Kesha’s new single “Yippee-Ki-Yay” has people heralding the return of the recession pop princess as the stock market continues to struggle. The upbeat country bop, released on March 27, 2025, features T-Pain and encourages listeners to party through it—which is exactly what a lot of people need after President Donald Trump announced drastic tariffs that sent stock prices plunging.
Now TikTok is loaded with meme videos calling Kesha’s comeback the latest recession indicator. The singer also got in on the recession pop joke with a video of her own promoting the track while giving a nod to people’s current economic anxieties.
@imcarriemarie Shit #fyp #kesha #recessionpop #recession ♬ YIPPEE-KI-YAY. (feat. T-Pain) – Kesha
What is recession pop?
Recession pop is an informal music genre featuring feel-good beats and lyrics that emerged during the Great Recession of the late 2000s. There’s a theory that record labels intentionally pushed songs that encouraged carefree living and outright hedonism in an attempt to get people to spend money again, but nobody ever proved it. Artists may have simply been responding to a need from the public.
The first known usage of the term came from the Irish Independent in 2009. In an article titled “Recession Pop,” the outlet interviewed Lady Gaga about her desire to cheer people up during a tough time.
“The way the world is, people are hungry for rejoicing and escaping,” she said.
“Yippee-Ki-Yay” definitely has this energy, with lyrics talking about partying with a “brand new car” and celebrating Dollar Tree deals.
There’s a two-for-one at the Dollar Tree / Double cupping straight gasoline. Look around, the only ten I see / Is this barefoot baddie from Tennessee. Gonna two-step stomp down a cowboy’s street /
Music good and the liquor is cheap. Pretty thing in these tight blue jeans / Good goddamn, yeehaw.
Millennials are dancing like it’s 2009 again
Physical activity can really help get the anxiety out, and there’s been no shortage of TikTok users dancing to the new Kesha single and joking about recession pop since its release. Millennials in particular remember the singer’s global debut in 2009, right when the worst of the Great Recession was peaking, and how she dominated airwaves in the difficult years after.
“This song feels like beer pong in a dirty kitchen of a random house,” said @heyitsbret.
“I can’t explain it, but this Ke$ha puts the taste of Burnett’s Raspberry in my mouth like it’s 2011,” joked @ericgoldie.
Social media users have been joking about recession indicators for months now as the reported risks of a new economic downturn grew. The turmoil that wrecked the stock market over the last couple of days following Trump’s tariffs seemed to confirm a harrowing future in many people’s minds. And if we’re going down, we might as well ride that line like a cowboy. Yippe-ki-yay.
As @breezleweezle wrote, “the economy is collapsing, therefore as it is written, Ke$ha returns as the queen of recession pop.”
Kesha leans into the Recession Pop meme
On April 5, 2025, Kesha responded to the recession pop trend with her own TikTok post, gaining over 1.1 million views and 166,000 likes. In the video, she sits on a couch reading the newspaper with the Los Angeles Times business section open to an article titled “What Trump’s tariffs mean for car buyers.”
@kesha IM BAAAACK
♬ YIPPEE-KI-YAY. (feat. T-Pain) – Kesha
The caption reads, “heard there’s a recession or something” as her song plays in the background. Commenters loved the nod to the meme, and several wondered if she could also help them out with ticket prices.
“Yk it would be amazing for an artist to price the tickets at $20 (like in 2008) everyone is charging 60+, they would be sold out stadiums just because it’s a good artist and better prices,” wrote @partbleak.
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