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Kesha Rose Sebert (Template:PronEng; born March 1, 1987), better known mononymously by the stylised name of Ke$ha is an American recording artist. Although she began her music career in 2006, her breakthrough came in early 2009 after appearing on Flo Rida's number one single "Right Round". Kesha's debut single, "Tik Tok" was released in August 2009, preceding the release of her debut album, Animal, in early 2010.

Life and career

1987–2009: Early life and career beginnings

Kesha was born in the San Fernando Valley of Los Angeles to a single parent. Her mother, Pebe Sebert, a singer and songwriter, was struggling financially while supporting Kesha and her older brother, Lagan, at the time. They had to rely on welfare payments and food stamps to get by. She would look after then infant Kesha onstage while performing. Pebe would move the family to Nashville, Tennessee in 1991 after securing a publishing deal and Kesha spent the rest of her early years there. Pebe often brought Kesha and her brothers, Lagan and Louis, along to recording studios. Pebe also encouraged Kesha to sing and taught her how to write songs.

The Sebert family was featured in an episode of The Simple Life in 2005, as the host family. Kesha was already working on her music by then and at the age of seventeen she dropped out of high school, after being convinced by Dr. Luke and Max Martin to return to Los Angeles and pursue a music career. Dr. Luke had come across her demos and was so impressed that he contacted her with Martin and began flying her to New York and Los Angeles to make music.

While in Los Angeles, Kesha survived on low income and few gigs at first, moonlighting as a waitress to make ends meet while furthering her music career in studio. She lived with her alleged father when she first moved there, after being introduced by her mother, and subsequently moved in with a boy she was interested in, she later lived in a shared house in Laurel Canyon. Kesha wanted Prince to produce her music then, so she found and snuck into his Beverly Hills home. Once discovered, she was thrown out, but not before she left her demo with Prince who did not contact her afterwards. She also had the opportunity to sing background for Paris Hilton's second single, which led to an incident later where she vomited in Hilton's closet.

Between 2006 and 2009, Kesha's music appeared in a variety of media, the song "Former Overexposed Blonde" appeared in Degrassi: The Next Generation, while "Backstabber" and "Chain Reaction" were used on The Hills. Her songs were used for background cues on Teen Cribs, and My Super Sweet 16 as well. During this time, she also co-wrote The Veronicas' single, "This Love" with Toby Gad, sang background vocals for Britney Spears' song "Lace and Leather" and appeared in the video for Katy Perry's single, "I Kissed a Girl". Her appearance in the video arose due to her being friends with Perry, they met frequently as aspiring pop singers in Los Angeles and shared many musical collaborators.

2009–present: "Right Round", Animal

Kesha gained exposure in the mainstream media in early 2009 after being featured on Flo Rida's number one single, "Right Round". The collaboration came about when Kesha was hanging out in studio with Flo Rida and Dr. Luke, who was producing the song; Flo Rida decided that the song needed a female voice and Kesha was then suggested for the part by Dr. Luke. Flo Rida liked the end result so much that they did two more songs. She is not officially credited for the song and did not collect any money for the part; she also turned down the offer to appear in the video for "Right Round" because she wanted to strike out on her own.

Soon after, it was announced that Kesha had signed with RCA Records through Dr. Luke and was working on her debut album. On March 27, 2009, she appeared onstage alongside 3OH!3 at a concert at Avalon Hollywood to perform their duet, "My First Kiss". She later made her official stage debut at that year's Lollapalooza as part of the BMI Stage. Her first single, "Tik Tok", had been released digitally in the US in early August, but was only sent to radio in October. By then, Kesha had co-written the title song for Miley Cyrus' The Time of Our Lives EP and made appearances on Pitbull and Taio Cruz's albums.

A number one placing in New Zealand for "TiK ToK" gave Kesha her first number one, this was followed by number one positions in both Canada and Australia. It later reached the top of the Billboard Hot 100 as well and reached the top five in many other countries. The song features an uncredited cameo appearance by Diddy. While "Tik Tok" has appeared in a few different television programs, Kesha turned down an offer for the song to appear in a fast food commercial.

Kesha was a supporting act of Calvin Harris as part of a promotional tour in the UK and went on tour with Mickey Avalon in the US. She has been announced as one of the acts for the 2010 revival of Lilith Fair. Her album is called Animal and is due to be released on January 5, 2010 in the US.

Artistry

When asked by Pop Excess, Kesha listed Beck and Queen as main musical influences. She told RWD Magazine that she draws from rap music and old-school punk as well and credits her older brother with exposing her to groups such as the Beastie Boys, Fugazi and Dinosaur Jr. In an interview with Digital Spy, Kesha described her music as irreverent and defended her decision to make pop music as opposed to "more serious acoustic stuff", explaining that she wanted to "give people something that brings them joy." She described her dress sense as "garbage-chic" to Entertainment Weekly and named Keith Richards as her fashion inspiration.

