A wise, hilarious, stunning, brilliant, courageous, generous, kind, and sickly talented icon once said: “Now, the party don’t start ’till I walk in.” I get chills just typing and thinking about that poetic line — a lyric that’s unleashed the inner party animal in girls, gays, and even straight men for more than 15 years now. A line that’s forever woven into the fabric of pop culture. A line that serves as a thesis statement for the euphoric club pop portion of Kesha’s discography.
The pop A-lister had to press pause on the party while navigating a highly publicized trauma and legal battle, but now, she’s in her liberated and feral era, ready to celebrate life and lust. Kesha’s back with all-caps singles like “BOY CRAZY” and “JOYRIDE” and her sixth studio album, “.” (pronounced period, as in the punctuation mark) is set to drop on July 4. Yes, Independence Day.
“I think it’s funny that the first song I ever wrote was ‘TiK ToK’ about how the party doesn’t start till I walk in, and then ‘JOYRIDE’ [starts with], ‘This party sucks. I’m about to ditch,’” Kesha tells Betches in an exclusive interview. She described the 2009 and 2025 hits as ”like sisters, except for one is a woman full of purpose and a little bit of vicious hoe psychosis energy.” (Adding “vicious hoe psychosis energy” to my lexicon immediately.)
This summer, Kesha’s teaming up with Feeld, the dating app for the open-minded and curious, for her Tits Out tour. Her goal? To cultivate safe spaces in arenas where her fans can seek connection and community — “and if they’re also horny, they can seek that too.” The singer first discovered Feeld on a “horrible first date.” She shared, “The person I was on a date with told me about Feeld, and I thought it was really interesting. And as someone who prides myself in being authentic and is newly liberated, especially after what I’ve been through, I think it’s really powerful.”
The partnership is particularly meaningful to Kesha because she feels strongly that there’s “a lot of shame tied up in American culture around feminine pleasure,” so it’s “revolutionary” to be authentic about who you are and what you’re into. She added that “true liberation” for her involves “pleasure and sexual liberation.”
During our chat, we delved into every aspect of Kesha’s newfound freedom, including her dating life and quest for a sugar daddy, her upcoming album, and the supportive network she’s built with fellow female artists like Reneé Rapp and Charli XCX.
Kesha On Dating Life, Sugar Daddies, New Album And More
Kesha Reveals What She’s Looking For In A Partner
Spoiler alert: Kesha’s standards are high, as they fucking should be. “To be honest with you, I am really looking for just… I just want it all,” she mused. (Siri, play “I Want It All” by Sharpay Evans.) Kesha went on: “I want a man who worships the ground I walk on, and inspires me, and takes care of me, and wants to buy me a boat. I kind of meet them everywhere. So let the best man or woman win in my life.” She’s apparently met some “beautiful, amazing people” recently.
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Having fun with dating is part of the singer’s ongoing self-discovery journey. “I am kind of in this rebirth,” Kesha explained. “I’m rediscovering who I am at 38 years old … Being free of the litigation has freed up a lot of space, and my nervous system feels like it’s healing every day still.”
And yes, she’s still very much on the hunt for a sugar daddy. “[The sugar daddy search] has its ups and downs, I have to be honest,” Kesha admitted. “I have a Rolodex of some contenders, but until there’s a ring on this finger, I am curious to see what the universe brings to me. I’ll put it that way.” Manifesting a rich girl summer, a boat, and a lineup of gorgeous, stupid-wealthy sugar daddies and mommas for this queen.
Kesha Shares The Meaning Behind Her New Album, “.”
You may have noticed that Kesha’s new singles are reminiscent of her Animal and Cannibal days — high-energy, playful, loud, and celebratory. “Totally,” she said about returning to her earlier sound. “I had to deal with some shit I didn’t ask to deal with, but it had to be done. I had to go on that emotional journey for nearly 20 years, but now we can get back to business, and back to business for me means the art of being in pure ecstasy, bliss, and joy in service of others as hard as fucking humanly possible.” Yes, she just casually dropped that gem while we were chatting. The woman speaks in poetry.
If you’re wondering about the meaning behind the period album title, it’s Kesha’s way of saying: “‘I’ve earned the right to be this cunty, and so I’m going to name my title like a literal punctuation.” And yeah, she’s earned every damn ounce of the unbridled joy she’s reclaiming. She reflected, “It feels like my joy is like an act of God. It’s an act of defiance. It’s almost like anarchist for someone to have gone through what I’ve gone through and to still experience this obscene amount of joy. It’s kind of cunty.”
One practice that contributes to her “obscene amount of joy”? Obsessing over boys and using them as songwriting inspo. “I think my search for God and my search for boys weirdly intersect in a very funny way that makes me really believe in humor in my higher power,” she told me. “Through running around the world looking for the one, I’ve gotten myself into this mythic quest that is quite hilarious and entertaining and leads to all the songs.” Kesha added, “I will say most of my life has been based on psychotically running around the world looking for a cute boy.”
Naturally, some of her favorite lines from the new album document the positive and negative experiences she’s had with boys recently. She’s especially proud of the lyrics on “JOYRIDE” (“They’re just peak dom fem cunt,” she says) and “GLOW,” an unreleased track. “I talk about how my ex always said my music wasn’t cool, but it’s playing in Target, and your mom wants to sing along, but she won’t, but she wants to,” Kesha dished about that song. I couldn’t help but reply in utter disbelief: “What an insane thing for a man to say to you.”
Kesha On Her Friendships With Reneé Rapp & Charli XCX
In 2025, Kesha’s influence on pop music is apparent in unapologetic, sharp-witted, and fun-loving artists like Reneé Rapp and Charli XCX. When I brought up Kesha’s 2024 Coachella performance with Reneé and her joining fellow “party girl god” Charli on “Spring Breakers,” she gushed, “Those are my bitches. Those are the girls who pick me up and get me out the door when I need some help getting energy. I put on my girls.”
@tomasmier Renee Rapp and Kesha at Coachella had a special message for Diddy #kesha #coachella #coachella2024 #reneerapp #tiktokkesha @Kesha @reneé ♬ original sound – tomás mier
Kesha praised their blood, sweat, and tears, as well as their presence in the industry. “It’s not easy,” she emphasized. “So seeing these artists just be in their power, owning their voices, and being their authentic selves is very inspiring to me.” She called Reneé “so cool,” adding, “I see her social posts, and they’re so hot and cute and funny and cool at the same time. And that inspires me to want to be more authentically myself. I think that we can all inspire each other.”
