Kesha
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Hot off the release of her album Period this summer, Kesha isn’t done having fun just yet. The high-energy pop star is back with “Nashville,” a new collaboration with hit-making country star Orville Peck. The duo brought the song to life with the help of singer-songwriter Tayla Parx and producer Hudson Mohawke.
Sonically, “Tennessee” is a departure from the largely pop-driven Period, save for tracks like “Yippee-Ki-Yay” and “Cathedral”; instead, it resembles a callback to previous albums Rainbow and High Road. Country isn’t exactly unfamiliar territory for Kesha; at the age of four, her family moved to Nashville, where she grew up before returning to Los Angeles to pursue her music career.
She says as much on the track. “That’s where I learned to drink to get drunk / That’s where I learned to smoke to get high / That’s where I learned to work 9 to 5 / That’s where I swear that Mama tried,” she sings.
Kesha described a seamless creative process when reflecting on the song’s creation with Peck, Parx, and Mohawke. “I felt safe to explore my southern roots and excited to enter a room with these artists I’ve looked up to for years and making music that felt real and honest,” she told Rolling Stone. “They’re all inspiring creatives who just want to make great music.”
“I was a crazy-a** bitch / Oh, but at least the life I lived / It made for good stories / Call me anything but boring / Messy, yeah, I know / But I heard y’all love a show / So f**k it, here you go,” Kesha and Peck sing together on the track. “But, darling, don’t forget that / My obituary better say / ‘Damn, she left a damn good legacy’ / You can blame it all on Tennessee.”
Period marked Kesha’s first release under her independent Kesha Records album, allowing the singer to turn a fresh page on her career. Once she was freed from her recording contract with Kemosabe Records in 2023, the “Tik Tok” singer hit the ground running.
“I was writing three songs a day, like a madwoman. I’ve never written so many songs in my life. I’ve never felt so alive, inspired, happy, and excited about the future. Because it’s my first album where I’m in control of every word. Every song, every sound, the cover, the singles—everything,” she recounted to Vogue of the project. “I’ve gotten really comfortable in trusting my own intuition and following my inner compass.”
Kesha’s Tits Out Tour in support of Period continues later this month in Columbia, Maryland and wraps up March 21 in Dublin.
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/cmalone/2025/09/12/kesha-and-orville-peck-go-to-tennessee-on-new-collab/
