to. I'd much rather have this then what other pop stars usually do. #NoMoreFuckingQuavoFeatures.
I have spent the majority of this year (and ESPECIALLY on this blog) shitting on pop music. People have called me out on it for being "too harsh", and I've given pop albums negative score after negative score after negative score. And the reason for that is because of this album. THIS is a fucking pop album. Production that not only sounds great and works on a competent level, but is varied and dabbles in different styles. Vocals that tonally match, bring emotion and charisma to a track, singing songs that sound like only them themselves could pull off. Writing that has some fucking weight behind it, has genuine quotable moments for good reasons, doesn't show toxic attitudes for no rhyme or reason, and can be catchy enough to sing along to and striking/relatable enough to cry to at the drop of a dime. The melodies are infectious, and unlike Warrior, the tracklist is ordered perfectly. I fucking loved this album. I'd say Kesha just made a strong contender for Album Of The Year, but that would imply anyone has a chance of beating her.
OVERALL: 10/10 (!!!)
BEST: Boogie Feet ft Eagles of Death Metal, Godzilla, Rainbow, Woman ft The Dap-Kings Horns, Let Em Talk ft Eagles of Death Metal, Praying, Old Flames (Can't Hold A Candle To You) ft Dolly Parton
WORST: N/A
Ke$ha/Kesha stans unite
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