" Praying " received universal acclaim from music critics , who positively regarded it as a departure from Kesha 's past work and public image , and called it a great comeback . Maria Sherman of '' Complex '' thought the track was " more purposeful than the music that made Kesha famous . Those looking to make pop music with real resonance would be wise to look to this song , and whatever Kesha does next . " '' Forbes '' Hugh McIntyre labelled " Praying " " very important " , adding that " Kesha will have no trouble collecting many new fans as she enters this next phase of her career . " Issy Sampson of '' The Guardian '' noted that the recording was to Kesha 's oeuvre what " Fighter " ( 2002 ) was to Aguilera 's . '' The New York Times '' Jon Pareles described " Praying " as " a perfectly aimed missile of revenge and career rebooting . " '' HuffPost '' s Daniel Welsh wrote that it was an " empowering and haunting ballad " which " may come as something of a surprise to more casual Kesha listeners , who are perhaps more used to hearing her glittery songs about partying and having a good time . " According to Matthew Rozsa of '' Salon '' , " ' Praying ' is likely to be remembered as the moment when Ke $ ha became Kesha — that is , when her overproduced image of a party girl transformed into that of a soulful artist " . Caroline Framke of Vox said that " as Kesha embraces her pain and rage , the song becomes something much more intense and weird and furious and hopeful — something that feels much more like Kesha herself . " Kesha 's vocals and emotional delivery were also praised by reviewers . Eve Barlow of '' Variety '' commented that the song would " be enough to induce goosebumps in even the harshest of cynics . " Weiss of '' Billboard '' similarly commended the track , saying : " It would hard for even the biggest pop agnostic to not be rendered speechless by Kesha 's new video and song ' Praying . ' " In a separate '' Billboard '' article , Gil Kaufman thought that the song was " pure ecstasy for your ear buds . " '' Time '' s Raisa Bruner called " Praying " " powerfully emotional " , adding that " when she breaks out into a flawless whistle tone , it pretty much seals the deal : this new Kesha is stronger than ever , both as an artist and , seemingly , as a human . " '' The Atlantic '' praised it for being " deeply felt " , and said that " Kesha 's voice is powerful here — and more capable than people might expect " . William Ferrer of '' The Seattle Times '' said that " Praying " was " a bone-chilling must-listen , " writing that " we 're only one single into '' Rainbow '' ... and I 'm already certain her record is going to be one of the year 's finest . " According to Sampson of '' The Guardian '' , " Praying " is " a full-on chest-thumping , foot-stamping inspirational ballad , and Kesha 's voice sounds better than ever .... and it 's good enough to make you forgive her for ' Timber ' . " '' Pitchfork '' s Jillian Mapes said that the song was " a powerful statement of resiliency , even if the resulting song 's familiar piano melody sounds comparatively tepid . " She favorably compared " Praying " to the work of Adele and Florence Welch . Althea Legaspi and Elias Leight of '' Rolling Stone '' similarly called the track " triumphant " and " uplifting " , while Patrick Hosken of MTV deemed it " about as soul-baring as anything gets . " Tom Breihan of '' Stereogum '' opined that the recording was " grand and expansive " . '' The Singles Jukebox '' rated " Praying " as the best song of 2017 , writing : " The music nods at large-scale drama but , rather than letting the drum and piano echo into space , the thuds stay close to the ear , like Kesha 's singing to her own heartbeat . " At the 60th Annual Grammy Awards , " Praying " was nominated for Best Pop Solo Performance
60th Annual Grammy Awards
60th Annual Grammy Awards
Praying (song)