Its music incorporates a wide range of genres, including pop, EDM, rock, punk, rap, country, and folk.

Kesha described the album as more personal than her previous material in addition to mentioning it was her attempt at reviving the rock genre, calling it a "cock pop" record.

Contributions to the album's production came from longtime collaborators Dr. Luke (who was also the executive producer of the project), Max Martin, Shellback, Ammo and Benny Blanco.

An acoustic extended play (EP), Deconstructed (2012), was released exclusively through Kesha's website to promote the fan edition of the album and features rerecorded songs from her previous releases as well as a cover of "Old Flames Can't Hold a Candle to You" (1980) by American country recording artist Dolly Parton and cowritten by Kesha's mother, Pebe.

[6] The album includes a variety of different musical participants, which was explained by the singer: "The range of artists I want to work with is so vast it's bizarre.

"[10] In March 2011, Kesha revealed in an interview with Beatweek Magazine that she had already chosen the title for the record, naming it Spandex on the Distant Horizon.

[12] The album's underlying theme stems around embracing a person's inner warrior, which the singer elaborated on: "I've seen how many people my music can reach, and I've realized that I have somewhat of a social responsibility to make sure everything I say is positive.

[8] She also expressed interest in enlisting the production duo, the Dust Brothers, who are known for producing tracks for the Rolling Stones, the Beastie Boys and Beck, however no recording dates were ever penned.

Both Kesha and Luke had been working on material for the upcoming project separately but had yet to start studio sessions prior to January.

[17] According to Twitter messages by Coyne, recording between the duo continued in April 2012 and a track that discussed "futuristic sex toys" was created.

[24] In mid April 2012, Billboard published an article claiming that Scottish producer Calvin Harris had contributed several tracks to the upcoming album.

[30] Kesha revealed that she and Dr Luke had created 17 incomplete songs, including "Last Goodbye", "Die Young" and "Supernatural".

[4][8] 1970s rock singers Led Zeppelin, AC/DC and Iggy Pop's album, The Idiot, were cited as musical inspirations for the next record.

Recalling experiences of feeding baby lions and swimming with great white sharks, Kesha said, "I got hypnotized, and I just really wanted this record to be really positive, really raw, really vulnerable and about the magic of life.

"[31] Co-written by her mother, Pebe Sebert, the song titled "Gold Trans Am" doubles as a metaphor for her vagina and alludes to her actual automobile.

[39] A ballad, "Love into the Light", depicts Kesha at her most vulnerable, beginning with a string of confessions and culminating in a hopeful anti-bullying anthem.

[39] Billboard praised the song for contrasting Kesha's trademark "glitter and Auto-Tune" persona, before highlighting "Past Lives" as the album's best track lyrically.

[39] "Last Goodbye" tributes Neil Young's "For the Turnstiles", while "Only Wanna Dance With You" received accolades for being a collaboration with members of the Strokes' music.

[45][46] While being interviewed by the Calgary Herald she explained the delay and elaborated on this, stating: "I want to take enough time to make sure it's the reinvention of pop music.

[66] It officially impacted U.S. mainstream radio in January 2013 and peaked at 27 on the US Billboard Hot 100, ultimately ending Kesha's string of consecutive top 10 hits.

[82] Melissa Maerz of Entertainment Weekly gave it a positive review, graded it with a (B) and said: "Ke$ha's filthy jokes may be what separates her from her peers who practice ghost abstinence.

"[1] Slant Magazine gave a mixed review to the album, rated it as three-stars-out-of-five and said: "Most of Warrior sticks to Ke$ha's tried-and-true formula.

[76] However, Elysa Gardner of USA Today felt that the release was "full of catchy, cannily produced tunes that promote self-indulgence as if it were a civil right, and either shrug off or embrace the risks posed by living in the moment".

[81] Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic went deeper to the album and praised the artist for picking up the best direction for her sophomore set, gave it four-stars-out-of-five and said: "It's a wall-to-wall party for the freaks, burnouts, outcasts, and misfits and if you don't get it that's your fault, not hers.

"[73] New York Times reviewers were also positive on the album and linked the influences to "drinking, sex, swearing, hard nights at the club" and confessed that "furtive surprise at the center of her project is sweetness, as it always was", suggesting that she can be a country star with "an option for her in five years or so, when she turns 30" and described the whole record as: "no revelation here, only strong fun".

[85] The album underwhelmed compared to her debut LP, Animal, which charted at number one on the Billboard 200 and sold 152,000 copies in its first week of release.

The single dropped down to number four, suffering massive airplay and sales cuts after the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting caused the lyrics to be negatively interpreted by critics.

The new mix of "The Harold Song" (2010) includes relaxed vocals with a sawtooth wave bass synthesizer side-chained to a kick drum over a piano synth.

This version of "Supernatural" and "Old Flames Can't Hold a Candle to You" were released through Kesha's promotional scavenger hunt for Warrior on her website on November 30, 2012.

Prior to this, the new mix of "Die Young" was released through Kesha's YouTube account and as a promotional digital download on November 23, 2012.