Kesha channeled turmoil over Dr. Luke legal battle into new track

Kesha channeled the anxiety she felt over her Dr. Luke legal troubles into her new single Praying.

The Tik Tok star is still in the middle of a defamation battle with producer Dr. Luke, real name Lukasz Gottwald, who she alleges abused her.

The pair have been wrangling since 2014, but Kesha's bid to end her contract with the producer was rejected by the New York Supreme Court last year (16).

Now, the 30-year-old has released her first solo song in four years, and explained in a Lenny Letter the reasoning behind the highly-charged track.

"I have channeled my feelings of severe hopelessness and depression, I've overcome obstacles, and I have found strength in myself even when it felt out of reach. I've found what I had thought was an unobtainable place of peace," she wrote on Lena Dunham's website.

"This song is about coming to feel empathy for someone else even if they hurt you or scare you. It's a song about learning to be proud of the person you are even during low moments when you feel alone. It's also about hoping everyone, even someone who hurt you, can heal."

She goes on to detail how bad her depression has been over the last few years, and that neither her fans nor family could pull her out of it. Eventually she turned to prayer, and found strength in learning to let go of the hatred she felt.

"Once you realize that you will in fact be OK, you want to spread love and healing. If you feel like someone has wronged you, get rid of that hate, because it will just create more negativity," she implored.

"One thing that has brought me great relief is praying for those people. Being angry and resentful will do nothing but increase your own stress and anxiety - and hate is the fuel that grows the viruses. Don't let anyone steal your happiness!

"This song is about me finding peace in the fact that I can't control everything - because trying to control everyone was killing me. It's about learning to let go and realize that the universe is in control of my fate, not me."

Praying is taken from Kesha's forthcoming album Rainbow, set for an August release, by Sony's Kemosabe Records. In April, the label terminated its professional relationship with producer Dr. Luke.