"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.
| "Eat the Acid" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single by Kesha | ||||
| from the album Gag Order | ||||
| A-side | "Fine Line" | |||
| Released | April 28, 2023 | |||
| Studio | Shangri-La | |||
| Genre | Dark wave[1] | |||
| Length | 4:02 | |||
| Label | ||||
| Songwriter(s) | ||||
| Producer(s) |
| |||
| Kesha singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Visualizer | ||||
| "Eat the Acid" on YouTube | ||||
Background
"Eat the Acid" was the first song to be written for the album, 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",[2] 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).[3]
Composition and lyrics
The song lasts 4 minutes and 2 seconds, and is described as a dark-wave minimalist[1] 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."[4]
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] On March 8, 2023, she live streamed portions of several songs, including "Eat the Acid", on Instagram.[5] 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.[6][7]
Accolades
| Publication | List | Rank | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Los Angeles Times | The 100 Best Songs of 2023 | — | [8] |
| Stereogum | The Top 40 Pop Songs of 2023 | 16 | [9] |
| Variety | The Best Songs of 2023 | 26 | [10] |
| Vulture | The Best Songs of 2023 | — | [11] |
Release history
| Region | Date | Format(s) | Labels | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Various | April 28, 2023 |
| [12] |