At last, I was able to hear four of Kesha’s new songs. I went to an office in Manhattan and sat in a room and listened while two of her representatives looked on. Kesha told me that when the inspiration hits her with a song — a lyric, a hook, a melody, anything — she is struck dumb with it until she puts it down on paper, that the inspiration itself feels like a divine act. I heard “Hunt You Down,” which was a real country song with banjo and some real country sentiments: “If you [expletive] around, I’ll hunt you down.” I heard “Learn to Let It Go,” which sounded like something you’d hear in heavy rotation on radio with Kesha’s beautiful, low voice singing that a happy ending is up to you. I heard “Rosé,” a toast to an old boyfriend who has married. “The good things never last,” she sings.

But the song I want to tell you about most is “Rainbow.” If it ever emerges from private listenings, it will be your favorite Kesha song. It’s big and sweeping, and you can hear every instrument that Ben Folds and his associates played — it does recall a Beach Boys vibe, just as she wanted it to. And as Folds said, the way she sings the song is so rich and so real that it jerks you out of your expectation of a pop song. “I found a rainbow, rainbow, baby,” she sings. “Trust me, I know life is scary, but just put those colors on, girl, and come and paint the world with me tonight.” In the final section, her voice becomes stronger and more strained, and the effect is devastating. I asked to hear it three more times.