Kesha honors Bob Dylan at Billboard Music Awards
May 26, 2016
29-year-old pop star Kesha, widely known for her hits such as “Tik Tok” and “We R Who We R” and an affinity for glitter, hit another wall in her legal battle with music producer Lukasz “Dr. Luke” Gottwald.
Dr. Luke, who is the producer of the Kemosabe record label, was sued by Kesha on the grounds that he “sexually, physically, verbally, and emotionally abused” her. Accusations of Dr. Luke drugging Kesha were also made.
Kesha is signed with the label and through a lawsuit tried to void her contract due to her claims of abuse. She was unsuccessful.
Most recently, Kesha was signed to perform at the Billboard Music Awards. She had received written permission from the Kemosabe label to sing at the awards. Soon after, the label rescinded the agreement following media coverage of the announcement of her performance. Dr. Luke claimed he believed Kesha would use the awards as a stage to discuss her legal battles with the record label.
However, on May 19, Kemosabe again gave her permission to perform at the BBMA.
“Now that Kemosabe has obtained assurances that it is relying upon from Kesha, her representatives and Dick Clark Productions that neither Kesha nor her supporters will use the performance as such a platform, the approval has been restored,” Kemosabe told ET.
She sang a cover of Bob Dylan’s “It Ain’t’ Me, Babe”, reducing the audience to tears. Ben Folds sang on stage with her. The two received a standing ovation as their performance was emotional and moving.
She wore a white pantsuit covered in rainbows and broken hearts as a tribute to the late singer.
She sang alongside performers such as Justin Bieber, Rihanna and Celine Dion.