"Woman" is a song recorded by American singer Kesha and featuring the Dap-Kings Horns for her third studio album Rainbow (2017). It was released as the first promotional single from the album on July 13, 2017. The song was then released as the second single from the album on January 22, 2018. It has been described as a feminist anthem.[1]
[…] I realized that for most of my life I was intimidated to even try and run in the leagues of the people I look up to. With "Woman," I hope my fans will hear that wild spirit still strong inside me but this time it was created more raw, spontaneously and with all live instrumentation, which I found was a huge reason I loved the records I did love. There were one or two or 12 different people playing real instruments together, and all that real human energy is exciting and very fun to listen to. I wanted this song to capture that organic, raw, soulful sound and keep the imperfect moments in the recordings because I find the magic in the imperfections.
Later, Kesha revealed the real purpose of releasing the song - to protest Donald Trump in offense to his "pussy grabbing comment," according to her interview with Metro.co.uk. In another interview with Rolling Stone, she stated, "I just really love being a woman and I wanted an anthem for anyone else who wants to yell about being self-sufficient and strong."[3] Along with releasing the music video, she also released an essay detailing her intentions of writing the song and releasing it early from her album.
The song is performed in the key of F minor with a tempo of 115 beats per minute.[4]
Critics and fans alike praised the song. Rolling Stone called the song "funk-laden",[2] while Business Insider identified the song as "funk-filled pop."[5]USA Today hailed the song as "the feminist song of the summer".
"Woman" debuted at number 96 on the US Billboard Hot 100 for the week ending August 5, 2017, selling 19,000 copies in the United States according to Nielsen Soundscan.[6] Thanks to an array of dance remixes, "Woman" topped the Dance Club Songs chart on the issue dated December 23, 2017, becoming Kesha's third number one on that chart, and her first since "Timber" in 2014.[7] As of December 13, 2018, "Woman" received a gold certification in the United States by the nation's RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America) for accomplishing sales and streaming figures of 500,000 units in the country alone.[8]
The song was part of the setlist of Kesha's Rainbow Tour. She performed the song on Good Morning America, where she also performed "Praying". Kesha also performed the song at numerous iHeart Radio festivals. On January 22, 2018, Kesha released the official live version, which was recorded during her Rainbow Tour.
