Kesha Gives the Grammys Its #MeToo Moment With 'Praying'
Kesha
The white rose movement was bolstered by one of the show-stopping moments of Grammys night: Kesha singing âPrayingâ with the help of fellow pop stars Cyndi Lauper  Bebe Rexha  Camila Cabello  Julia Michaels  and Andra Day  as well as The Resistance Revival Chorus. Prior to the show  Grammys producer Ken Ehrlich had said that âPrayingâ would have made an appearance regardless of "whether these past few months [of #MeToo] had happened or not.â But the song was charged with the context of the timeâand made a social statement more complicatedly powerful than might be expected.
 Kesha  released âPrayingâ as a comeback single after she underwent a very public legal fight with her producer and label boss  Dr. Luke  over her allegations that he harassed and raped her. He denied her claims  and a judge nixed her attempt to be released from her record contract. âPraying â an intense piano ballad put out through the label Luke founded  took a moving but oblique approach to the matter.  Kesha  sang to an unnamed someone who had harmed  her âto offer the hope that someday  his soul might be saved.
That somewhat saintly stance was emphasized tonight in the blazing white clothes of  Kesha  and  her  backup singers. A beautiful a cappella opening passage made the central lyricââsometimes  I pray for you at nightââunmissable. But  Keshaâs  intensity was not that of an exhortative preacher but of an actual  ailing human being.  She  didnât aim to hit the recorded versionâs high notes  but  her  quavering voice and knotted eyebrows communicated sentiment that only a cynic could called canned. When the song ended   she  broke down crying  and was embraced by  her  famous compatriots.
To anyone familiar with the specifics of  Keshaâs  situation and the state of the music industry  the subtext was not of total triumph. Over the decades  record companies have profited immensely from exactly the sort of exploitation of young female talent that  Kesha  accused Dr. Luke of partaking in. A study released by USC this past week brought stark confirmation of just how rare female singers  songwriters  and producers are in mainstream pop. And in the most important awards categories for this yearâs Grammys  women are sidelined: All the Record of the Year nominees are men  and only one woman is nominated in Album of the Year and Song of the Year.
To address this state of affairs   Kesha  offered not revolutionary anger but solidarity  catharsis  and a call to take the high road. When introducing  Kesha   Janelle Monae gave a crisp  rousing #MeToo-themed speech that told women  âWe have the power to undo the culture that does not serve us well.â The swelling sound of âPrayingâ suggested that taking power would happen at the same time as healing  and with surprising compassion for those whoâve caused the wounds.
The white rose movement was bolstered by one of the show-stopping moments of Grammys night: Kesha singing âPrayingâ with the help of fellow pop stars Cyndi Lauper  Bebe Rexha  Camila Cabello  Julia Michaels  and Andra Day  as well as The Resistance Revival Chorus. Prior to the show  Grammys producer Ken Ehrlich had said that âPrayingâ would have made an appearance regardless of "whether these past few months [of #MeToo] had happened or not.â But the song was charged with the context of the timeâand made a social statement more complicatedly powerful than might be expected.
  [TGT] released âPrayingâ as a comeback single after  [TGT]  underwent a very public legal fight with  [TGT]  producer and label boss  Dr. Luke  over  [TGT]  allegations that he harassed and raped  [TGT] . He denied  [TGT]  claims  and a judge nixed  [TGT]  attempt to be released from  [TGT]  record contract. âPraying â an intense piano ballad put out through the label Luke founded  took a moving but oblique approach to the matter.   [TGT] sang to an unnamed someone who had harmed   [TGT]  âto offer the hope that someday  his soul might be saved.
That somewhat saintly stance was emphasized tonight in the blazing white clothes of  Kesha  and  her  backup singers. A beautiful a cappella opening passage made the central lyricââsometimes  I pray for you at nightââunmissable. But  Keshaâs  intensity was not that of an exhortative preacher but of an actual  ailing human being.  She  didnât aim to hit the recorded versionâs high notes  but  her  quavering voice and knotted eyebrows communicated sentiment that only a cynic could called canned. When the song ended   she  broke down crying  and was embraced by  her  famous compatriots.
To anyone familiar with the specifics of  Keshaâs  situation and the state of the music industry  the subtext was not of total triumph. Over the decades  record companies have profited immensely from exactly the sort of exploitation of young female talent that  Kesha  accused Dr. Luke of partaking in. A study released by USC this past week brought stark confirmation of just how rare female singers  songwriters  and producers are in mainstream pop. And in the most important awards categories for this yearâs Grammys  women are sidelined: All the Record of the Year nominees are men  and only one woman is nominated in Album of the Year and Song of the Year.
To address this state of affairs   Kesha  offered not revolutionary anger but solidarity  catharsis  and a call to take the high road. When introducing  Kesha   Janelle Monae gave a crisp  rousing #MeToo-themed speech that told women  âWe have the power to undo the culture that does not serve us well.â The swelling sound of âPrayingâ suggested that taking power would happen at the same time as healing  and with surprising compassion for those whoâve caused the wounds.