Kesha Performed "Praying" at the Grammys 2018 with Camila Cabello, Cyndi Lauper, and More
Kesha's "Praying" brought the world to its knees on Sunday night. After the Rainbow singer took to the Grammys stage to perform her power ballad, which was nominated for "Best Pop Solo Performance" (and lost to Ed Sheeran's "Shape of You," to the disappointment of many) at the ceremony, there wasn't a dry eye to be found in either the TV audience or among the viewers at home.
The performance was made even more special since it marked Kesha's first performance outside of her tour since she took a brief break from music in 2014. Camila Cabello, Cyndi Lauper, Julia Michaels, Bebe Rexha, and Andra Day, all dressed in head-to-toe white, joined Kesha, who wore a white suit embroidered with rainbow-colored flowers, on stage for the song. Along with a team of talented backup singers, also clad in white getups, the group belted out the emotional ballad together before gathering together around Kesha in a tearful group hug.
The tear-jerking performance was clearly linked to the #MeToo and Time's Up movements. "Praying" is believed to be about Kesha's as a survivor of abuse at the hands of producer Dr. Luke (né Lukasz Gottwald), who allegedly emotionally, sexually, and physically abused the singer in 2014. Though a judge dismissed most of Kesha's complaints in an April 2016 trial, leaving her contractually obligated to remain under Dr. Luke's Kemosabe label, she still created 2017's Rainbow on her own terms and with the inclusion of songs like "Praying," a triumphant ballad in which she encourages her tormentor to seek redemption.
Fans shared their love for Kesha on Twitter. "MS KESHA DID WHAT SHE HAD TO DO," one wrote. "KESHA IS SO PRECIOUS SHE FOUGHT TO GET HERE I CANT AKDLDOSP #GRAMMYS," another added.
The "Praying" performance wasn't Sunday night's only tribute to Time's Up. Ahead of the 2018 Grammys, dozens of artists pledged to wear white roses to the ceremony in support of the movement against sexual abuse and misconduct in the entertainment industry and beyond. "We choose the white rose because historically it stands for hope, peace, sympathy and resistance," the newly formed Voices in Entertainment organization wrote in an open letter. Kesha joined fellow musicians Kelly Clarkson, Halsey, Rita Ora, and many others in wearing white roses on Sunday's red carpet.
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