News | Entertainment
23 Jan 2026 0:02
NZCity News
NZCity CalculatorReturn to NZCity

  • Start Page
  • Personalise
  • Sport
  • Weather
  • Finance
  • Shopping
  • Jobs
  • Horoscopes
  • Lotto Results
  • Photo Gallery
  • Site Gallery
  • TVNow
  • Dating
  • SearchNZ
  • NZSearch
  • Crime.co.nz
  • RugbyLeague
  • Make Home
  • About NZCity
  • Contact NZCity
  • Your Privacy
  • Advertising
  • Login
  • Join for Free

  •   Home > News > Entertainment

    Kesha dumped her boyfriend after being freed from her recording contract

    The Rainbow singer left record label Kemosabe in December 2023, six months after her long-running legal battle with producer Dr Luke came to an end, and as soon as she heard the news, she began removing other things from her life that didn't make her "feel free".


    She told Rolling Stone's Music Now podcast: "When I got this insane call that I was gonna be free in three months’ time, it was like being in a movie. It was such an insane phone call to get. And from that moment onward, I’ve just been on 11. So it’s crazy, but I’m good and I feel very alive...

    "Literally the second I got that call, I looked around and was like, 'Anything that does not make me feel free has to go.'

    "So I called the guy I was dating and very lovingly was like, this is not it.
    "I went to the woods, I started meditating heavily. It’s been this obsession for me to try to see what makes me feel free and what doesn’t, including the stuff in my house. I don’t wanna be beholden to a genre of music.

    "Being blonde to be a pop star — it was frying my hair. That doesn’t make me feel free. I’m gonna have f****** roots, goddammit.
    "Anything that I feel beholden to, even subconsciously that I’m maybe not even aware of, I’ve started really trying to analyse what feels good and what doesn’t."

    The 38-year-old singer has also vowed to stop trying to "people-please" when it comes to her music and to only work on songs which she enjoys, rather than worrying about mass appeal.

    Referring to her 2023 LP Gag Order, she said: "I made an album with Rick Rubin that was so spiritual and meaningful. At the time, it was so different for me, and I felt like, 'Are people gonna like this?'

    "I don’t think certain people were happy I made that record. It was not a pop-banger record. So there was this people-pleasing of like, 'Oh, is that all right if I’m doing this?'

    "I can’t wait to just explore. The people-pleasing piece has been something I’ve really been looking at with my freedom — how that has affected my life and my music. I really want to get completely limitless in terms of the sonics, like, what is possible sonically.…

    "Since I was young, it was like, 'This is how long a song should be.… Make the bridge iconic and make sure people like it.' And now, I’m kind of like, 'Make sure I like it.'
    "What if I make sure people hate it? I don’t know. I just wanna see what is possible.… I might just continue making pop songs ’cause I love pop songs, but I just wanna feel so f****** free."

    © 2026 Bang Showbiz, NZCity

     Other Entertainment News
     22 Jan: Valentino has died at the age of 93
     22 Jan: Lily Allen is "happy to be alive" after a lorry ran her new Porsche "off the road"
     22 Jan: Valerie Bertinelli claims she was "fired" as a spokesperson for a diet company because she gained weight
     22 Jan: Stellan Skarsgard has branded Donald Trump a "little man who got megalomania"
     22 Jan: Chris Pratt has admitted he won't keep the giant painting of his father-in-law Arnold Schwarzenegger on the wall all year round
     22 Jan: Drew Starkey has been appointed brand ambassador for Dior
     22 Jan: Noel Gallagher's daughter Anais is convinced her dad has a secret stash of fashion gems and she's determined to "find it and raid it"
     Top Stories

    RUGBY RUGBY
    Former All Black Tony Brown has confirmed he intends to honour his contract as an assistant with South Africa, rather than make himself available for inclusion in any New Zealand coaching group More...


    BUSINESS BUSINESS
    It's thought a shift in how young people invest - is altering the housing market More...



     Today's News

    Politics:
    Prime Minister Chris Luxon says the weather events of the past 48 hours have been a profound tragedy 21:57

    Entertainment:
    Valentino has died at the age of 93 21:40

    Accident and Emergency:
    Two bodies have been found at a house on Papamoa's Welcome Bay Road - after a large landslide caused extensive damage early this morning 21:17

    Entertainment:
    Lily Allen is "happy to be alive" after a lorry ran her new Porsche "off the road" 21:10

    Auckland:
    What we know about the landslide at Mount Maunganui in New Zealand 21:07

    Environment:
    Young girl among missing campers at New Zealand's Mount Maunganui after landslide — as it happened 20:47

    Entertainment:
    Valerie Bertinelli claims she was "fired" as a spokesperson for a diet company because she gained weight 20:40

    Entertainment:
    Stellan Skarsgard has branded Donald Trump a "little man who got megalomania" 20:10

    Entertainment:
    Chris Pratt has admitted he won't keep the giant painting of his father-in-law Arnold Schwarzenegger on the wall all year round 19:40

    Entertainment:
    Drew Starkey has been appointed brand ambassador for Dior 19:10


     News Search






    Power Search


    © 2026 New Zealand City Ltd