Kesha Says She Is Still Not ‘Free’ To Release New Music After Parting Ways With Dr. Luke’s Label

The 36-year-old “Praying” singer has revealed to V Magazine that while she has never felt “more at peace”, the day she can release new music is still not here.

As for when the day is, she remained tight-lipped. However, she wants her fans to know she is counting down the days and has been writing tracks for her “animals”.

“I’ll say… to all my fans, all my animals, this has been a ride. I’ll say that there is a day — although I won’t say the day — but there is a day marked on my calendar when I am free to release music,” she told the outlet. “So just know that she is out here in the woods writing and singing till four in the morning, ferociously. I am being a feral wild woman out here. So just know that.”

The “Tik Tok” hitmaker says she is excited to be entering a new chapter in her life and career.

“I’ve never felt happier, more excited, more at peace and had such a purpose in my entire life. And I feel like I have earned the right to be this happy for sure,” she said. “So letting that be… I am loving every minute of what feels like a brand-new and very exciting chapter.”

As to why Kesha is not free to release new music yet, it comes after a longstanding legal battle with her previous producer, Dr. Luke.

In 2014, Kesha filed a civil lawsuit against music producer Dr. Luke (real name Lukasz Gottwald), claiming he abused her “physically, sexually, verbally and emotionally over a 10-year period”. Denying the allegations, he sued her for defamation and breach of contract in the amount of $50 million.

In 2016, Kesha dropped the abuse claims. Meanwhile, Gottwald’s suit is still pending a court date. In 2019, the Los Angeles native said her attorneys advised her not to speak about the lawsuit.

“They’re just like, ‘Focus on the music, focus on your happiness and mental health, and we’ll deal with this.’ Doing that has been greatly helpful,” she relayed to Billboard at the time.

That focus allowed Kesha to get back to her catchy pop tune roots, like when she won over fans with her debut 2010 album Animal and her breakout hit “Tik Tok,” following her more emotionally impactful 2017 album, Rainbow, and its breakout hit, “Praying,” which most people believe was about Dr. Luke.

“I dug through the emotional wreckage, and now… I can go back to talking a little bit of s–t,” Kesha told Billboard in 2019. “I really wanted to put a solid footprint back into pop music, like, ‘I can do this, and I can do this on my own.'”

“I don’t know if this is my last pop record,” she teased at the time, “but I want to have one where I go out with a bang.”

Clearly, the artist wasn’t done, though, as she dropped two more albums after Rainbow, including High Road (2020) and her latest effort, 2023’s Gag Order. These releases fulfilled her contractual obligations to RCA Records and Dr. Luke’s label, Kemosabe.

After departing both labels in December 2023 and with more new music on the horizon, Kesha’s future is finally and fully her own.