"Raising Hell"
Single by Kesha featuring Big Freedia
from the album High Road
ReleasedOctober 24, 2019 (2019-10-24)
Genre
Length2:49
Label
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
Kesha singles chronology
"Safe"
(2018)		 "Raising Hell"
(2019)		 "My Own Dance"
(2019)
Big Freedia singles chronology
"Bawdy"
(2019)		 "Raising Hell"
(2019)		 "Chasing Rainbows"
(2020)
Music video
"Raising Hell" on YouTube

"Raising Hell" is a song by American singer Kesha featuring American rapper Big Freedia. It was released as the lead single from Kesha's fourth studio album High Road on October 24, 2019.[1]

Background and promotion

On October 18, 2019, fans were prompted to call a hotline where the singer recorded a message to announce her return to music.[2] On October 21, 2019, Rolling Stone posted a video clip with the announcement of Kesha's upcoming album High Road.[3][4] Two days later, Kesha uploaded a trailer of the music video to her Instagram, revealing the release date to be October 24.[5][6] The song was remixed for club and mix show radio play by Pink Panda, Justin Caruso, Steve James, The Wild, Dirty Werk, Robert Eibach and Danny Morris.[7] It peaked at number 5 on the Billboard Dance Club Songs Chart on February 14, 2020.[8]

Composition

"Raising Hell" fuses pop,[9][10] pop rock,[11] gospel,[12][13][14] EDM[12][15] and bounce[14] into a "Pink-esque"[12] composition. It has been compared to the single "Timber", which Kesha was featured on.[9] Described as combining the musical styles of Kesha's first two studio albums and her third, Rainbow,[15] it features beat drops accompanied by "soaring synth beats", gospel choirs, handclaps, a church organ, horns, and a post-chorus by Freedia.[15][10][16]

Critical reception

“Raising Hell” was met with positive reviews from critics, with many deeming it a triumphant return for the pop star.

Gil Kaufman, writing for Billboard, called the song "an all-time keeper".[10] Lars Gotrich of NPR wrote the song "sounds like dollar sign-era Ke$ha with some of the hard-won hindsight from 2017's optimistic, healing Rainbow".[13] Jael Goldfine of Paper called the song "a wonderful midpoint between snarling party girl Kesha half-rapping over crunchy pop-EDM and her soulful balladry on Rainbow".[15]

Music video

The music video for "Raising Hell" was directed by Luke Gilford. The video portrays Kesha as a televangelist, loved by the people who she preaches to, but is married to an abusive husband. One night, Kesha tries to seduce her drunk husband but is almost choked to death until he is stabbed in the head. Kesha then drags the dead body to the trunk of her car, dyes her hair dark brown, and flees to a motel out of town. She is then wanted for murder and is chased by the police until she is eventually caught and arrested for killing her husband.[9][10]

Live performances

Kesha and Big Freedia performed the song for the first time on Jimmy Kimmel Live! on October 28, 2019.[17]

The duo performed the song at the 2019 American Music Awards, followed by a performance of "Tik Tok". At one point, her performance became the most tweeted that night.

Track listing

Digital download and streaming[18]

  1. "Raising Hell" (featuring Big Freedia)

Digital download and streaming (Justin Caruso remix)[19]

  1. "Raising Hell" (Justin Caruso remix; featuring Big Freedia)

Digital download and streaming (Pink Panda remix)[20]

  1. "Raising Hell" (Pink Panda remix; featuring Big Freedia)

Digital download and streaming (Steve James remix)[21]

  1. "Raising Hell" (Steve James remix)

Digital download and streaming (The Wild remix)[22]

  1. "Raising Hell" (The Wild remix)

Charts

Chart (2019–2020) Peak
position
Canada CHR/Top 40 (Billboard)[23] 25
Canada Hot AC (Billboard)[24] 37
Canadian Hot Digital Song Sales (Billboard)[25] 35
Ireland (IRMA)[26] 97
New Zealand Hot Singles (RMNZ)[27] 26
Scotland (OCC)[28] 58
UK Singles Downloads (OCC)[29] 64
US Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles (Billboard)[30] 17
US Adult Top 40 (Billboard)[31] 22
US Dance Club Songs (Billboard)[32] 5
US Dance/Mix Show Airplay (Billboard)[33] 8
US Digital Song Sales (Billboard)[34] 19
US Mainstream Top 40 (Billboard)[35] 24
Venezuela (Record Report)[36] 95

Release history

Region Date Format Version Label Ref.
Various October 24, 2019 Original [18]
Australia October 25, 2019 Contemporary hit radio [37]
United States October 29, 2019 [38]
Various January 24, 2020
  • Digital download
  • streaming
 Justin Caruso remix [19]
February 7, 2020 Pink Panda remix [20]
Steve James remix [21]
The Wild remix [22]

