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Music

Kesha Is Anthemic and Free on New Single, "Learn to Let Go"

It's the latest single from the singer's forthcoming third studio LP, 'Rainbow,' out August 11.

"'Learn to Let Go' is more than a song title," Kesha writes of her new single in an essay at Huffington Post this morning. "It's become one of my mantras over the last few years. As much as our past creates who we are, we can't let it define us or hold us back. And especially if you've been through something hard, and we all have, you can't hold on to resentment because it's like a poison. You have to learn to let go of those bad feelings and move forward."

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After a years-long legal dispute with her former producer, Dr Luke, a man who she says was "sexually, physically, verbally, and emotionally" abusive, Kesha is finally releasing music again. And even without this morning's essay, the tenor of defiance and newfound liberation is clear. Over thudding floor-toms, she leans into her voice's natural euphoria: "I've been a prisoner of the past / Had a bitterness when I look back." She's channeled the frustration into the anthemic vibe of her earlier singles. "I think it's time to practice what I preach / Exorcize the demons inside me," she sings. "Gotta learn to let it go." It's the flip-side of last month's somber ballad, "Praying," a track that played with the same themes, but stopped short of the release.

Watch the video for the track, which sees Kesha recreating childhood home videos, in full at the top of the page. Kesha's third studio LP, Rainbow, is out August 11.

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