Kesha's songwriting is rooted in her life experiences and is influenced by country music and their storytelling style. She has expressed frustration at the double standard for lyrics and the objectification of women in songs; in her song "Boots and Boys," she makes it a point to sing the same way men traditionally sang about women. On the dollar sign in her stage name, she states that she was being ironic in that she does not believe in placing an emphasis on earning money. It came about after her Flo Rida collaboration achieved success worldwide and yet she did not receive any money to show for it.

Discography

Albums

Singles

Other appearances

• 2009: "Dirty Picture" (Taio Cruz featuring Kesha)

References

1. ^ Collins, Hattie (24 November 2009), Ke$ha: Ke$h Money, RWD Magazine, retrieved 2009-12-14
2. ^ Sullivan, Matt (13 August 2009), "KE$HA and the Not-Quite-72 Virgins in Her Own Personal Heaven", Esquire, Hearst Communications, Inc., retrieved 2009-10-20
3. ^ Day, Elizabeth (29 November 2009), She's a walking, talking living dollar, Guardian News and Media Limited, retrieved 2009-11-29
4. ^ Mazzella, Alysia (21 March 2009), Ke$ha: Crazy, Sexy & Too Fuckin' Cool, 21-7 Magazine, retrieved 2009-11-01
5. ^ Official bio, Sony Music Entertainment, retrieved 2009-12-17
6. ^ Axelrod, Nick (26 August 2009), "Kesha Sebert: Hard Candy", Women's Wear Daily, Fairchild Fashion Group, retrieved 2009-10-20
7. ^ Lynch, Joseph, Ke$ha: A Music Mix Q&A, Entertainment Weekly, retrieved 2009-12-12 {{citation}}: Text "date 11 December 2009" ignored (help)
8. Degrassi Season Six: Music Credits, Epitome Virtual Reality Inc., retrieved 2009-11-16 Episode 603 – "True Colours"
9. The Hills › Season 3 › Songs From the Show, MTV Networks, retrieved 2009-11-16 Songs | Ep. 321 | "An Unexpected Friend"
10. TEEN CRIBS-BG CUES, BMI, retrieved 2009-11-16
11. TEEN CRIBS-BG CUES, BMI, retrieved 2009-11-16
12. MY SUPER SWEET 16-BG CUES, BMI, retrieved 2009-11-16
13. ^ Moses, Hussein (26 October 2009), Ke$ha Hearts NZ!, MTV Networks, retrieved 2009-12-14
14. ^ WAPS interviews Ke$ha, We Are Pop Slags, 28 October 2009, retrieved 2009-10-29 {{citation}}: |first= missing |last= (help)
15. ^ Gordon, Sandra (25 November 2009), "Breaking & Entering: Ke$ha", Billboard, Nielsen Business Media, Inc., retrieved 2009-11-26
16. ^ "Red-Hot Pop Sensation Ke$ha to Release Debut Album" (Press release). RCA Music Group. 3 December 2009. Retrieved 2009-12-04.
17. "TiK ToK - Single", iTunes, Apple Inc., retrieved 2009-12-14
18. FMQB CHR Airplay Archive 2009, Friday Morning Quarterback Album Report, Inc., retrieved 2009-11-16 10/5 Mainstream
19. ^ Ke$ha - Music Charts, αCharts.us, retrieved 2009-12-24
20. Melrose Place Music Hub, The CW Television Network, retrieved 2009-11-16 Choose Your Episode - Nightingale
21. The Hills › Songs From the Show, MTV Networks, retrieved 2009-11-08
22. Itzkoff, Dave (10 December 2009), Lilith Fair Lineup Is Announced, The New York Times, retrieved 2009-12-14
23. Ke$ha Pop Excess Interview, Pop Excess, retrieved 2009-12-14
24. Levine, Nicke (13 November 2009), Interview - Ke$ha, Digital Spy Limited, retrieved 2009-11-13
25. Top 40 Singles Chart, Recording Industry Association of New Zealand, retrieved 2009-11-24 Chart #1696 - MONDAY 23 NOVEMBER 2009
26. Top 50 Singles Chart, Australian Recording Industry Association Ltd., retrieved 2009-12-13

Template:Persondata

• 1987 births
• 2000s singers
• American female singers
• American pop singers
• American singer-songwriters
• Living people
• Musicians from Los Angeles, California
• Musicians from Tennessee
• People from Nashville, Tennessee
• RCA Records artists