Kesha has released her first single in four years, Praying, and the video is beautiful and heartbreaking
Kesha is back, and she’s brought a rainbow with her.
The superstar, who came out as bisexual in 2013, dropped her new song, Praying, nearly four years after her last single.
The song will form part of her new album, Rainbow, which will be released on August 11.
During her emotional video for the song, the Tik Tok star addresses her producer Dr Luke, who she alleged raped her, and talks about dealing with depression during the court battle.
In a Beyoncé-esque intro, she tackles her depression head-on, asking: “Am I dead? Or is this one of those dreams? Those horrible dreams, that seem like they last forever?
“If I am alive, why? Why? If there is a god or whatever, something, somewhere, why have I been abandoned by everyone and everything I’ve ever known? I’ve ever loved? Stranded.
“What is the lesson? What is the point? God, give me a sign or I have to give up. I can’t do this anymore.
“Please just let me die. Being alive hurts too much.”
The video is saturated with rainbow and Christian imagery, as the sweeping lyrics pull no punches over Dr Luke.
“You brought the flames and you put me through hell,” Kesha tells him.
“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.”
Later on, she recalls: “you said that I was done / Well, you were wrong and now the best is yet to come.
“When I’m finished, they won’t even know your name.”
The video also features a series of posters including the phrase “Democrats are evil” and her song title “Blah Blah Blah,” as well as the messages “God is love” and “You are loved by god.”
Writing on Lena Durham and Jenni Konner’s site, Lenny, she opened up about her struggle over the past four years.
“I have channelled my feelings of severe hopelessness and depression, I’ve overcome obstacles, and I have found strength in myself even when it felt out of reach,” she said.
“I’ve found what I had thought was an unobtainable place of peace. This song is about coming to feel empathy for someone else even if they hurt you or scare you.
“I know that I was never abandoned by my fans, my animals, or my family, but when you are depressed – really, truly depressed – you feel like you have nothing,” she added.
Kesha has been a prominent LGBT rights activist over the past few years and was awarded the Visibility Award by the Human Rights Campaign in 2016.
Wonderfully, she has also officiated two same-sex weddings.
Watch the full video below:
