Warrior is the second studio album by American singer and songwriter Kesha, released on November 30, 2012, by Kemosabe and RCA Records. Its music incorporates a wide range of genres, including pop, EDM, rock, punk, rap, country, and folk. Kesha described the album as more personal than her previous material in addition to mentioning it was her attempt at reviving the rock genre, calling it a "cock pop" record. Its theme is said to be magic. Writing for Warrior began in late 2011 and ended in early 2012, with recording taking place from January through August 2012. Kesha wrote the majority of the album while touring internationally and during her spiritual journey.
Contributions to the album's production came from longtime collaborators Dr. Luke (who was also the executive producer of the project), Max Martin, Shellback, Ammo and Benny Blanco. It features guest vocals from American rock singer Iggy Pop, who has been cited as a major influence on the album, as well as writing contributions from Nate Ruess from American indie rock trio Fun, American rapper will.i.am, American singer-songwriter Bonnie McKee, the Black Keys drummer Patrick Carney, American rock bands the Strokes and the Flaming Lips and Kesha's own mother, Pebe Sebert.
The album's lead single "Die Young" achieved commercial success, peaking at number two on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in the United States, while also charting in multiple countries worldwide. "C'Mon" initially served as a promotional single and peaked at number 27 in the US after its release as the album's second single. An acoustic extended play (EP), Deconstructed (2012), was released exclusively through Kesha's website to promote the fan edition of the album and features rerecorded songs from her previous releases as well as a cover of "Old Flames Can't Hold a Candle to You" (1980) by American country recording artist Dolly Parton and cowritten by Kesha's mother, Pebe. "Crazy Kids" was released as the third and final single from Warrior. In total, the album spawned three Top 40 hits in the US, Canada, and Australia.
Upon its release, Warrior received generally favorable reviews from music critics, who commended its rock-influenced material, lyrical content, and collaborations, whilst others criticized its use of Auto-Tune and formulaic content. The album reached number six on the Billboard 200 albums chart in the United States, while also charting in Australia, Canada, Japan, the United Kingdom, and other countries. The album has been certified Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). To promote the album, Kesha embarked on two concert tours: the first was the North American Tour 2013, coheadlined with American rapper Pitbull, and the second one was the Warrior Tour (2013–2015).
Background In June 2010, Kesha discussed her second studio album with MTV News. During the interview she revealed that she was already beginning to think about her second album and explained that it was going to differ from her first record, specifically commenting that it would reflect her growth: "There's definitely going to be a difference. I'm always changing and evolving and because I write all of my own music it will be reflective of the record. It'll still stay fun and young and irreverent." After the release of her first album Kesha embarked on her first worldwide tour, the Get Sleazy Tour throughout 2011. While touring she began writing songs for her second album but recording and other work on the album was not commenced until she had completed the tour. The album was slated for a release in late 2011 but got delayed. It was then slated for a May 2012 release but ultimately got delayed again due to Kesha still recording songs.
In 2011, the singer took a hiatus from music to embark on other ventures. She was hired by the Humane Society and became their first global ambassador, which consumed her time as she made a documentary for National Geographic that revolved around "animals being abused and how to stop that, or animals that are going extinct and how to help those animals". The album includes a variety of different musical participants, which was explained by the singer: "The range of artists I want to work with is so vast it's bizarre. If someone is a real artist, you can't confine them to a particular genre. It's my mission to make it all make sense somehow." Along with expanding her collaborations, the singer expanded her musical repertoire, as she began playing the guitar significantly more with the plans of incorporating it into her new material. In February 2012, while being interviewed by Glamour, Kesha stated that while she was currently in the process of writing songs for her album, she was also taking a variety of instrument lessons, emphasizing specifically that she was taking guitar lessons. In the years since, Kesha alluded to a disdain for the record due to her limited creative control while making it. During an Instagram live on July 5, 2024, she seemingly references the album, saying, "I don't hate any of my albums; there's just one album that's not my favorite child.". However, in 2025, she claimed to have fallen back in love with the album after listening to it again with some distance.
Title and concept In March 2011, Kesha revealed in an interview with Beatweek Magazine that she had already chosen the title for the record, naming it Spandex on the Distant Horizon. However, in a publication in May 2012, Billboard stated that the project was untitled. The album's underlying theme stems around embracing a person's inner warrior, which the singer elaborated on: "I've seen how many people my music can reach, and I've realized that I have somewhat of a social responsibility to make sure everything I say is positive. The underlying theme of this next record is warrior, with the positive message being that everyone has a warrior inside." On September 18, 2012, via her Twitter and Instagram accounts, Kesha began announcing letters, believed to be from the title of the album, alluding to the name of the album title, Warrior. This was later confirmed when she tweeted the release date of the album.
