# Warrior (Kesha album)
**Warrior** is a studio album by the American singer Kesha, released on November 30, 2012 in Australia and December 4, 2012 in the United States through [RCA Records](https://www.edgepedia.org/rca-records). It followed her 2010 debut album *[Animal](https://www.edgepedia.org/animal-kesha-album)* and its companion EP *Cannibal*, and it broadened her dance-pop sound with rock, punk, and country elements while peaking at [No. 6](https://www.edgepedia.org/no-6) on the Billboard 200.[1](https://www.billboard.com/lists/keshas-warrior-album-songs-ranked/) • [2](https://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/25/arts/music/kesha-tilts-closer-to-a-rock-sound-with-warrior.html)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Release | November 30, 2012 (Australia); December 4, 2012 (United States); deluxe two-CD edition December 3, 2012 in the UK and Europe[1](https://www.billboard.com/lists/keshas-warrior-album-songs-ranked/) • [3](https://www.discogs.com/release/4362177-Keha-Warrior) |
| Label | Kemosabe/RCA; UK deluxe catalog number 88765415262[3](https://www.discogs.com/release/4362177-Keha-Warrior) • [4](https://www.officialcharts.com/albums/kesha-warrior/) |
| Peak positions | No. 6 on the Billboard 200; No. 60 on the UK Albums Chart[1](https://www.billboard.com/lists/keshas-warrior-album-songs-ranked/) • [4](https://www.officialcharts.com/albums/kesha-warrior/) |
| Singles | "Die Young" (No. 2 Hot 100), "C'Mon" (No. 27), "Crazy Kids" (No. 40)[1](https://www.billboard.com/lists/keshas-warrior-album-songs-ranked/) |
| Executive producer | Dr. Luke; Serban Ghenea mixing[3](https://www.discogs.com/release/4362177-Keha-Warrior) |
| Guest | Iggy Pop on the duet "Dirty Love"[5](https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-album-reviews/warrior-116381/) • [6](https://open.spotify.com/album/0gT5HL6RnvHBxJ2gY7lidR) |
| Editions | Deluxe edition of 16 songs running 58 minutes 52 seconds[6](https://open.spotify.com/album/0gT5HL6RnvHBxJ2gY7lidR) |
## Background and development
Warrior arrived as the follow-up to *Animal* (2010) and its EP supplement *Cannibal*.[2](https://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/25/arts/music/kesha-tilts-closer-to-a-rock-sound-with-warrior.html) Despite being filed under dance pop, she expressed strong reverence for the rock 1970s, an era that ended seven years before she was born.[2](https://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/25/arts/music/kesha-tilts-closer-to-a-rock-sound-with-warrior.html) Over the year before release she described the new music she was making with her executive producer [Dr. Luke](https://www.edgepedia.org/dr-luke) as guitar-based rock 'n' roll.[7](https://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/04/arts/music/new-albums-from-kesha-and-jon-irabagon.html)
## Music and lyrics
The finished album incorporated rock, punk, and country into Kesha's existing palette of pop, hip-hop, and dance.[1](https://www.billboard.com/lists/keshas-warrior-album-songs-ranked/) That is not quite the guitar rock she had promised: the New York Times review found the record more synth-driven Dr. Luke production, with a strong influence of the French electronic duo [Daft Punk](https://www.edgepedia.org/daft-punk) on several songs including "Warrior," "Wherever You Are," and "Supernatural."[7](https://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/04/arts/music/new-albums-from-kesha-and-jon-irabagon.html) Discogs classifies the album under Electronic, Rock, and Pop, with styles including dance-pop, pop rock, electro house, downtempo, and ballad.[8](https://www.discogs.com/master/497620-Keha-Warrior)
## Release and promotion
The album was released November 30, 2012 in Australia and December 4, 2012 in the United States.[1](https://www.billboard.com/lists/keshas-warrior-album-songs-ranked/) A deluxe two-CD edition appeared December 3, 2012 in the UK and Europe on [Kemosabe Records](https://www.edgepedia.org/kemosabe-records), RCA, and [Sony Music](https://www.edgepedia.org/sony-music) under catalog number 88765415262.[3](https://www.discogs.com/release/4362177-Keha-Warrior) The rollout was led by "Die Young," with "C'Mon" and "Crazy Kids" following as subsequent singles.[1](https://www.billboard.com/lists/keshas-warrior-album-songs-ranked/)
