What awesome news to hear: according to People, Kesha gave a surprise performance at Coachella during the festival's opening weekend on Apr. 16. As People reports, this marked the "Tik Tok" singer's first performance in months, and it's especially significant, since it happened amidst her ongoing legal battle. During the performance on Saturday, Kesha sang with Zedd to his song "True Colors" and the lyrics are not only relevant, but incredibly empowering. Here's an excerpt:
All my life, one page at a timeI'll show you my, my true colorsNo, no no no I won't apologize for the fire in my eyesLet me show you my, my true colors, it ain't no rainbow
Whether a purposeful choice or not, the lyrics could apply to the singer's current situation. In 2014, Kesha filed a lawsuit against Dr. Luke (real name: Lukasz Gottwald) for alleged rape, as well as sexual and emotional abuse, and in February, a judge denied her request to leave her contract at Sony, where Dr. Luke is employed. Kesha appealed, but the request was still denied. Meanwhile, Dr. Luke adamantly denied the claims and countersued. The events have spurred an outpour of support for Kesha, with many fans using the hashtag #FreeKesha to express their feelings. In early 2016, the DJ Zedd reached out, tweeting that he was sorry to hear about Kesha's situation and offering to help her produce music. It looks like he followed through with his support, since the duo teamed up at Coachella.
It's inspiring to see Kesha continue to put herself out there. She's not holding back or hiding, despite the hard time she's going through. As the song's lyrics say, she "won't apologize for the fire in [her] eyes" and she's really showing her "true colors" — those of a fighter, who isn't giving up no matter what. The performance not only serves as a display of strength, but it's a reminder of how talented Kesha truly is. You can watch her reclaim the stage in the video below, from Just Jared.
Afterwards, Zedd tweeted about his Coachella collaboration with Kesha. He called it "special," and it truly looks like it was.
Props to Kesha for putting herself out there and continuing to do her thing despite the challenges she's facing. On April 3, Dr. Luke's spokesperson released the following statement to Rolling Stone, in response to Kesha's claim that she was offered freedom from her contract only if she said she was never raped.
The Court repeatedly stated Kesha is already free to record without Dr. Luke, and that she had not presented any facts supporting her claims. That's because all the evidence — including Kesha's own videotaped sworn testimony — show her allegations are false. The only thing Kesha is not free to do is to continue to lie about Dr. Luke through publicity stunts and outrageous smears, ignoring the fact that by her own free will she went to work and entered into new contracts with Dr. Luke years after this "incident" supposedly happened. Her goal all along has been solely personal enrichment by seeking to break contracts that brought her success and millions so she can enter into more lucrative ones. We look forward to our day in court holding Kesha accountable for her lies.
In October 2014, Kesha's lawyer released a statement to Billboard when she filed her lawsuit:
This lawsuit is a wholehearted effort by Kesha to regain control of her music career and her personal freedom after suffering for ten years as a victim of mental manipulation, emotional abuse and sexual assault at the hands of Dr. Luke. The facts presented in our lawsuit paint a picture of a man who is controlling and willing to commit horrible acts of abuse in an attempt to intimidate an impressionable, talented, young female artist into submission for his personal gain. Kesha is focused on moving her life and her career beyond this terrible time.
Back in February, Sony's attorney told the New York Times:
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. Sony is doing everything it can to support the artist in these circumstances, but is legally unable to terminate the contract to which it is not a party.
Considering the trial isn't happening until 2017, this legal battle is far from over, so it's good to see that Kesha is choosing to spend her time doing what she loves — performing — and expressing her feelings through song.
