Kesha is back. How the pop singer is dancing into a new era and inspiring fans to join her.

With a newly announced tour, an infectious country-pop single and a new album on the way, this summer is Kesha’s for the taking. Her latest single, “Yippee-Ki-Yay” featuring T-Pain, recalls the magic of recession pop, the late ’00s era in which Kesha first stepped onto the music scene. A triumph among the millennials who grew up with her, the country-tinged dance-pop banger has given fans a taste of what’s to come in her new musical era — and they’re already obsessed with it.

Following the release of “Yippee-Ki-Yay” on March 27, the song has also made waves on TikTok, where fans are filming themselves dancing to the upbeat track. Rather than following a specific dance trend, fans are choreographing their own dances. The moves may differ, but the joyful energy remains the same.

Fans are choosing to dance to the track however they see fit. They’re moving their bodies and spreading joy in ways that feel most comfortable for them. It’s a sentiment that would likely resonate with the singer herself, who’s been reposting these videos on her own TikTok. She’s also left encouraging comments like, “Ate!” and “This is too good!!”

“The most political act right now is to be happy and to be free and to spread love. And even when all the forces feel like they’re against you — to put on that makeup and to put on your glitter and to dance — just demanding to feel your joy,” the singer told Paper magazine for its April issue.

This comes nearly two years after Kesha settled a lawsuit with record producer Dr. Luke, who she sued in 2014 for alleged sexual, physical and emotional abuse. He countersued the singer, accusing her of defamation, and denied her allegations. In June 2023, Kesha and Dr. Luke settled the defamation suit and wrote in a joint statement that they had “agreed to a resolution.”

Kesha has been vocal about her struggles to reclaim joy in the face of hardship and media scrutiny. Her 2023 album Gag Order gave her the opportunity to speak freely about the criticism she’s long internalized.

“I didn’t want to bring people down — I really like to make people move their energy and dance and be happy,” she told Self for its June 2023 issue, the same month she settled the lawsuit. “But I was doing myself a disservice as an artist to just placate what I felt like people wanted from me. I had to shed light on the darker sides of what happens in my mind. This was me saying, ‘Yeah, I’ve had this self-imposed, implied gag order since I can remember, ’cause I’m still in litigation.’”

Her recently announced new album, . (Period, the punctuation mark), it seems, is Kesha’s opportunity to fully embrace that freedom — through dance and all.

While “Yippee-Ki-Yay” continues to inspire her fans to pull on their cowboy boots, call up their friends and hit the dance floor, feeling that sense of unbridled joy hasn’t always been easy for Kesha. In fact, the pop singer admits she hasn’t actually danced “for fun” in a while.

“I realized I haven’t danced for fun in years, because people make fun of the way I dance,” she told Paper. “And it’s probably just some 12-year-old in their mom’s basement on Twitter, but that becomes my higher power’s voice. That’s a problem. So, I’m trying to change any of my own personal judgments into curiosity.”

This summer, Kesha is booked and busy. Period comes out on July 4 and will mark her first full-length album released as an independent artist. The singer was previously locked into a five-album contract with RCA Records and Dr. Luke’s Kemosabe Records. The pop singer founded her self-titled label Kesha Records in 2024, through which she will distribute her music going forward. “Joyride” and “Delusional,” her first two singles for Period, were released in July and November of last year under Kesha Records.

“I am proud to announce this partnership for the distribution of my music through Kesha Records,” she said in a statement in 2024. “My name has become synonymous with transparency, integrity, and safety, and I want to ensure that these values are upheld for myself and any future artists signed to my label. Music has the power to connect the world, and I aspire for my work to be a beacon of light and goodness. I am excited to take control of my narrative and rewrite my story in the music business.”

In addition to releasing new music, Kesha’s hitting the road. The “Joyride” singer will embark on the “Tits Out Tour” this summer, alongside pop-rock band Scissor Sisters and artists Slayyyter and Rose Gray.

Given the forthcoming album’s scheduled Independence Day release, freedom appears to be a theme for Kesha’s latest musical era. Period, according to Kesha, is the first album where she’s “truly free in every way.”

“And not only in all the legal ways, but also I’m really working on healing and feeling free from any residual emotional turmoil that’s left in my body,” she told Paper. “I spent the weekend dancing and trying to move trauma through my body. I’m really trying to embody freedom in every way possible. I’m trying to allow myself to feel what freedom feels like, because it’s been almost 20 years for me. And that doesn’t just happen in a day. That programming lives inside your mind and your spirit and your body.”

This summer, Kesha is ready to take center stage — and she’ll likely be dancing while doing it. She’s a recession pop darling ready to chart a new path, and her fans are ready to support her every step of the way. Expect them to dance their hearts out too.