At long last, Kesha has returned to the music sphere, and she’s ready to show fans her newly healed sense of self. Earlier this month, she unleashed her first solo single since 2013, “Praying,” and a week later, she followed it up with the empowering anthem “Woman.” Both tracks point to a triumphant comeback on the pop star’s part, who’s spent the past few years embroiled in an ugly legal battle against Dr. Luke.

In a revealing new interview on Elvis Duran and the Morning Show, Kesha reflected on her long-awaited resurgence, admitting she wasn’t sure this day would ever come.

“I just didn’t know if I was ever going to be able to put out music ever again,” she said. “I really didn’t know, and some days it felt like I was kind of clinging onto this ghost of an idea that got me through a lot of years. You know, sometimes it felt more real, sometimes it felt less real, and I kept waking up and I’d say, ‘OK, you can’t just lay in bed, you got to get up, you got to go to the studio.’ And even when I really didn’t want to, I would. It’s kind of a testament to like, you got to show up for yourself.”

That resilience has resulted in Rainbow, her first album in five years, which arrives on August 11. She opened up about the project to Duran, revealing that its title is inspired by a simpler time; before she experienced heartbreak and pain.

“The reason I wanted to name this record Rainbow is because I kind of associate healing with kind of going back to my childlike mind, before I got all twisted and turned and beaten and heartbroken and all those things,” she explained. “Everything was magical and I didn’t understand it. The world was so big and beautiful, and I trusted everyone and everything, and it was just so perfect and wonderful.”

She continued, “I’ve done a lot of healing. ... I kind of reference that a lot. What’s left in my heart is still made of gold, you know? You heal what you can and keep going.”