Production Kesha worked with Lukasz Gottwald and Max Martin on a variety of tracks. She also expressed interest in enlisting the production duo, the Dust Brothers, who are known for producing tracks for the Rolling Stones, the Beastie Boys and Beck, however no recording dates were ever penned. Her friend Paul Nicholls, a DJ, was also named as a potential participant in construction of the album. However, no recording dates with him have been recorded either. According to MTV, Kesha entered the studio with Luke in January 2012. Both Kesha and Luke had been working on material for the upcoming project separately but had yet to start studio sessions prior to January. Kesha reported via Twitter in March 2012 she was in the midst of recording the album with Luke and Benny Blanco. In the recording studio together, they created a track described by the singer as a "cock-pop" influenced song. This track was revealed to be "Thinking of You".
Wayne Coyne from the Flaming Lips first expressed interest in working with Kesha in January 2012. Coyne said he knew she was a fan of his work and felt that a collaboration between the two would be a "perfect match". The duo reportedly collaborated at the Lips' studio in January 2012. A track called "2012" was created during a February recording session in Nashville and was released on the Lips' album, The Flaming Lips and Heady Fwends. In March 2012, Coyne told Rolling Stone that he was in the development stages of talking to Kesha about working with her on her new material. Along with "2012", Wayne and Kesha's first collaboration created three other songs, all of which belonged to Kesha. Coyne was later asked if he still intended to contribute to her album he responded, stating: "I'm trying to. I think we're getting together right before Easter. We've already done three songs-- they're hers". According to Twitter messages by Coyne, recording between the duo continued in April 2012 and a track that discussed "futuristic sex toys" was created. Coyne and Kesha revealed via Twitter that a song titled "You Control My Heart" was created. Coyne announced that he was in the process of mixing the song. "Past Lives", a track described by Coyne as a "stellar track" was confirmed to be another collaboration between the pair. Altogether, Coyne and Kesha's collaboration yielded between six and seven tracks.
In mid April 2012, Billboard published an article claiming that Scottish producer Calvin Harris had contributed several tracks to the upcoming album. Their specific recording date was unknown. In May 2012, Kesha continued to record with Dr. Luke and artist Sia, although this track did not make the final track listing. Rock singer Iggy Pop was also revealed as a collaborator, when the singer tweeted a picture in May 2012 saying that the singer would feature on the record. Billboard later confirmed Iggy Pop would feature on "Dirty Love", produced by Dr. Luke. Kesha continued to work with Dr Luke and Benny Blanco, and with new collaborators Henry Walter and Fun. lead singer Nate Ruess – the four created a track described by Blanco as "old hippie rock". That track was later revealed as "Die Young". Kesha revealed that she and Dr Luke had created 17 incomplete songs, including "Last Goodbye", "Die Young" and "Supernatural". She commented on the sound, "I want it to be a mix of what works on the radio and what I listen to in my spare time", she says. "I'm on a steady diet of T. Rex and Iggy Pop."
Composition
In contrast to her debut album Animal (2010), Kesha stated her second album would also incorporate rock genres, inspired from the music of the 1970s. 1970s rock singers Led Zeppelin, AC/DC and Iggy Pop's album, The Idiot, were cited as musical inspirations for the next record. Kesha stated in press that she intended to incorporate a confluence of genres, including blues music, saying, "I definitely want the next record to be experimental and I would love to play with all the different sounds of the music I listen to. I really want some dirty guitar and I wouldn't mind if there were elements of blues." On her first record Kesha imposed a restriction on her producers limiting their use of guitars. To encompass "visceral" energy on the record she lifted this restriction and instead has chosen to focus on the inclusion of guitars to try and capture the sound of the 1970s and '80s. Commenting on the album before its release, she said: "Some people will be shocked [by it]. Some will also be excited to know that I don't just do silly white-girl rap. I'm from the South, I have a lot of soul. But trust me—it's not going to be some avant-garde jazz record. I innately write pop songs. That's just what I do."
Kesha began recording the album in 2011, after traveling the world; she went on a spiritual journey. Recalling experiences of feeding baby lions and swimming with great white sharks, Kesha said, "I got hypnotized, and I just really wanted this record to be really positive, really raw, really vulnerable and about the magic of life." "Supernatural" contains dubstep elements and explores erotic experiences Kesha encountered with ghosts. The track "Dirty Love" was inspired by Iggy Pop's music and draws from garage rock and punk rock. "Wonderland" is a country rock song that explores Kesha's past with her broke friends. The tracks "Wherever You Are", "Die Young", "C'Mon" all contain elements of technopop, whereas tracks like "Only Wanna Dance With You" and "Gold Trans Am" draw from electronic rock. "C'Mon" and "Crazy Kids" are electronic rap songs. Overall, Kesha said the theme of Warrior is magic. She further explained the main inspiration behind the album's change of sound: