I would have sworn up and down that I did this one already. I cannot find it. So, if this is a repeat song, let me know.
I can tell you we've talked about Kesha Sebert a LOT before, so I won't dive into her background too much. I can tell you that she was surprisingly amazing when I saw her live. She's got quite a stage presence and a stunningly strong musical range.
This song doesn't exactly stretch her range. It is a synth-heavy dance number about clubbing.
Except it isn't. Kesha was inspired to write this song in the wake of an uptick in the number of gay teens killing themselves. In her words to Entertainment Weekly:
I wanted to inspire people to be themselves. It’s a celebration of any sort of quirks or eccentricities.
In a separate interview with Rolling Stone, she elaborated.
I was really affected by the suicides that have been happening, having been subject to very public hatred [myself]. I have absolutely no idea how these kids felt. What I'm going through is nothing compared to what they had to go through. Just know things do get better and you need to celebrate who you are. Every weird thing about you is beautiful and makes life interesting. Hopefully the song really captures that emotion of celebrating who you are ... I just felt like people hate because they don't understand or they're jealous, It's all coming from a very negative place and I really feel like people don't need to pay attention to that.
She wrote a pride anthem and cleverly disguised it as a club banger. And this song is an absolute banger. It was also a huge woldwide hit, debuting at #1 in the US and topping charts around the world. It is arguably her biggest hit and best known song.
Of course, in the decade since this song came out, Kesha dropped the dollar sign and took a decidedly more rocking turn. In this live performance from 2021, she's got a full band backing her - and it absolutely rocks.
And she makes it clear that it's still a pride anthem.
I wanted to include this older performance - one that rocks even harder - but also, pay attention to what she says starting at around 3:10 of this video.
I'm sick and tired of bully motherfuckers trying to make us feel like we shouldn't be ourselves all the fucking time. I won't stand and we can't stand for discrimination of any kind - not tonight, not now, not fucking ever. I'm talking about what country you're from, what your skin color is, what your sexual preference is, what your gender identity is, or any other kind of discrimination. There's no room for that shit here. There's no room for any more hate in this world. That's what this song is about. It's about us celebrating who the fuck we are. And now it's kind of turned into my personal life mission to spread as much love, equality, glitter and rock and roll until the day I die - until I'm six fucking feet underground. I love you just as you fucking are. Fuck what anyone else thinks.
Amen, Kesha.
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