## Commercial performance
Warrior peaked at No. 6 on the Billboard 200, a lower position than Kesha's Billboard 200-topping debut *Animal*.[1](https://www.billboard.com/lists/keshas-warrior-album-songs-ranked/) In the United Kingdom it peaked at number 60 on the Official Albums Chart, first charting on December 15, 2012 and spending 2 weeks in the Top 75 and 3 weeks in the Top 100.[4](https://www.officialcharts.com/albums/kesha-warrior/) The lead single "Die Young" was the album's commercial high point, reaching No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100; "C'Mon" and "Crazy Kids" peaked at Nos. 27 and 40, respectively.[1](https://www.billboard.com/lists/keshas-warrior-album-songs-ranked/)
## Critical reception
Contemporaneous reviews were mixed. Rolling Stone judged that *Warrior* "doesn't hit the giddy peaks of 2010's Animal," but credited it with a "crackpot sense of rock history," noting that "Love Into the Light" bites the prog-soul of [Phil Collins](https://www.edgepedia.org/phil-collins) and that "Only Wanna Dance With You" is a hilariously mean and accurate parody of the Strokes.[5](https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-album-reviews/warrior-116381/) The Guardian was critical, saying Kesha had "decided not to fix what ain't broke" and criticizing [Auto-Tune](https://www.edgepedia.org/auto-tune) that "turns Kesha's voice into a robo-squawk," while conceding that [Iggy Pop](https://www.edgepedia.org/iggy-pop) "shows her how it's done on the garage-rock duet Dirty Love."[9](http://www.theguardian.com/music/2012/nov/29/kesha-warrior-review) NPR framed the album, created with a number of producers most prominently Dr. Luke, as an attempt at legitimacy, and read its second track "Die Young" as being all about living as though you might die young.[10](https://www.npr.org/2012/12/12/166405447/a-warrior-looking-for-legitimacy)
## Legacy: a transitional album between Animal and Rainbow
Billboard's tenth-anniversary retrospective framed *Warrior* as giving hints of what was to come on Kesha's 2017 return with *[Rainbow](https://www.edgepedia.org/rainbow-kesha-album)*, an album that moved her further toward rock.[1](https://www.billboard.com/lists/keshas-warrior-album-songs-ranked/) In that reading the record sits between the dance-pop of *Animal* and the rock leanings of *Rainbow*: commercially below *Animal*, which topped the Billboard 200, but foreshadowing the later work through its rock, punk, and country inflections.[1](https://www.billboard.com/lists/keshas-warrior-album-songs-ranked/)
## Track listing and personnel
The deluxe edition contains 16 songs with a total runtime of 58 minutes 52 seconds.[6](https://open.spotify.com/album/0gT5HL6RnvHBxJ2gY7lidR)
Dr. Luke is credited as executive producer, with Serban Ghenea as mix engineer.[3](https://www.discogs.com/release/4362177-Keha-Warrior) Iggy Pop duets on "Dirty Love."[5](https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-album-reviews/warrior-116381/)
## References
1. [Kesha's 'Warrior' Album: Songs Ranked From Worst to Best, Billboard](https://www.billboard.com/lists/keshas-warrior-album-songs-ranked/)
2. [Dancing Up a Storm but Dying to Rock, The New York Times](https://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/25/arts/music/kesha-tilts-closer-to-a-rock-sound-with-warrior.html)
3. [Ke$ha – Warrior (2 x CD, Album, Deluxe Edition), Discogs](https://www.discogs.com/release/4362177-Keha-Warrior)
4. [WARRIOR – KESHA, Official Charts Company](https://www.officialcharts.com/albums/kesha-warrior/)
5. [Warrior, Rolling Stone album review](https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-album-reviews/warrior-116381/)
6. [Warrior (Deluxe Version) – Album by Kesha, Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/album/0gT5HL6RnvHBxJ2gY7lidR)
7. [Flip Side to Her Wild Side, The New York Times](https://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/04/arts/music/new-albums-from-kesha-and-jon-irabagon.html)
8. [Ke$ha – Warrior, Discogs master release](https://www.discogs.com/master/497620-Keha-Warrior)
9. [Kesha: Warrior – review, The Guardian](http://www.theguardian.com/music/2012/nov/29/kesha-warrior-review)
10. [Ke$ha Album Review: A 'Warrior' Looking For Legitimacy, NPR](https://www.npr.org/2012/12/12/166405447/a-warrior-looking-for-legitimacy)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Music › Musical works and recordings › Albums and recorded releases › Studio albums › Pop albums › 2000s albums*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
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License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license