Kesha at the 2016 Billboard Music Awards
Kesha released her new single "Praying" yesterday morning, after four long years of being trapped in music purgatory, unable to produce any new music due to contract restraints, and the ongoing court battle surrounding them."Praying," as described by Kesha in a personal essay she wrote for Lenny Letter, is all about triumphing through adversity, and finding peace in forgiving those who have hurt you. Kesha credits Ryan Lewis and Ben Abraham fo helping her "channel all this raw emotion into a powerful song."
For the last few years, Kesha has been trying to free herself from her contract with Dr. Luke, her former producer and mentor whom she alleges drugged, and sexually and verbally assaulted her during her time recording with him at Sony. Sony finally removed Dr Luke from the company back in April, according to Pitchfork, and now Kesha's new album "Rainbow" is being released under his former label Kemosabe.
In her Lenny Letter essay, Kesha also praises Jonas Åkerlund for helping her create the music video for "Praying," which juxtaposes vivid, dark imagery (men wearing creepily realistic pig masks taunting Kesha), with brilliant, bright hues, and compelling visual effects - presumably a nod to Kesha overcoming her legal battles and eating disorder.
Kesha describes her new album as "just the beginning," and even the last scene of her music video is superimposed with the words "The Beginning."
In "Praying," Kesha sings:
"You brought the flames and you put me through hel / I had to learn how to fight for myself / And we both know all the truth I could tell / I'll just say this is I wish you farewell"
It seems like Kesha is saying goodbye to her painful past, and the result is a beautiful, soulful song, and a visually striking music video.
Kesha's single "Praying" comes from her new album "Rainbow," set to be released August 11.
You can watch the music video for Kesha's new single "Praying" here: