Maeve McDermott

USATODAY

This isn't the Bob Dylan cover Kesha was planning on performing this week.

The singer was previously supposed to perform the folk classic It Ain't Me, Babe at the Billboard Music Awards Sunday, taking the stage amid her messy legal saga with her former producer (and alleged attacker) Dr. Luke.

But after rumors circulated that the singer would speak out about her case at the awards, Luke denied his approval for the performance — because Kesha, in a contract a judge wouldn't permit her to exit, is still signed to his Kemosabe label.

Thanks to Ben Folds, the world got to see Kesha's cover after all, after Folds invited her onstage during his show in LA Wednesday night.

Watch the cover here:

"Dear Mr. Ben Folds, thank you for tonight," she wrote on Instagram after the show. "Thanks for ur records that got me through high school. Thanks for being a genius composer. Thanks for being nice when we work together. Thanks for letting me play a Bob Dylan cover with you. Thanks for being a good friend in this scary business."

In case you needed a reminder of It Ain't Me, Babe's pointed lyrics:

You say you're looking for someone

Who'll pick you up each time you fall

To gather flowers constantly

And to come each time you call

A lover for your life and nothing more

But it ain't me, babe

No, no, no, it ain't me, babe

It ain't me you're lookin' for, babe.

The duo also took on Folds' Still Fighting It and a mashup between his song Rock This (expletive) and Kesha's Sleazy.

"I'm very sad and sorry to say I won't be allowed to do this," Kesha previously wrote about her cancelled BBMAs appearance on Instagram.



"I just wanted to make very clear that this performance was about me honoring one of my favorite songwriters of all time and has never had anything at all to do with Dr. Luke. I was never going to use a picture of him, speak of him or allude to my legal situation in any way."

The Billboard Awards will air live on Sunday at 8 p.m. ET on ABC.