References

  1. ↑ "Raising Hell 🔥Coming to a screen near you tomorrow 💒💒". Archived from the original on 2021-12-25. Retrieved October 23, 2019 – via Instagram.
  2. ↑ Ramli, Sofiana (October 18, 2019). "Dial this number to listen to a mysterious teaser of Kesha's new song". NME. Retrieved October 23, 2019.
  3. ↑ Shaffer, Claire (October 21, 2019). "Kesha Drops Trailer for Upcoming Album High Road". Rolling Stone. Retrieved October 22, 2019.
  4. ↑ Mendez, Michele (October 22, 2019). "Kesha's High Road Album Trailer Is The Most Epic Thing You'll See Today". Elite Daily. Retrieved October 23, 2019.
  5. ↑ Kenneally, Cerys (October 23, 2019). "Kesha drops teaser for new single "Raising Hell"". thelineofbestfit.com. Retrieved October 23, 2019.
  6. ↑ Reis, Ana (October 23, 2019). "Kesha libera teaser do clipe de "Raising Hell", que chega amanhã (24)!". papelpop.com. Retrieved October 23, 2019.
  7. ↑ Meier, Sam (27 January 2020). "Kesha + Big Freedia's 'Raising Hell' Rocks Billboard's Dance Top 15 – PRO MOTION Music News". promotionmusicnews.com. Retrieved 2020-10-28.
  8. ↑ "Kesha". Billboard. Retrieved 2020-10-28.
  9. 1 2 3 Haylock, Zoe (October 24, 2019). "Kesha Is Back to 'Raising Hell' in Her New Music Video". Vulture. Retrieved October 24, 2019.
  10. 1 2 3 4 Kaufman, Gil (October 24, 2019). "Thanks and Praises, Kesha and Big Freedia Are 'Raising Hell' in Righteous Video: Watch". Billboard. Retrieved October 24, 2019.
  11. ↑ Wass, Mike (November 21, 2019). "Kesha's 'High Road' Era Takes Shape With "My Own Dance"". Idolator. Retrieved November 22, 2019.
  12. 1 2 3 Smith, Nick (January 29, 2020). "Kesha – High Road". musicOMH. Retrieved January 30, 2020.
  13. 1 2 Gotrich, Lars (October 24, 2019). "Kesha Announces New Album 'High Road' With Gospel-Inspired Single 'Raising Hell'". NPR. Retrieved October 30, 2019.
  14. 1 2 DeVille, Chris (January 27, 2020). "Kesha 'High Road' Review: The Sound Of Moving On". Stereogum. Retrieved January 30, 2020.
  15. 1 2 3 4 Goldfine, Jael (October 24, 2019). "Watch Kesha Murder Her Abusive Husband in 'Raising Hell'". Paper. Retrieved October 30, 2019.
  16. ↑ DeWald, Mike (January 28, 2020). "ALBUM REVIEW: Kesha brings back the party on confident, brash 'High Road'". RIFF Magazine. Retrieved January 30, 2020.
  17. ↑ Yoo, Noah (29 October 2019). "Watch Kesha and Big Freedia Perform "Raising Hell" on Kimmel". Pitchfork. Retrieved October 30, 2019.
  18. 1 2 Kesha (October 24, 2019). "Spotify – Raising Hell (feat. Big Freedia)". open.spotify.com.
  19. 1 2 Kesha (January 24, 2020). "Raising Hell (Justin Caruso Remix) [feat. Big Freedia] - Single by Kesha & Justin Caruso on Apple Music". music.apple.com.
  20. 1 2 "Raising Hell (Pink Panda Remix)". Apple Music. Retrieved February 11, 2020.
  21. 1 2 "Raising Hell (Steve James Remix)". Apple Music. Retrieved February 11, 2020.
  22. 1 2 "Raising Hell (The Wild Remix)". Apple Music. Retrieved February 11, 2020.
  23. ↑ "Kesha Chart History (Canada CHR/Top 40)". Billboard. Retrieved January 1, 2019.
  24. ↑ "Kesha Chart History (Canada Hot AC)". Billboard. Retrieved January 1, 2019.
  25. ↑ "Kesha: Chart History - Hot Canadian Digital Song Sales". Billboard. Retrieved December 3, 2019.
  26. ↑ "IRMA – Irish Charts". Irish Recorded Music Association. Retrieved November 2, 2019.
  27. ↑ "NZ Hot Singles Chart". Recorded Music NZ. November 4, 2019. Retrieved November 2, 2019.
  28. ↑ "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved December 7, 2019.
  29. ↑ "Official Singles Downloads Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved December 14, 2019.
  30. ↑ "Kesha Chart History (Bubbling Under Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved November 2, 2019.
  31. ↑ "Kesha Chart History (Adult Pop Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved December 24, 2019.
  32. ↑ "Kesha Chart History (Dance Club Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved February 7, 2020.
  33. ↑ "Kesha Chart History (Dance Mix/Show Airplay)". Billboard. Retrieved January 12, 2020.
  34. ↑ "Kesha Chart History (Digital Song Sales)". Billboard. Retrieved November 12, 2019.
  35. ↑ "Kesha Chart History (Pop Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved December 17, 2019.
  36. ↑ "Top 100 - Record Report". Record Report. Archived from the original on 10 December 2019. Retrieved 22 June 2023.
  37. ↑ "Singles To Radio - The Music Network". The Music Network.
  38. ↑ Top 40/M Future Releases | Mainstream Hit Songs Being Released and Their Release Dates ... at the Wayback Machine (archived October 25, 2019)
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