Kesha’s Return: What This Means for the Girls and Gays
“Wake up in the morning like fuck P. Diddy!” Rings over the sweaty crowd of tens of thousands of people gathered under the glaring Palm Desert sky at Coachella Music Festival in Indio, CA. The festival goers echo it back to the timeless icon that is the backbone of so many 2000’s kids earliest core memories: Kesha. She was featured on stage with none other than queer icon Renee Rapp, a broadway-trained artist that has skyrocketed to worldwide success after branching into mainstream music coming off of her two-season main character feature on The Sex Life of College Girls (HBO Max) and Mean Girls (2024). Having originally come out as an openly bisexual singer, Rapp has recently announced she resonates more with being a lesbian, shining a spotlight on the importance of feminine-presenting lesbians being recognized in media. Mommy to many, mother to none as fans may imply with their brash and overly-crude signs reading “sign my tits, Renee!” at her shows, Rapp has become a queer icon for the younger generation of Gen-Zers on social media, referring to her unapologetic interviews as key moments in pop culture with each TikTok clip getting hundreds of thousands of streams. Rapp, who has worked tirelessly to make it in the notoriously tough industry that is not all that welcoming to those who don’t exactly “fit the mold,” is now paying it forward to other queer artists that may be getting less recognition in modern-day social media and culture. Kesha, who was once the talk of the town with a cult following for the vast majority of 2009-2017, has dealt with her own personal life challenges after bravely coming out with her story about abuse in the music industry she faced from managers and predators that were collaborating with her as she was on the rise. She shed the “$” dollar sign in her name (once Ke$ha, now Kesha), rebranded her image on her own terms, came to embrace her queerness, and has completely taken charge of her own life in the most admirable of ways. After a brief hiatus, post-Animal, Cannibal, and Warrior era she came out with her first major studio album Rainbow in 2017. This album was met with success achieving numerous platinum and gold recognitions, but undoubtedly of a different measure than her first raging-noughties and post-noughties albums had seen. She has continued to pump out work, following Rainbow with High Road and Gag Order. She even came out with her own docuseries on Discovery+ titled “Conjuring Kesha,” which involves Kesha and friends investigating paranormal locations. She’s found freedom in reinventing herself on her own terms, and post-Dr. Luke lawsuit as of March, 2024, she’s teasing new music for the first time. She’s collaborated with major artists such as Blink-182’s Travis Barker in recent years, and is doing outstanding work reinventing herself as an artist and role model.
Having once seen her at her “prime” in the 2010’s, I’ve been a long-term Kesha fan eagerly awaiting her return. While scrolling TikTok to catch up with all of the Coachella lore, one video seemed to be breaking the internet: Renee Rapp had brought out a surprise celebrity guest for her Coachella set, and it was none other than the original Mother herself. Kesha stomped out onto the stage in her signature cowboy boots, denim mini shorts, and a tank top declaring “I AM MOTHER.” The crowd absolutely lost it, as Kesha began the early notes of her most famous song of all time: TikTok. Changing the lyrics from wake up in the morning feelin’ like P. Diddy to wake up in the mornin’ like FUCK P. DIDDY! after recent lawsuits and allegations against the predator rapper, the fans absolutely lost their minds and exploded with admiration and praise. With the audience singing just as loud as the artist, Kesha was visibly thrilled with the reception coming from the fans below. Renee Rapp looked on with poise and excitement before joining in on the hit single, the festival-goers kicking up a raging dust cloud from all of the dancing and excitement below the stage. This is her return. This is how you do it. This is how you resonate with your next-generation wave of fans and audience members. Kesha is back, baby.
Don’t miss your chance to see the icon, mother, and queen of pop for yourself headlining this years WeHo pride’s Outloud Music Festival. Friday Night is free to the public, and requires an RSVP to secure the complimentary tickets before capacity is reached. Sign up details are at www.weareoutloud.com. This opportunity of a lifetime includes a stacked lineup of queer-icon artists include “electrifying” preformances by Adam Lambert, Monét X Change, Laganja Estranja & Morphine Love Dion, Niña Dioz, Jessica Betts, Owenn, and Venessa Michaels. Per the city website Weho.org, “Friday evening’s experience adds to a stellar weekend lineup with Saturday and Sunday OUTLOUD Music Festival headliners Kylie Minogue, Janelle Monáe, and Diplo + Friends. Attendees will need to purchase a ticket or pass to attend. The full weekend lineup includes performances by Doechii, Ashnikko, Noah Cyrus, Trixie Mattel, Keke Palmer, Channel Tres, Yaeji, Big Freedia, Sophie Ellis-Bextor, VINCINT, and many more.” Three-day passes are up for sale on their website now. Friday being free for the first RSVP-ers is anticipated to be quite the show of gays, girls, and theys shaking everything that their mother gave them. Kesha being the mother in question for this event.
Kesha in her “I AM MOTHER” tank top, Coachella 2024. Image courtesy of people.com
Renee Rapp and Kesha are all smiles as the fans lose their minds, Coachella 2024. Image courtesy of rollingstone.com
The sea of smiling faces is unmistakable as Kesha and Renee Rapp captivate the sea of young adults, Coachella 2024. Image courtesy of pagesix.com
WeHo’s Outloud Music Festival Friday night lineup. Image courtesy of WeHo.org