Women to Admire: Kesha

We’ve watched Kesha struggle for years during her case against Dr. Luke. But when she defiantly sang “Praying” at the Grammys, she proved her strength as a woman to admire.

She’s a motherf-ing woman, baby, alright. And Kesha’s not letting anybody hold her back anymore.

Kesha first made a name for herself with her party-girl persona and pop songs like “Tik Tok,” “We R Who We R” and “Die Young.” Kesha was fun. Her music was catchy. But, to me, she was just another pop singer.

Obviously, there’s nothing wrong with being a pop singer or singing about having fun. But over the last few years, Kesha’s made a complete transformation.

Of course, much of this has to do with Kesha’s public battle with music producer Dr. Luke. Kesha sued the producer because he allegedly sexually, physically, verbally and emotionally abused Kesha. Dr. Luke quickly countersued.

Kesha wanted out of her contract with Dr. Luke so that she wouldn’t have to continue to work with her alleged abuser. Her lawyer argued that her career could be over and she wouldn’t be relevant if she didn’t make music quickly. But she was denied a court injunction that would have let her record new music without Sony Music or Dr. Luke.

It was heartbreaking to see how devastated Kesha was in the courtroom. Kesha appealed the ruling, but it was upheld. She eventually dropped the lawsuit to focus on her music.

Soon, fans started the Free Kesha campaign, and other celebrities like Lady Gaga and Daya publicly supported her.

But for the most part, Kesha was alone. She filed the lawsuit in 2014, years before the Me Too and Time’s Up movements became mainstream. People continued to work with the powerhouse producer and disbelieved, ignored or blamed Kesha for her problems.

But Kesha’s come out on top and had a major comeback over the past year. She came out with a new sound and sense of purpose with Rainbow. In her new album, Kesha is finally making the music she wants to make and showing a new side to her amazing voice. It’s an emotionally powerful album where she opens up about her struggles in songs like “Praying,” “Learn to Let Go” and more.

Reactions to Kesha hitting an inspiring high note in “Praying” went viral, not just because it was an artistic achievement but because that note seemed to be Kesha herself rising above all that has hurt her.

With her new album and her openness, Kesha has become someone for fans to look up to and root for. In general, Kesha has been incredibly open with her fans about mental illness, her issues with an eating disorder, problems in the music industry and her case against Dr. Luke.

All of this culminated in Kesha’s unbelievable, emotional, raw and empowering performance at the Grammys in January. Standing there, surrounded by women who supported her in front of a room full of people from an industry that didn’t support her for so long, Kesha belted out her song “Praying.” It alludes to her experience with Dr. Luke. It was brave, defiant, heart-wrenching and powerful. Plus, it was just an amazing performance.

Kesha has been publicly fighting against sexual assault and harassment before Me Too became such a big movement in the public consciousness. We’ve seen her struggle for years. Yet, she’s persevered and refused to let her experience with Dr. Luke keep her down. So, of course, we want to see her win and succeed.

With Rainbow (get it on Amazon), her Grammys performance and the way she’s using her voice to speak out and help other women, she’s certainly winning already. We can’t wait to see what she does next.

Editor’s Note: Every day in March, we here at Culturess will feature a Woman to Admire — both real and fictional — for Women’s History Month. Keep coming back every day to see who’s made it on the list.