Known for a slew of chart-topping pop singles, Kesha is an American singer, songwriter and rapper who was raised in Nashville. She signed to Kemosabe Records in 2005 when she was just 18, but what was her first song?
Kesha began by singing background vocals for other singers, including pop icons Katy Perry and Britney Spears. She gained mainstream attention when she featured on Flo Rida’s number 1 single ‘Right Round’ in early 2009, and released her own debut single ‘Tik Tok’ in August of the same year.
Read on to learn more about Kesha’s musical beginnings, breakthrough, and immense success.
The Struggling Artist
The beginnings of Kesha’s career were anything but glamorous, with the aspiring musician waitressing whilst writing and recording her music, never losing sight of the end goal.
Despite the initial struggle, Kesha has insisted that being broke didn’t bother her in the slightest, having grown up in an impoverished family. In an interview with Entertainment Weekly the singer said, “excessiveness is gross. It’s not glamorous to me. I think it’s sexier to me to see somebody who’s just confident, not someone who wants a name-brand $700 bag.”
Her appearance on Flo Rida’s ‘Right Round’ was entirely coincidental, having just walked into the studio at a time when female vocals were needed, but even that opportunity failed to boost Kesha’s financials.
Though the single reached number 1 and was a worldwide hit, Kesha didn’t receive a cent: “I would hear my voice everywhere – I’d walk into a movie and it would be playing. I’d walk into Walgreens, the grocery store, and it was playing, at a time when I didn’t even have enough money to buy my groceries in, like, the dollar store”.
The adding of a dollar sign to her name (Ke$ha), was an ironic move which the soon-to-be-star addressed in an interview: “the dollar sign, to be honest, was me taking the piss out of being broke”.
Breakthrough and Success
Kesha released her debut song ‘Tik Tok’ in August 2009, which spent a phenomenal nine weeks at number one and was the best-selling single of the year. Her album ‘Animal’ debuted the week ‘Tik Tok’ reached number one and was a similar success story, described by Kesha as “for girls, I think it’s an empowering record, it’s funny, it’s cheeky”.
The album catapulted Kesha into the spotlight, and she was named Hot 100 Artist of 2010 by Billboard. As she said at the time, “sometimes I need to remind myself that ‘TiK ToK’ only went to No. 1 in January, because it kind of feels like it was 17 years ago.”
Kesha’s second studio album ‘Warrior’ came in quick succession and was released at the end of 2012, whilst her collaboration with Pitbull on smash hit ‘Timber’ became her third No.1 hit.
Watch the lead single ‘Tik Tok’ from Kesha’s debut album ‘Animal’ in the YouTube video below.
Legal Dispute and Revival
The beginning of 2014 heralded some struggles for the star, who checked into rehab for two months to get her “health back on track”. Though she continued to work on her music, she entered into a legal dispute with her producer Dr. Luke in October 2014, suing him for sexual harassment and emotional abuse, amongst other allegations.
She made a welcome comeback in 2017 with an appearance at Coachella alongside Zedd. Speaking to Billboard about her rollercoaster couple of years, Kesha said, “I think I am just like finding my voice in the world and so the past three years has been me taking my center and myself back and my voice”.
Her third studio album ‘Rainbow’ was an emotional tribute to her journey and in her own words, “truly from the inside of my guts”. It cemented her pop stardom (if there was ever a doubt) and debuted at No.1 on the US Billboard 200 Charts on its release in 2017.
It’s been a wild musical journey for the Nashville native from her waitressing days, and shows no signs of slowing.
ncG1vNJzZmiblaGyo63NrK6eqqNjsLC5jrCfmqxdrK60ecqeqqGZo2Kzqr7SrWSsp56cfA%3D%3D