Ah, my first true love: Kesha. I remember listening to Tik Tok on the radio for the first time in fifth grade and from then on, I was probably her biggest fan. This moment was pretty special to me–it was the spark of creating my own music taste and not just listening to the pop radio station on my way home from school. For every holiday I’d ask for iTunes gift cards to buy as many Kesha songs as I could and probably worried my parents by screaming “imma get sleazy, WOOO” and singing about brushing my teeth with Jack. However, my parents approval/disapproval of Kesha didn’t really matter to me–this was the soundtrack to my rebellious phase throughout middle school and I found Kesha’s wild lifestyle pretty empowering, actually!
Anyways, my middle school dreams came true last year when I had the opportunity to see Kesha in concert. While I can’t say I still have the same passion for her music like I used to, I couldn’t pass up the chance to see her perform. The concert was also held at a surprising small venue, and I knew I’d be pretty close to seeing my teen rebellion idol right in front of me, so I had to make old me proud.
However, this concert was much different than I would have expected. I would think that I’d be screaming along to “Tik Tok”, “Blah, Blah, Blah”, and “Your Love is My Drug”, but after speaking out against her producer sexually abusing her, that all changed. 
Kesha struggled to get justice, and she fought for three years to get out of a contract with her abuser. For the concert, she made a powerful statement by now performing any of her songs until she was free to make her own music with a new label. She said in a statement, “Until I can release my own music I will be reinventing some of my old songs and some of my favorite songs from my music idols. I’ve hand picked songs from artists that have helped shape who I am and the music I make today”. Because of this, the whole concert was very emotional and moving, and Kesha made it clear that speaking up against sexual harassment is extremely important, and her message is especially relevant today considering this past year and all of the uncovered sexual abuse scandals. 
While it was not what thirteen-year-old me would have expected out of a Kesha concert, Kesha moved us all and still gave an amazing performance (despite what some people might think, she is actually a talented musician and has a beautiful voice). Overall, it was just such an inspiring, glitter-filled night that I’ll always hold close to me.