There are few artists that can say they've helped paint the landscape of pop culture for as long as California-born Kesha Rose Sebert. At just 35, Sebert, known by stage as simply Kesha, has found herself caught in the whirlwind of A-list superstardom for near-on two decades — continually releasing new projects and taking to the stage adorned by a horde of devoted fans across the globe.
Kesha’s music was a pillar of the 2010s charts — with her first three albums Animal, Cannibal, and Warrior spawning multiple chart-topping hits such as ‘Die Young’ ‘Tik Tok’ and ‘Your Love Is My Drug’. Truly, the list is endless — for a period in time it seemed as though she was unable to release a track that wasn’t picked up by radio and pushed to the top.
That era is still nostalgically yearned for by the algorithms of today, with each and every one of Kesha’s hits — and even some tracks that were just fan favourites — spreading like wildfire through trend after trend that uses them as their backdrop, causing an endless cycle of growth for her fanbase. At the time of writing, she has over 40 million monthly listeners on Spotify alone, putting her in the top 100 artists globally. Her debut single, 'Tik Tok', was the best-selling digital single of 2010, and also one of the most-used audios on TikTok in 2025: quite apt given the platform's name.
Despite the immense success she’s relishing in today, the path hasn’t exactly been smooth sailing. Kesha’s career hit a roadblock as a lengthy court battle ensued for almost a decade. Since it began in 2016, she released three commercially successful records: Rainbow, High Road, and Gag Order, but fans noted that the indie-sleaze grit that made her a star was gone. After years of resilience and walking down the winding road of self-discovery, Kesha was finally emancipated from the shackles of the label owned by her abuser in 2023, starting a new chapter as a free woman with the formation of her own label, Kesha Records.
Her first independent release was 2025’s ‘.’, in which Kesha returned to her true pop star form, a phoenix rising from the ashes of years of struggle with her identity. In support of this, she headed back to Manchester for the first time in almost fifteen years to whet our appetite with a swiftly sold-out intimate performance at Albert Hall. Here, as she performed in strapped leather boots and a sweat-drenched vest, she made it clear that the Kesha that both we and she know is back.
During her visit, she announced she would be returning on the Tits Out Tour for a larger-scale production. After months of anticipation and battling for tickets, the time had finally come: a swarm of glitter-drenched fans flocked to Aviva Studios as though summoned by a divine, gay power, and, as the venue started to fill, a wave of excitement washed over the crowd.
The audience were seen into the night with a dramatic drop of the lights and a rumbling intro that almost made you think Kesha herself was coming on stage. The huge LED screen that towered over us revealed Sizzy Rocket in a deliciously pink emblazonment. “What’s up Manchesterrrrrr!” in an instantly recognisable LA tone rang out into the crowd, as the 33-year-old Californian musician strutted onto the stage in midwest-Moulin-Rouge-esque attire. “Like no one else, I am that bitch” — the short-but-sweet set was full of vivacious energy, guided by sexually liberated lyricism acting as the perfect appetiser for Kesha, who herself is celebrated for her bold and free-spirited tracks.
Credit: Frankie Austick @ The Mancunion
After your usual thirty minutes that feel like a lifetime between the support and main act, the audience voyaged into the first act of Kesha's live show. An eerie heartbeat-driven bass and venue blackout sparked a roar from the crowd that seemed to summon the star onto the stage. Standing on top of an altar-like stage setup with a prosthetic head seemingly replicating her former, chained down identity, the star asked the crowd “Will you help me take back my motherfucking songs tonight?” to which they graciously obliged, bellowing out a revised version of the opening track’s first lyric “wake up in the morning, like, fuck P Diddy!”. Kesha swiftly ran through the first handful of tracks, before what felt like a premature three-minute departure from the stage as the first act concluded.
The show may have come to an abrupt halt, but the crowd’s energy failed to short-circuit as she returned to the stage with her army of dancers for a carefully choreographed rundown of some of her sleaziest hits. As she ran through ‘Blow’, ‘Sleazy’, and ‘Cannibal’ alongside new tracks like ‘BOY CRAZY.’, it was striking to see just how much of a one-of-a-kind act Kesha is. To have such an array of hits that even a casual listener could blurt every single lyric out after not listening properly in years is truly a testament to her craft.
The powerhouse of a woman demanded every inch of the enormous stage — proving she’s the brains, the body, and everything in between: Kesha is the full pop star package. What truly proved this is that for this tour she re-recorded and re-produced the instrumentals of each song in her catalogue, reclaiming her voice and being able to perform her hits without any anchor to the past: “I haven’t been back since I gained the legal rights to my own voice”, she stated at one point. For ‘Take It Off’, Kesha utilised every one of the venue’s production offerings, with lighting that fabricated a feeling of some secret underground rave like that depicted in the song's music video.
Factory International has easily become one of Manchester’s most versatile venues, with the same space having hosted actual Teletech raves and art performances alike. The purpose-built venue truly offers the pinnacle of live entertainment experiences, and it was the perfect stage for Kesha to breathe life into these newly reclaimed tracks. While most sounded completely alien to their original tracks, it was clear that the sound isn’t what draws us to them — it’s Kesha herself. Her energy is vivacious, her self-confidence drawing you in like a moth to a flame. She’s the coolest of the cool, and her ability to embrace reinvention in the face of defeat in such truly trying times is about as brave as it gets.
We meandered through bop after bop as the set embraced some of her latest record’s highlights, namely ‘ATTENTION!’ and ‘JOYRIDE.’, with the set feeling as though it could go on forever. Following a departure from the stage as the third act came to a close, Kesha returned sealed in an outfit that turned her into a walking, breathing glitterball — fitting attire for a woman who has reflected so much light out into the world and created solace in her song for fans around the globe. “My red flag is that ever since I was little, I was thinking there was a part of me missing I’d find in someone else. Making this record made me realise that I am my own sugar daddy. I’m my own best friend. I’m, like, the fucking best - In times like these, I hope you feel so loved and safe. Now is the time to fall in love”.
The night drew to a close with a reimagined run of ‘We R Who We R’, ‘Your Love Is My Drug’ and a tear-jerking rendition of the self-empowering ‘Praying’. The room was full to the brim with love, and all left with a little more in their hearts following Kesha’s quick-witted departure: “I hope you all get home safe, and I hope you all get laid”.
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