Over a decade on from her sparkling chart topping pop classics, Kesha pours her heart into Gag Order, her fifth studio album.

13 songs and 39 minutes long, it is undoubtedly Kesha’s Chef d'oeuvre. Back to front, Gag Order is a stunning record that tackles Kesha’s turbulent music career, addressing subject matter familiar to many in an industry more cruel and unforgiving than most.

It will be her last album with Kemosabe records, the label she signed with half her life ago. Now 36, she grapples with a lot of demons in this album; A fall from the music spotlight into a dreary irrelevance, declining mental health, eating disorders and a gruelling legal battle with former producer Dr. Luke.

The ongoing legal struggles have no doubt been the worst of Kesha’s struggles in the last decade. Kesha first filed a civil lawsuit against music producer Lukasz Gottwald, better known as Dr. Luke, in 2014 for infliction of emotional distress, sex-based hate crimes and employment discrimination. Since then, there have been several lawsuits and counters between the two, and Kesha remains unable to speak about these matters openly.

The album, produced by Rick Rubin, blends hints of Billie Eilish, Taylor Swift and Grimes with growling synths to match Kesha’s spectacular vocals and powerful lyrics. But having dropped the $ from her name in 2017, Kesha is now her authentic self, leaving behind the image of a messy, classless pop brat.

Since stepping out from behind the $, Kesha has exposed herself to her fans and her critics, and let her raw talent do the talking, something she does especially well on this astonishing album.

The album’s premier track ‘Something To Believe In’, discusses Kesha’s innocence and lack of self awareness when she began her music career, as well as the balance musicians must strike between success and despair, between “greatness” and “madness”.

This balance is also discussed in ‘Fine Line’. Kesha gives a nod to her ongoing court case in the line: “All the doctors and lawyers cut the tongue outta my mouth/ I’ve been hidin’ my anger, but bitch, look at me now”. She’s ready to stand up for herself, even when gagged by legal obligations.

On ‘Eat The Acid’, Kesha warns her younger self not to take LSD. “You don’t wanna be changed like it changed me.” The song arguably has a double meaning, warning the listener about the dangers of the music industry, and how it alters you.

Kesha seemingly descends into insanity at the end of ‘The Drama’, declaring her wish to become a house cat in her next life. The following ‘Ram Dass Interlude’ puts the voice of a spiritual teacher to some of Kesha’s innermost thoughts and fears. “Well, do you approve of me? Do you like me? Am I good enough?” It is a soothing and well placed interlude in what is a frantic and high energy album.

Behind a pounding bass, ‘Only Love Can Save Us Now’, starts in Kesha’s old electro-pop fashion, a throwback to the music that shot her to fame more than a decade ago. She states she was “baptised in Hollywood”, before entering into a canorous chorus.

Elements of her old music are evident throughout the album, such as in ‘Too Far Gone’, showing she hasn’t forgotten that side of herself, only that she has developed upon it, and become a bigger and better version of herself.

The album’s penultimate track, ‘Hate Me Harder’, is the album’s most honest and most powerful. A dynamite ballad, Kesha finally relents to the years of torment and accepts the hate.

The hate was perhaps never what it seemed inside her head, she was just a puppet on a stage who the crowd enjoyed booing. It was all part of the show, with those who sought to tear her down jealous of how high she rose.“Hate me, hate me or you love me, It’s really all about you, it’s really not about me.”

On the album’s final track, ‘Happy’, Kesha reflects on her career, and how naive she was. 14 years on from her big breakthrough, her goals and dreams have been altered by the cruelty of the industry, as well as her own personal struggles. “There’s so many things I'd change, but I can’t.”

After dreaming of stardom, she now only wants to be happy. Kesha now finally realises it's the only thing that matters, whether success is achieved or not. In a diary entry to her past self, she is open about how she ended up where she is. In Spite of it all, she remains intact, and remains the same authentic, controversial, stupendously brilliant Kesha.