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Kesha's sixth album is titled with a single period mark, pronounced "Period", and it was her first release after leaving RCA and Kemosabe Records.
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Overview
- Period (pronounced Period) is the sixth studio album by American singer and songwriter Kesha
- Released July 4, 2025 through her eponymous independent label, Kesha Records
- First project since departing RCA and Kemosabe Records in December 2023
- Primarily collaborated with producer and songwriter Zhone, who worked on five tracks
- Other producers: Stuart Crichton, Stint, Hudson Mohawke; new collaborators Rissi, Pink Slip, Nova Wav, Jonathan Wilson, Drew Erickson
- Songwriting contributions from Skyler Stonestreet, Madison Love, Royal & the Serpent, and Kesha's mother Pebe Sebert
- Musical style returns to pop roots, with elements of polka, EDM, country pop, soul, hip-hop, Europop, house, electro, hyperpop and disco
- Standard edition has 11 tracks; the opener "Freedom" runs about six minutes and the closer "Cathedral" is a piano ballad
Background
- 2014 to 2023: legal battle with former producer Dr. Luke, who was sued by Kesha for sexual assault and battery and countersued for defamation
- 2016: preliminary injunction to be released from the RCA and Kemosabe contract was denied
- Gag Order (May 2023) was her fifth and final album under that contract
- Lawsuit settled a month before the July 2023 trial date
- December 2023: parted ways with both labels and her management team
- February 2024: signed with new management team Crush Music
- March 2024: officially allowed to release new music independently
- September 2024: Kesha Records entered a distribution deal with Alternative Distribution Alliance, owned by Warner Music Group
- In a Paper interview she said this was the first album she felt free both creatively and legally
- In a July 2025 Billboard interview she described the album as her second chance and a way of reclaiming her joy
Cover
- Creative direction by Matt Siskin; album photography and creative direction by Brendan Walter
- On March 19, 2025, the covers of all Kesha albums were changed to a large pink circle on streaming platforms
- Title, cover art and track listing were revealed on March 27, 2025, alongside the single "Yippee-Ki-Yay"
Sources: en.wikipedia.org · ko.wikipedia.org
Tracklist
| 1 | FREEDOM. | 6:24 |
| 2 | JOYRIDE. | 2:30 |
| 3 | YIPPEE‐KI‐YAY. | 3:33 |
| 4 | DELUSIONAL. | 3:34 |
| 5 | RED FLAG. | 3:35 |
| 6 | LOVE FOREVER. | 3:44 |
| 7 | THE ONE. | 3:25 |
| 8 | BOY CRAZY. | 2:29 |
| 9 | GLOW. | 3:32 |
| 10 | TOO HARD. | 2:42 |
| 11 | CATHEDRAL. | 3:56 |
Sources: musicbrainz.org
Artist
Formation
- Kesha Rose Sebert, born March 1, 1987, in Los Angeles; stylized Ke$ha until 2014.
- Signed to music publishing company Prescription Songs in 2005 at age 18.
- Signed with David Sonenberg's DAS Communications in 2006.
- Her 2009 debut single "Tik Tok" came after she signed a multi-album deal with RCA Records.
Career
- Kesha's breakthrough came with "Right Round" (2009) as a featured artist for Flo Rida, though she is uncredited on the US release.
- Her debut album Animal (2010) reached number one on the US Billboard 200; the single "Tik Tok" sold about 14 million copies worldwide.
- Her second album Warrior (2012) was released on November 30, 2012, and its single "Die Young" peaked at number 2 on the Billboard Hot 100.
- Her third album Rainbow (2017) debuted at number one on the Billboard 200.
- Her fourth album High Road was released January 31, 2020.
- Her fifth album Gag Order was released May 19, 2023, produced by Rick Rubin.
- Her sixth album Period was released July 4, 2025.
- Kesha's legal dispute with producer Dr. Luke, filed in 2014, was settled out of court in June 2023.
Sources: en.wikipedia.org
Reception
At release
- Metacritic: "generally favorable reviews", weighted average 71 out of 100 from 12 critic scores
- Rolling Stone's Maura Johnston gave the album four out of five stars before release
- NME's Kristin S. Hé called it Kesha's sleekest album since her 2010 EP Cannibal
- The Guardian's Alexis Petridis saw the album as a fresh start for Kesha after her lengthy legal battle, and praised its smart twists and self-referential lines
- AllMusic's Matt Collar called it a bold declaration by a singer who had a rough decade, and said it was fun and effervescently inspired
- Beats Per Minute's Mary Chiney praised Kesha's vocal range but felt songs such as "Glow" and "Cathedral" made the album feel uncohesive
- Slant Magazine's Paul Attard gave a more mixed review, feeling Kesha seemed torn between her early spark and a more introspective direction, and found some tracks distracting
- Paste's Sam Rosenberg criticized many of the tracks, calling them lazy, obnoxious, and dated
Records
- Debuted at number 17 on the US Billboard 200
- Number one on the Top Album Sales and Top Dance Albums charts
- Number three on the Independent Albums chart
- 23,000 equivalent album units: 15,500 from traditional album sales and 11,000 from vinyl purchases
- Released in seven colored vinyl variants
- Lead single "Joyride" was her first UK Singles Chart entry since 2017 and passed 100 million Spotify streams
Sources: en.wikipedia.org · ko.wikipedia.org
Trivia
- The title is a single period mark, and Discogs notes it is pronounced "Period"
- Kesha debuted the closing track "Cathedral" at her first TED Talk in 2024, before the album was announced
- Track titles and the album title were revealed on March 27, 2025, the same day as the single "Yippee-Ki-Yay"
- A Spotify version of the standard album lists the single edit of "Yippee-Ki-Yay" featuring T-Pain as the third track
Sources: en.wikipedia.org · www.discogs.com