The Billboard Music Awards are taking place on May 22, with artists including Troye Sivan, Adele, and even Madonna set to perform at the event.
Kesha has also been invited to join in and was already set to perform along with the others. Due to the ongoing legal battle between her and Sony producer Dr. Luke, a 'request' had to be filed to the label Kemosabe Records as she is technically still working under them.
Everything was going well; Kesha was already expected at the BBMAs, until this TMZ article popped up. She was allegedly planning to turn this performance into a 'statement act', reminiscent of the artist's recent cover of Lady Gaga's powerful song about abuse, "Til It Happens To You".
As reported by Billboard, Kemosabe Records recently revoked approval of Kesha's appearance, disabling her from attending the event. As the report points out, "Kemosabe subsequently rescinded its approval following a media report on Wednesday May 11 regarding Kesha’s appearance on the BBMAs".
The artist released her own statement regarding the matter via Instagram, debunking TMZ's proposition and stating that she was actually planning to pay homage to Bob Dylan with the song "It Ain't Me, Babe":
So here's another artist pinned down by an injunction. Like the good ol' 15th century writers who were forced to go on exile, eh? If there's anything else we should learn from this story, it's that anonymous "sources" are invincible bodies of power who will take your free will away. Beware.
She recently collaborated with Zedd for the rework of the producer's 2015 track, "True Colors". It's the first single she's released in three years. Wanna know what the Coachella hype is all about? Check it out:
Photo credit: Stereogum