After several long, arduous years, Kesha’s new album Rainbow is finally seeing the light of day. There’s been tremendous anticipation for the project as a whole: Not only is it Kesha’s first new release since 2012’s Warrior, but an opportunity for the artist to start rebuilding her career.
How Kesha’s 3-year legal battle with Dr. Luke shaped her new album Rainbow
The singer is still struggling to get out of her contract after a sexual assault claim against her producer.
Said career was largely stalled after she filed a civil lawsuit against her producer Lukasz “Dr. Luke” Gottwald for sexual and physical abuse in October 2014 (no criminal charges were ever filed). Since then, she’s been involved in a contentious legal fight, having requested release from a recording contract she’d previously signed with the producer (and, by extension, with the label he eventually co-founded with Sony Music, Kemosabe Records). When a court denied Kesha’s request last year, she was prevented from releasing music outside of her preexisting contract, but doing so within it was complicated by her allegations against Dr. Luke, a countersuit filed by him, and their continued battles in court.
She persevered — and Rainbow is the result. Already, critics are praising the new album as a powerful and honest personal statement about the tortuous ordeal she has endured. Consequence of Sound described it as “much more organic and of this earth than anything by dollar-sign Ke$ha.” Entertainment Weekly complimented the “vivid writing” and noted how cathartic it feels. In a glowing review, Rolling Stone calls it “the best music of her career.”
The ongoing legal technicalities surrounding Rainbow and Kesha’s recording career have certainly threatened to hold her back from achieving the triumph over adversity she is so clearly striving for. And her contractual ties to Dr. Luke, Kemosabe Records, and Sony remain intact. But the album nonetheless ushers in a new era for the artist. Here’s how it came to be.
In 2014, Kesha sought personal and professional freedom, claiming years of abuse
Kesha’s 2014 lawsuit accused Dr. Luke of “sexual assault and battery, sexual harassment, gender violence, unfair business practices, and infliction of emotional distress.” It alleged extensive physical, mental, and sexual abuse that took place throughout her long professional relationship with Dr. Luke — which began in 2005, when the singer was 18 years old — and claimed that Dr. Luke forced Kesha to take drugs. It also described one instance in which she was unknowingly given date rape drugs, then woke up naked and sore in Dr. Luke’s bed, with no recollection of what had happened. Her doctors were quoted as saying that continued contact with Dr. Luke would be “life-threatening.”
As such, the suit specifically asked the court to release Kesha from her contract, which stated that she was supposed to record no fewer than six new albums under Dr. Luke’s purview.
Dr. Luke denied the allegations and filed a countersuit, claiming defamation. He argued that Kesha was just trying to get out of her contract, and that making such a request violated the terms of their agreement.
In February 2016, the New York State Supreme Court denied Kesha’s injunctions to be released from her contract, which ties her to Dr. Luke, Kemosabe Records, Sony Music, and another Sony subsidiary, RCA Records. According to the New York Times, the denial came after Sony said it was “ready, willing and able” to approve a different producer for Kesha to work with.
The situation sent shockwaves through the music industry. Many high-profile artists voiced their support for Kesha, including Ariana Grande, Lorde, Lady Gaga, and Taylor Swift. Kesha’s legal team appealed the ruling, but it was upheld.
This left Kesha legally able to record and release music, but only under her preexisting contract.
How Kesha’s legal battle shaped the making of Rainbow
Back in June 2014, prior to filing the lawsuit, Kesha had told MTV News that she’d begun working on new music that was “trippy” and “a little different.” The next year, after the lawsuit had been filed, she posted an Instagram video with the caption, “I will release new music as soon as I possibly can.”
In February 2016, after Kesha’s request to be released from her recording contract had been denied, she stated in a Facebook post that she would be willing to continue working with Sony, if the company could “break all ties that bind me to my abuser.” In response, a lawyer for Sony, Scott A. Edelman, explained that “Sony has made it possible for Kesha to record without any connection, involvement or interaction with Luke whatsoever, but Sony is not in a position to terminate the contractual relationship between Luke and Kesha.”
Later that year, in August, Kesha dropped her initial lawsuit against Dr. Luke in order to focus on releasing new music, and provided 28 new songs that she’d recorded at her own expense to Sony and Kemosabe. (She is still being sued by Dr. Luke, for defamation and breach of contract.)
Per her original contract with Dr. Luke, Kesha is on the hook to produce six albums with Kemosabe before their agreement is fulfilled (and in spite of the fact that Dr. Luke exited the label earlier this year).
Rainbow is now one of those albums, built from those 28 songs.
It’s generally unclear how involved Dr. Luke or Kemosabe were in the creative process. Representatives for Dr. Luke have maintained that the label played a key role, issuing a statement in October 2016 that read, in part:
[F]or the last several months, the label has been in discussions with Kesha and her team to choose the best music, create additional music, and work on the tracks created. A&R representatives of both Kemosabe and RCA have provided Kesha with detailed feedback in writing and in person on the tracks she provided to help her further develop the material.
Additionally, a lawyer for Dr. Luke told the New York Times, “It was a collaborative process, just like the making of a typical album. Everything proceeded with the full support of Luke.”
Once a major architect of pop hits like Pitbull’s “Timber” (which featured Kesha) and Miley Cyrus’s “Wrecking Ball,” Dr. Luke has seen his production credits dwindle in the wake of Kesha’s allegations.
Dr. Luke is not credited as the producer of any of Rainbow’s songs, though the New York Times reports that he will “pursue the equivalent producer royalties in court.” And as Vulture points out, the album’s liner notes reveal that “all words written by Kesha belong to a Dr. Luke property,” the publishing company Where Da Kasz At.
Kesha recently told SiriusXM that she has taken solace in working on music through such a tumultuous period in her life. “I would roll out of bed and I would get in the car and I would drive to the studio and keep making songs, and that was my way to cope with how I was feeling depressed,” she said.
Rainbow is a departure from Kesha’s past work, informed by everything she’s been through over the past three years
Sonically, Rainbow is a pretty significant departure from Kesha’s previous records and party anthems, drawing on the country, rock, and blues influences that the singer has previously shown a proclivity for. While discussing the album with NPR, she said she wanted to get back to her country roots; Kesha is originally from Nashville, and her mother, Pebe Sebert, is an established songwriter who worked with Kathy Mattea and Regina Regina. On Rainbow, she collaborates with Dolly Parton on a version of “Old Flames (Can’t Hold a Candle to You),” a country standard that Kesha’s mother co-wrote and that Parton covered herself back in 1980.
Lyrically, several songs on Rainbow are more deeply personal and emotional than the music Kesha made with Dr. Luke, focusing on the strain the singer has been under throughout her legal battle, as well as the process of getting her career and life back on track.
“Praying,” which was released as a single in July, currently sits at No. 32 on the Billboard Hot 100, having peaked at No. 25. The contemplative, piano-powered ballad doesn’t sound anything past Kesha hits like “Tik Tok” and “We R Who We R”; it’s slower and showcases Kesha’s powerful vocals as opposed to the rap-sung hybrid she often used earlier in her career. “’Cause you brought the flames and you put me through hell / I had to learn how to fight for myself,” she sings.
In “Learn to Let Go” — an uplifting pop rock anthem with pounding percussion — Kesha seems to ruminate on the strength and wisdom she feels she’s gained. “I know I’m always like / Telling everybody you don’t gotta be a victim / Life ain’t always fair, but hell is living in resentment / Choose redemption / Your happy ending’s up to you,” she sings.
The album’s opener, “Bastards,” is an acoustic middle finger to doubters, skeptics, and, undoubtedly, Dr. Luke. “Don’t let the bastards get you down / Don’t let the assholes wear you out,” she sings on the hook. “I’ll just keep on living, keep on living, the way I want to live.”
But while the shadow of Dr. Luke certainly hangs over Rainbow, tracks like “Woman” (which features the Dap-Kings) and “Boogie Feet” (which features Eagles of Death Metal) display a powerful combination of the vintage Ke$ha spunk and the down home version of herself that has emerged of late.
Kesha’s legal saga is far from over, as she will still have to fulfill her original contract with Dr. Luke before she’s entirely free, but Rainbow is a powerful testament to her resolve and spirit that also doubles as the strongest and most heartfelt work of her career.
