A powerful moment. Kesha was joined by Cyndi Lauper, Camila Cabello, Andra Day, Julia Michaels, Bebe Rexha and the Resistance Revival Chorus to perform her hit song “Praying,” which was inspired by her alleged abuse and subsequent legal battle with music producer Dr. Luke, at the Grammys 2018 on Sunday, January 28, in New York City.
Dressed in all-white, the 30-year-old singer gave an emotional performance of the ballad, which was nominated for Best Pop Solo Performance at Sunday’s show. She also scored a nomination for Best Pop Vocal Album for Rainbow. Kesha embraced the other women on stage with her after their performance.
As previously reported, Kesha and the music producer were involved in a highly-publicized legal battle. The “Tik Tok” singer accused Dr. Luke of sexual, verbal and mental abuse in a 2014 lawsuit. In February 2017, emails were released in court that allegedly show Dr. Luke criticizing Kesha’s weight. Dr. Luke has denied all of Kesha’s claims and Sony denied her request to be released from her contract. She later dropped the lawsuit to return to releasing new music.
Kesha took to Twitter to open up about performing “Praying” ahead of Sunday’s broadcast.
“When i wrote ‘praying,’ with ben abraham and ryan lewis, i just felt as if i had gotten a huge weight off of my shoulders,” she tweeted. “It felt like an emotional raw victory for myself, one step closer to healing. I never could have known what would’ve happened these past few years.”
She continued, “I just want to say that i needed this song in a very real way, im so proud and nervous and overwhelmed to be performing it at the grammys on sunday, And if you need it i hope this song finds you.”
