Kesha is making a comeback to the music scene with her new album “High Road,” which drops Jan. 31. The album’s currently released tracks show hints of her past music, while displaying her growth as a person, which has influenced both her music and lyrics. 

     Kesha made it big with her previous songs “TiK ToK” and “Your Love is My Drug,” both party songs with pop beats and fun lyrics. While it has been a long time since both of those songs debuted, her song “Raising Hell” on her new album still holds onto the pop beats and fun lyrics that fans remember. The lyrics encourage listeners to have a good time and not worry too much about life and not make bad choices, which is a breath of fresh air in comparison to other artists whose lyrics are littered with the encouragement of reckless behavior and the use of substances. That is where Kesha has shown growth, not only as an artist, but also as a person. Her singles that she has released from “High Road” have none of that involved. 

     The growth can be seen in two of her other singles from the album, “Praying” and “Resentment.” “Praying” seems to be a sad song, however, it does spread a positive message. The song is not confirmed to be about the abuse she suffered from in the past, but with phrases like “I hope your soul is changing” and “I hope you find your peace, falling on your knees,” it is showing that she is moving past the pain and trying to be positive. “Resentment” is similar in that fashion, except it is actually sad. It is about a difficult relationship and feeling unloved, and it was certainly not similar to Kesha songs of the past at all. However, in the song the use of the word resentment instead of hate was powerful. Hate is used so loosely that anyone can say they hate anything while, on the other hand, resent is a whole other emotion and has more of an impact. 

     Her new releases have had religious undertones and lyrics showing her faith in Christianity. In “Raising Hell” she had several references to Christianity. In her lyrics she says, “Solo cup full of holy spirits,” “Can I get an amen?” and “This is our salvation.” Her song “Praying” also has several phrases mentioning Christianity with lyrics such as, “I hope you’re somewhere prayin’, prayin’. I hope your soul is changin’, changin’.”, “-sometimes, I pray for you at night,” and “You brought the flames and you put me through hell.” All of these references in her songs show how Christianity has affected her music and her as an artist. In comparison to her older songs, she has changed a lot. “High Road” seems to be pointing in a holier direction than any of her albums.

     “High Road” is the album to look forward to in January. Her past has influenced already released tracks, giving listeners a way to better connect and understand her as an artist. Her growth that is shown over the few tracks that have already been released is incredible and it can be seen in her lyrics. “High Road” will be available for purchase on iTunes and Google Play on Jan. 31.