Kesha Shares How New Album Helped Her ‘Fall in Love with Music Again’

Kesha has fallen back in love.

As fans continue exploring new songs from her fifth studio album Gag Order, the singer is giving thanks to producer Rick Rubin for reminding her just how special her music career can be.

"It was the first time in my life I sat with someone and they were like, 'Let's just make what we both think is cool,'" Kesha told Zane Lowe on Apple Music 1. "You are not being a vehicle for something that you will please others with and get paid, admiration, etc. The whole process with Rick that blew my mind was being present in how I feel and making it come out into the song in a way that felt like it's reflective of the feeling, a sound that reflects a feeling."

According to Kesha, who earned her first No. 1 with "Tik Tok" in 2009, she had never made art for that purpose before. 

"In making these songs with Rick, we never once talked about singles, radio, any of it," she explained. "It was just, 'We're making a song about how you feel.' And that still kind of blows my mind because the entirety of my life, there was this illusion of what it was for."

Kesha continued, "Working with Rick has now made me fall in love with music again because I remembered why we all love it and why I loved it."

For the past three years, Kesha has been quietly working on the passion project. And while she wasn't sure if new and old fans alike were going to approve of the new sounds, she's proud of the finished product.

"It's out for everybody to listen to, which is also kind of f—ing psychotic," she said. "That you would put out all this trauma into something and then play it to the whole world, kind of insane."

Kesha's newest album comes amid ongoing litigation with music producer Dr. Luke. 

In 2014, Kesha pressed charges against the hitmaker alleging sexual, physical and emotional abuse, and asked the court to release her from her label contract. Luke denied the allegations and countersued for defamation. Kesha's case was dismissed in 2016, in part because the statute of limitations had passed on some of the claims. Luke's defamation case, however, persists today.

"I feel as if there has been an implied gag order for a very long time now," Kesha recently explained to Rolling Stone when discussing her new music. "With my ongoing litigation hanging over my head, I have not been able to speak freely because I know everything I say is scrutinized."

Now, Kesha is choosing to convey her emotional state through music. 

"I feel like this album completely documents the time where I was like, 'OK, I have to deal with some s— and I just need to walk through it and it's going to be really uncomfortable,'" she said on Apple Music 1. "I feel like it's really helped me grow into a woman."