Kesha, the 38-year-old American singer-songwriter, is marking a major milestone in her career with the release of her first independent album, Period. Dropped on July 4, 2025, under her own label, Kesha Records, this sixth studio album has already made a significant impact, debuting at No. 1 on Billboard’s Top Album Sales, Vinyl Albums, and Top Dance Albums charts. This achievement is particularly notable as it is her first No. 1 debut since her 2017 album Rainbow, and follows her earlier success with her debut album Animal, which also topped charts and secured her fifth top 10 ranking.
In the United States, Period earned 23,000 equivalent album units in its first week, with traditional album sales accounting for 15,500 units and vinyl purchases totaling nearly 11,000. The album also debuted at number three on the Indie Store Album Sales chart, underscoring Kesha’s strong foothold as an independent artist after parting ways with Kemosabe Records and RCA Records in December 2023. The album features previously released singles such as “Joyride” and “Delusional,” along with a collaboration with T-Pain titled “Yippee-Ki-Yay.”
This album isn’t just a commercial success; it represents a profound artistic rebirth for Kesha. Released on Independence Day, Period is a raw and glittery celebration of freedom, identity, and creative power. For the first time in her career, Kesha is releasing music on her own terms, reclaiming her personal and artistic narrative in a way that resonates deeply with listeners, especially Gen Z.
What makes Period stand out is its non-linear, genre-bending structure. The album jumps between club hits, dreamy ballads, country-inspired bops, and rage anthems, capturing the chaotic reality of healing and growth. It mirrors the messy, non-sequential nature of personal development—sometimes triumphant, sometimes vulnerable, and often contradictory. This emotional whiplash is an homage to the process of learning, forgetting, and relearning life’s lessons.
Each track on Period tells a piece of Kesha’s story. The album opens with “FREEDOM.,” a slow, melodic declaration of independence and a glitter-drenched rage anthem where Kesha ironically owns the label of being “off her meds.” It sets the tone for an album that turns chaos into confidence.
“JOYRIDE.” follows as a wild celebration, embracing queer culture and early 2000s girly-girl vibes with distorted vocals and reckless self-celebration, making it a diva anthem. Then comes “YIPPEE-KI-YAY.,” a country-inspired revenge fantasy soaked in synths and sarcasm, reflecting Kesha’s Nashville roots while maintaining her signature messy, camp sound—a playful nod to Dolly Parton.
“DELUSIONAL.” brings the focus back to Kesha’s classic sound and themes of self-love, serving as an open letter to an ex and a confident assertion of independence. “REDFLAG.” captures the all-too-relatable experience of chasing after the very red flags one swore to avoid, embodying the album’s theme of non-linear growth.
The dreamy 80s-style ballad “LOVE FOREVER.” offers a moment of vulnerability and longing, contrasted sharply by “THE ONE.,” a battle cry of radical self-love with a cinematic intro and empowering lyrics like “I’m what I’ve been chasin’ / I’m the one I’ve waited for.”
“BOY CRAZY.” shifts gears into fast, chaotic territory reminiscent of Charli XCX or Ayesha Erotica, reclaiming female sexuality and rejecting the ‘good girl’ stereotype. Its music video, inspired by the Fourth of July release date, is a messy, raunchy celebration of empowerment and chaos.
Following this, “GLOW.” offers an upbeat, summery vibe about embracing the ‘breakup glow,’ flipping the typical narrative of heartbreak into one of empowerment. “TOO HARD.” pulls listeners back into the pain of unreciprocated love, capturing the emotional labor of wanting more than you get without sacrificing honesty.
The album closes with “CATHEDRAL.,” a cinematic and unapologetically dramatic secular baptism in sequins, symbolizing Kesha’s rebirth as an independent artist. This finale encapsulates the album’s spirit of liberation and transformation.
Period rejects minimalism in favor of maximalism, echoing the radical self-expression that defines Gen Z culture. It’s not a return to Kesha’s old sound but a full-bodied creative reset that embraces glitter, grit, and growth simultaneously. As Kesha told Rolling Stone, “Every second is a new beginning. I died in hell so I could start living again.”
This album stands alongside other declarations of artistic independence, such as Taylor Swift’s “Taylor’s Versions,” but Period is louder, messier, and unapologetically authentic. It reflects an era where messy independence and radical self-expression are celebrated rather than sanitized.
Kesha’s journey from a major label artist to an independent powerhouse is both inspiring and emblematic of broader shifts in the music industry, where artists increasingly seek control over their creative output. Period is not just a collection of songs but a cultural reset, an anthem for anyone navigating the complexities of identity, trauma, and freedom.
With this album, Kesha asserts herself as an inter-generational superstar who embodies Gen Z’s carefree, raw vibe while redefining genre boundaries from pop to country and beyond. Period doesn’t ask for forgiveness or polish itself to be palatable—it is a messy, glittery, and honest celebration of what it means to be truly free.
