Kesha is prepping her fans to receive her upcoming studio album Gag Order by releasing two singles: “Eat The Acid” and “Fine Line.” On both of these songs, Kesha sings about going through some horrid experiences that changed her outlook on life. It is worth noting that Kesha has an ongoing legal battle with producer Dr. Luke (real name Lukasz Gottwald) after accusing him of sexual, physical, and emotional abuse. Dr. Luke has denied these claims, and instead filed a defamation suit against Kesha. Knowing this might explain some of the lines on “Fine Line” and the emotional distress evident on “Eat The Acid.”
“You don’t wanna be changed like it changed me,” Kesha sings in the intro of “Eat The Acid” – the lines will be repeated throughout the track, as Kesha sings about being so lost you start to feel disconnected from life.
“You said, “All the edges got so jagged now / Everything you saw then can’t be unseen / Last night, I saw it all / Last night, I talked to God,” she sings the truly disturbing lines inspired by a piece of advice her mother, Pebe Sebert, gave her from a young age. However, the spark to pen the song came the night after she made a major spiritual and existential breakthrough.
In a chat with Rolling Stone, the songstress explained how she was on the verge of having a panic attack when her cat, Mr. Peeps, happened to walk by with her headphones. She took it as a sign to slip into meditation and block out all the noise going on inside her head. She said: “I had this really beautiful, scary, and intense spiritual awakening where it felt like I was talking to my highest self, or God, whatever word you want to say. I fully thought I was having a mental breakdown. I called my therapist and my doctor. They all were like, ‘Oh, you had a spiritual awakening. Yay! Good job.’”
“Eat The Acid” was accompanied by a visualizer that’s frankly as disturbing as the lines on the song. The video sees Kesha’s face being squished and smushed by several hands, with the hands making their way inside her mouth several times as the video progresses. The video received praise from fans for its creativity and uniqueness.
Kesha will release Gag Order on May 19. Speaking on the meaning behind the album’s title, she said: “I feel as if there has been an implied gag order for a very long time now. With my ongoing litigation hanging over my head, I have not been able to speak freely because I know everything I say is scrutinized.”