Kesha3Arena, Dublin★★★★★
It has been 14 years since American singer-songwriter Kesha – formerly Ke$ha – played in Dublin and that absence among her fans was felt in the 3Arena on Saturday night.
The crowd was filled with those who remembered her massive hits the first time round as well as a younger fan base, many of whom wore chunky 2000s-style coloured streaks in their hair and body glitter, which the singer was once famous for.
Kesha’s gap in touring was not due to a lack of popularity, but rather a lengthy legal battle with her former producer Dr Luke over his alleged drugging and sexual assault of the singer, claims which he denied. The producer countersued her for defamation and breach of contract and the lawsuits were eventually settled outside of court in 2023.
Since then, Kesha has been busy re-recording and re-producing her early music and it’s clear the fans are still hungry for more.
From the first song of the Tits Out tour – which, granted, was her mega-hit Tik Tok – people are up dancing. A move like this can often leave some disappointed that the big tunes were up first, but this is not the case for Kesha’s gig. The bangers keep coming and keep coming.
The show is broken up into four segments, each with a different colour theme, costume change and vibe – from gay club pop to a more intimate feel.
The first segment of the show sees her carrying around a prosthetic head of herself from her 2010 album Animal, there to represent her growth as an artist.
She’s not afraid to mention what’s happened to her and tells the crowd she’s taking back her voice.
The stage is nothing special but, really, nothing else is needed as Kesha and her team of dancers, as well as the light work, are enough to keep the show energetic and fun.
Both her oldies – We R Who We R, Die Young, Blow, etc – and her new tunes – Boy Crazy, Delusional and Joyride – have the crowd going bananas.
But Kesha doesn’t need this level of production and she knows it. Her third last song of the evening is Praying, which was written about her battles, and there is nothing but her voice to carry the performance. Her vocals are strong and she knows how to hold the stage.
Afterwards, she spends a few moments on her knees as the crowd cheers and she wipes away a few tears.
This is the final night of her first tour as a “free woman” and she is soaking it up. This is her moment.
Kesha was the original party girl and it’s fair to say that modern pop would look so different without her influence in the late 2000s-early 2010s. She is so much more than a party girl now but, goodness, does she know how to have a good party.
[ Kesha: ‘If you say the wrong thing now, your career is #cancelled’Opens in new window ]