Kesha 'Feels So 'F--king Good' Releasing Music on Her Own Label as a 'Free Woman'

When sitting down with Kelly Clarkson on The Kelly Clarkson Show, the "TiK ToK" singer revealed that "it feels so f--king good to be a free woman" now that she has her own record label, Kesha Records, and is able to release her own music.

The artists bonded over their shared experience of leaving their record labels behind and launching their own.

"We've worked with similar people and vibes," Clarkson said. "I'd ask you the question of why you started your label but I know the answer."

When asked if she is going to sign other artists with her record label, Kesha said that's definitely happening, but she's starting first with her own next album.

“My first release is . [Period],” the 38-year-old said of her upcoming punctuation mark-titled 11-track album that comes out on July 4.

Then, Kesha shared that the label's first album by another artist will actually be her mom's album that she recorded in the '80s.

"Oh my gosh, it's so sick," she described. "It's kind of like Kate Bush, Talking Heads, Cindy Lauper, it's so cool."

She recognized her mother's influence on her career saying, "She taught me how to write songs," as she pointed to her mother in the audience.

"Y'all write together!." Clarkson added, marveling that they were able to communicate so well. "People go to therapy as mother and daughter to talk to each other and y'all are like writing together."

"We write songs at each other," Kesha replied jokingly, with Kelly adding, "It's how you communicate."

"It's awesome, everyone's gonna freak out," Kesha added about her mom's unreleased album, with Kelly saying that it sounds like the vibe that everyone is turning back to these days.

The "Die Young" singer said she is also feeling excited for future artists, while hoping to reshape how the industry interacts with them.

"I really want to make a new landscape of what the music business can feel like for artists, I think it's important," she explained.

Kesha also shared her excitement for her new app that is currently a work in progress.

"I'm working on an app where people could connect and if you play any type of music, then you can compare notes, you can collaborate. It's just a place where you can connect," Kesha said. "There are no contracts, there's no owning of anyone in perpetuity in the universe, that doesn't exist on this app."

While she didn't name names, Kesha may have been alluding to her highly-publicized allegations against her previous producer, Dr. Luke, and the long, legal battle she underwent to regain control of her career.

In 2014, Kesha filed a civil lawsuit against music producer Dr. Luke (real name Lukasz Gottwald), claiming he abused her "physically, sexually, verbally and emotionally over a 10-year period". Denying the allegations, he sued her for defamation and breach of contract in the amount of $50 million.

In 2016, Kesha dropped the abuse claims. Meanwhile, Gottwald's suit is still pending a court date. In 2019, the Los Angeles native said her attorneys advised her not to speak about the lawsuit.

"They're just like, 'Focus on the music, focus on your happiness and mental health, and we'll deal with this.' Doing that has been greatly helpful," she relayed to Billboard at the time.

That focus allowed Kesha to get back to her catchy pop tune roots, like when she won over fans with her debut 2010 album Animal and her breakout hit "Tik Tok," followed later by her more emotionally impactful 2017 album, Rainbow, and its breakout hit, "Praying," which many believe was about Dr. Luke.

"I dug through the emotional wreckage, and now... I can go back to talking a little bit of s--t," Kesha told Billboard in 2019. "I really wanted to put a solid footprint back into pop music, like, 'I can do this, and I can do this on my own.'"

Kesha went on to drop two more albums after Rainbow, including High Road (2020) and her Gag Order (2023). Those releases fulfilled her contractual obligations to RCA Records and Dr. Luke's label, Kemosabe, freeing her to forge ahead with her own label and forthcoming album release.