On Saturday of this year’s San Diego Comic Con, pop superstar Kesha—along with panelists Big Freedia and GaTa—promoted her newest venture: Conjuring Kesha, a paranormal investigation series on Discovery+. This move away from music might surprise the casual fan, but longtime fans of Kesha’s podcast, “Kesha and the Creepies”, know that this series was inevitable for the paranormal enthusiast. (Don’t worry, Animals, Kesha still has a new album in the works, one that the singer says is “like a companion piece” to Conjuring Kesha).
As a longtime fan of paranormal investigation shows, I’ve gotta say that the premise of Kesha’s show immediately intrigued me. Although I’m a few episodes behind (thanks Comic Con!), my initial take on Conjuring Kesha is that it’s a bit creepy, a bit campy, and Kesha is without a doubt the most fashion-forward paranormal investigator I’ve ever seen.
Throughout her Comic Con panel, Kesha emphasized repeatedly that her focus in creating the show—of which she is an executive producer—was to “ensure realness and authenticity” when approaching filming a paranormal investigation. She also acknowledged that by being so new to the field, she really relied on the paranormal experts who she invited on the show to illuminate the path. One of these experts is the psychic medium Chip Coffey, who also appears on Discovery+’s Kindred Spirits. NGL, I shrieked with excitement when they showed a clip during the panel that included Chip because he is such a well known psychic in the paranormal field, and it really emphasized the “authenticity” that Kesha is focused on bringing.
In addition to a paranormal expert, Kesha also invites a celebrity pal of hers (such as Big Freedia, pictured above) into these haunted locations, leading to some of the most genuine (and entertaining) reactions that I’ve ever seen during a ghost hunt (and I’ve watched a lot of paranormal shows). “What the f**k are we doing?” Kesha asks at one point during the premiere episode at Brushy State Mountain Penitentiary, and you know what? Kesha reacts to the paranormal the way that I would react.
As a paranormal investigator, she has good instincts about the “energy” of a building, but more importantly, she has great instincts when it comes to knowing her limits. In the first episode “Not Today, Satan”, she films a “creepy crawler” with her SLS camera, says no way, and promptly leaves the building. Once outside, she gives the building and its paranormal entities the middle finger…and that is exactly what I would do. Things get to be too much/too scary? F**k this; let’s go get a drink.
Ultimately, Conjuring Kesha is more about Kesha’s pursuit of the paranormal than the spirits themselves. It is far more cinematic than any other ghost hunting show on air, and that was the aim of Kesha. She aspired to give the paranormal community something different, and she delivers. This is her journey, but she’s extending us an invitation to travel with her. And you know what? I’m more than willing to go.
New episodes of “Conjuring Kesha” air on Fridays on Discovery+.
P.S. The show has not yet been renewed for season 2, so tell your friends/family/Uber driver. 🙂
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