No artist captured early-00s nihilism like Kesha. The singer’s scuzzy brand of party pop became the soundtrack for a generation, as they guzzled from bottles of budget vodka, wore too much eye make-up, shopped in American Apparel, back-combed their hair, and turned the walk of shame into a badge of honour. If the “yolo” era had an anthem, it would be “Tik Tok” by Kesha. 

Of course, behind the bottles of Jack and copious amounts of day-glo was another story: the nearly ten-year high-profile legal situation between Kesha and music producer Dr Luke, whose record label Kesha was also signed to.

Now, however, Kesha can hopefully put the whole saga all behind her. According to a report by Variety, the singer has parted ways from producer Dr Luke’s record label, Kemosabe Records.

A source told Variety that Kesha’s contract with Dr Luke, whose real name is Łukasz Sebastian Gottwald, came to an end in December. The news follows the release of her album Gag Order in May, which was the last album she was contracted to release with Kemosabe Records under her five-album deal with the label. The source also revealed that Kesha has parted from her management company Vector Management.

The conclusion of the singer’s contract with Kemosabe Records, a subsidiary of Sony Music’s RCA Records, comes after both Kesha and Gottwald agreed to settle their lengthy legal battle earlier this year.

The legal issues began in 2014 after Kesha accused Gottwald of drugging and sexually assaulting her one night in 2005. Gottwald, who denied the allegations, then sued Kesha for defamation, while also alleging that her accusations were because she wanted to part ways with Kemosabe Records. Kesha denied these claims, releasing three albums with Kemosabe Records during the legal proceedings. 

On June 22, 2023, both Kesha and Gottwald shared statements acknowledging that they had reached a settlement in their legal dispute. 

“Only God knows what happened that night,” Kesha wrote in her statement. “I have always said, I cannot recount everything that happened. I am looking forward to closing the door on this chapter of my life and beginning a new one. I wish nothing but peace to all parties involved.”

Gottwald, meanwhile, continued to deny the allegations, adding: “I have vigorously fought to clear my name for nearly ten years. It is time for me to put this difficult matter behind me and move on with my life. I wish Kesha well.”

While Kesha, Gottwald or RCA Records are yet to officially comment on the conclusion of Kesha’s contract with Kemosabe Records, the singer shared a picture of herself standing naked in a gorge on Instagram.

She captioned the image: “Coming back home to me.”