Written By Susie Salva
Los Angeles native and party girl Ke$ha has released her debut CD, “Animal,” on RCA Records which is a fabulous collection of dance tracks. 
The 22 year-old newcomer has a firecracker personality and determination. While some critics have dismissed as trite she is a force to be reckoned with. She sings with infectious grooves and danceable beats and is a recording star with no regrets. “I’ve always known I wanted to be a performer,” she says. “There’s video of me at age five, naked and covered in body paint, saying ‘I’m going to be a rock star and there’s no way anyone is going to stop me!’ It’s my calling.”
“Animal,” is shaping up to be and edgy collection of hard-hitting electro-pop songs made all the more irresistible by their high octane punk energy and Ke$ha’s irreverent lyrics and attitude. She is forthright, brutally honest and unafraid to express herself displaying her adept ability to showcase her flair for storytelling though her choice of subject matter isn’t exactly conventional.
“I want my music to be fun, unapologetic, rowdy, quirky, humorous and interesting,” she says, “but with substance behind it. I’m an emotional person underneath all my fronting. I want people to listen to it and feel like they can relate.”
Ke$ha has written and recorded her debut album with executive producer Dr. Luke, who has scored No. 1 smashes for Britney Spears, Katy Perry, Kelly Clarkson, Avril Lavigne, and Flo Rider. Ke$ha’s playful half-sung/half-rapped vocal delivery shapes her unique and engaging sound. The album – which also feature Ke$ha’s collaborations with veteran hitmaker Max Martin (Pink, Kelly Clarkson, Britney Spears) and in-demand songwriter/producer Benny Blanco (Katy Perry, 3OH!3).
Her debut of the smash hit single, “Tik Tok”, was released in late 2009, reached number one in eleven countries. Her debut album, Animal, was released in January 2010 and debuted at number one in the US. By March, Kesha had sold a million albums and eight million singles worldwide.
There are songs on this CD about the time Ke$ha threw up in a closet during a party at Paris Hilton’s pad (“Party at a Rich Dude’s House”) and one she says is about the time, “some dumb bitch fronted like she was a friend of hers but then secretly tried to bring her down, (“Backstabber”) and another about finding out her boyfriend was cheating on her with a famous pop starlet who shall remain nameless (“Kiss & Tell”) and the obsessed girlfriend on (“Stephen,”). She has also collaborated with 3OH!3 on her successful single, “Blah, Blah, Blah,” and now has her video of “Your Love Is My Drug,” in heavy rotation on MTV.
Ke$ha credits her love for story-songs to spending her formative years hanging out with veteran songwriters in Nashville. Her mom Pebe Sebert, a former punk-rock singer, is a songwriter whose career took off in Music City in the late ’70s when a song she co-wrote, called “Old Flames Can’t Hold A Candle To You,” became a hit for Joe Sun in 1978 and a country chart-topper for Dolly Parton in 1980. But by the time Ke$ha was born in 1987 (during a party in Los Angeles’ San Fernando Valley), Pebe was going through a bad patch, struggling to support Ke$ha and her older brother through her music. “We were on welfare and food stamps,” Ke$ha says. “One of my first memories is my mom telling me, ‘If you want something, just take it.’”
When Ke$ha was 17, she quit high school, “which was crazy because I was enrolled in an International Baccalaureate program and was going to go to Columbia University and study psychology,” she says, “but I wanted to move back to L.A. and pursue my music.” That’s when she met Dr. Luke. “I had been looking for a female artist with an incredible, distinctive voice who had her own style,” Luke says. “Ke$ha didn’t sound like anybody else.” Dr. Luke was also working with red-hot hip-hop artist Flo Rida on a track for his second album. One night, Ke$ha was hanging out with them and the rapper told her he wanted a female voice on a track and asked if she wanted to lay down a vocal. Naturally, she obliged. In February, that track, “Right Round,” soared to No. 1, selling more than 636,000 downloads its first week out, and shattering the all-time one-week digital single sales record. (Ke$ha also contributes her sassy vocal stylings to “Touch Me,” another track from Flo Rida’s 2009 R.O.O.T.S. album)
“When I first heard my voice on ‘Right Round’ on the radio, I started screaming and crying,” Ke$ha says. “I may seem kind of crazy, but behind it all I have my s**t together. I’m working really hard to make this happen and it’s nice to see that hard work pay off. I mean, three years ago I was stealing canned vegetables from the dollar store to survive. Now I’m on a No. 1 song, working on my album, and have a little change in my pocket. To be able to take my mom out to dinner is the best feeling in the world.”
Kesha has said that the dollar sign in her stage name was meant to be ironic, in that she “actually [stood] for the opposite of putting a lot of emphasis on money.” Her styling comprises messy hair, smudged makeup and a wardrobe she describes as “garbage-chic”. The look developed from her being poor and trying to brand herself as best she could on a budget.
Ke$ha’s determination sure has paid off as “Tik Tok” topped the charts in eleven countries and became the first Billboard Hot 100 number one of the new decade in 2010. Animal had sold a million copies worldwide with half of the sales coming from digital downloads. Her ability to connect and feel vulnerable and honest is what is making this ingénue hugely successful. Her catchy tunes stay in your head for days on end. Ride the Ke$ha wave as she will be a recording artist for some time to come.
