Eat the Acid
{{Use mdy dates|date=May 2023}}
{{Infobox song
| name = Eat the Acid
| cover =
| type = single
| artist = Kesha
| album = Gag Order
| A-side = Fine Line
| released = {{Start date|2023|04|28}}
| studio = Shangri-La
| genre = Dark wave
| length = {{Duration|m=4|s=2}}
| label = * RCA
| writer = * Kesha Sebert
| producer = * Kesha
- Rick Rubin
- Jason Lader
- Crichton
| prev_title = Drop Dead
| prev_version = Remix
| prev_year = 2021
| title = Fine Line
| title2 = Eat the Acid
| year = 2023
| next_title = Only Love Can Save Us Now
| next_year = 2023
| misc = {{External music video|type=single|header=Visualizer|{{YouTube|J1hecebh3Hc|"Eat the Acid"}}}}
}}
"Eat the Acid" is a song by American singer-songwriter Kesha from her fifth studio album, Gag Order (2023). It was released as the lead single for the album, as a double A-side alongside "Fine Line", on April 28, 2023, ahead of the album's full release on May 19, 2023. An accompanying visualizer was released the same day. The song was written by Kesha, her mother Pebe Sebert, and Stuart Crichton.
Background
"Eat the Acid" was the first song to be written for the album, before the album released “Eat the Acid” was supposed to be album name. It was after Kesha had a spiritual awakening during the coronavirus pandemic. The title refers to advice that her mother gave her about not taking acid as it showed her "too much",{{cite web|url= https://www.nylon.com/entertainment/kesha-gag-order-album-manifesto-last-night-i-talked-to-god|title= Kesha Shares Her Manifesto Behind New Album Gag Order (Exclusive)|work=Nylon|last=Sebert|first=Kesha|date=April 25, 2023}} and the lyrics speak about Kesha's mother telling her not to take LSD as well, so that she wouldn't experience what she experienced, even if she did anyways (as she stated in the Zach Sang Show interview).{{Cite web |title=Kesha's interview at the Zach Sang Show: Stream |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0xx-zezyi08|access-date=2023-06-07 |website=YouTube| date=June 7, 2023 }}
Composition and lyrics
The song lasts 4 minutes and 2 seconds, and is described as a dark-wave minimalist{{cite web|url=https://www.slantmagazine.com/music/kesha-gag-order-album-review/|title=Kesha Gag Order Review: A Disarmingly Strange Musical Thesis Statement|website=Slant Magazine|last=Attard|first=Paul|date=May 17, 2023|access-date=July 26, 2023}} composition that makes use of auto-tuned vocals, and uses bass guitars, drum machines, synthesizers and a piano. The song is in minor-key and the singer sings over wheezing synths and a bass rumble: "I searched for answers all my life / Dead in the dark, I saw the light."{{cite news|url= https://www.theguardian.com/music/2023/may/06/kesha-gag-order-interview|title= 'I would walk in and just cry for two hours': Kesha on cats, court cases, and the dangers of 'toxic positivity'|last=Cragg |first=Michael|access-date=May 6, 2023|newspaper=The Guardian}}
Release and promotion
In the months leading up to the song's release, Kesha revealed portions of the song to fans across several occasions. In November 2022, a six-second snippet of the song was posted online.{{Citation needed|date=September 2023}} On March 8, 2023, she live streamed portions of several songs, including "Eat the Acid", on Instagram.{{Citation needed|date=September 2024}} She also shared a portion of the song on SoundCloud from a since-deleted account, eventually removing the song in the weeks leading up to the official announcement of her album.{{Cite magazine |last=Paul |first=Larisha |date=March 30, 2023 |title=Kesha Walks 'Fine Line Between Genius and Crazy' as She Leaks Teaser Snippets of Two New Tracks |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/kesha-teases-fine-line-eat-the-acid-soundcloud-snippets-1234706372/ |access-date=2023-04-25 |magazine=Rolling Stone |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |title=Kesha Announces New Album Gag Order Out May 19 – New Songs "Eat the Acid" and "Fine Line" to Drop April 28 |url=https://www.rcarecords.com/news/kesha-announces-new-album-gag-order-out-may-19-new-songs-eat-the-acid-and-fine-line-to-drop-april-28/ |access-date=2023-04-28 |website=RCA Records |language=en-US}}
Accolades
Release history
| class="wikitable plainrowheaders"
|+ Release dates and formats for "Eat the Acid" ! scope="col" | Region ! scope="col" | Date ! scope="col" | Format(s) ! scope="col" | Labels ! scope="col" | {{abbr|Ref.|References}} |
| scope="row" | Various
| April 28, 2023 | {{hlist|Digital download|streaming}} | style="text-align: center;" |{{cite web |title=Fine Line / Eat the Acid by Kesha on Spotify |url= https://open.spotify.com/album/3RBAnTbN7fcba7VRpQi14P?si=Jx7j0w2pQ0GwrN5gj3q8NQ |website=Spotify |accessdate=May 5, 2023}} |
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