Kesha
Kesha Rose Sebert (/ˈkɛʃə ˈsiːbərt/; born March 1, 1987), known mononymously as Kesha (formerly stylized as Ke$ha), is an American singer and songwriter. In 2005, at age 18, she was signed to Kemosabe Records. Kesha's first major success came in early 2009 when she was featured on rapper Flo Rida's number-one single, "Right Round".
For other uses, see Kesha (disambiguation).
Kesha
Ke$ha
- Singer
- songwriter
- rapper
2005–present
- Pebe Sebert (mother)
- Vocals
- guitar
- piano
- keyboards
- synthesizer
Kesha's music and image propelled her to immediate success. She has earned two number-one albums on the US Billboard 200 with Animal (2010) and Rainbow (2017), and the top-ten records Warrior (2012) and High Road (2020). She attained ten top-ten singles on the US Billboard Hot 100, including "Tik Tok", "Right Round" with Flo Rida, "My First Kiss" with 3OH!3, "Blah Blah Blah", "Your Love Is My Drug", "Take It Off", "We R Who We R", "Blow", "Die Young", and "Timber" with Pitbull. Her 2009 single "Tik Tok" was the best-selling digital single in history, selling over 14 million units internationally, until surpassed in 2011.[1] She released her fifth studio album, Gag Order, in May 2023.
Kesha's career was halted between Warrior and Rainbow due to a legal dispute with her former producer Dr. Luke, which began in 2014. A series of lawsuits, known collectively as Kesha v. Dr. Luke, were exchanged between the two parties in which Kesha accused him of physical, sexual, and emotional abuse and employment discrimination against her, while Dr. Luke claimed breach of contract and defamation. The case was settled out of court in June 2023.
As of 2013, Kesha has reportedly sold over 33 million combined tracks and ringtones in the U.S alone and over 55 million worldwide to date.[2] She was also listed as the 26th top artist on Billboard's 2010s decade-end charts.[3] She has received various awards and nominations, including the MTV Europe Music Award for Best New Act in 2010. She has also co-written songs for other artists, including "Till the World Ends" (2011) for Britney Spears and songs for Ariana Grande, Miley Cyrus and Miranda Cosgrove.
Early life
Kesha Rose Sebert was born on March 1, 1987, in Los Angeles.[4][5] Her mother, Rosemary Patricia "Pebe" Sebert, is a singer-songwriter who co-wrote the 1978 single "Old Flames Can't Hold a Candle to You"[6] with Hugh Moffatt for Joe Sun, made popular by country music artist Dolly Parton on her 1980 album Dolly, Dolly, Dolly. Pebe, a single mother, struggled financially while supporting herself, Kesha, and Kesha's older brother Lagan; they relied on welfare payments and food stamps to get by.[7] When Kesha was an infant, Pebe would often have to look after her onstage while performing.[8] Kesha says she has no knowledge of her father's identity.[7] In 2011, a man named Bob Chamberlain who called himself her father approached Star with pictures and letters, claiming they proved that he and Kesha had been in regular contact as father and daughter before she turned 19.[9] Her mother is mostly of Hungarian descent.[10] One of Kesha's great-grandfathers was Polish.[11]
Pebe moved the family to Nashville in 1991 after securing a new publishing deal for her songwriting. She frequently brought Kesha and her brothers along to recording studios and encouraged Kesha to sing after noticing Kesha's talent.[7] Kesha attended Franklin High School and Brentwood High School, and said she did not fit in, explaining that her unconventional style (such as homemade purple velvet pants and purple hair) did not endear her to other students.[12] She played the trumpet and later the saxophone in the school marching band, and has said she was a diligent student.[13]
She dropped out of school at 17 after Max Martin convinced her to return to Los Angeles to pursue a music career and earned her GED after.[14] In a 2024 interview, Kesha contradicted past statements, saying that she never earned her GED.[15] After attaining a near-perfect score on her SAT, she was offered a scholarship to Barnard College, an affiliate college of Columbia University, but decided to pursue her music career.[13][16][17][18][19]
In addition to taking songwriting classes,[20] Kesha was also taught how to write songs by Pebe, and they often wrote together when she returned home from high school.[7][16] Kesha began recording demos, which Pebe gave to people she knew in the music business.[20] Kesha was also in a band with Lagan.[21][19] Kesha and Pebe co-wrote the song "Stephen" when Kesha was 16. Kesha then tracked down David Gamson, a producer she admired from Scritti Politti, who agreed to produce the song.[19] Around this time, Pebe answered an advertisement from the American reality TV series The Simple Life looking for an "eccentric" family to host Paris Hilton and Nicole Richie.[22] The episode featuring the Sebert family aired in 2005.[23] Martin had received one of Kesha's demos from Samantha Cox, senior director of writer/publisher relations at Broadcast Music Incorporated, and was impressed. Billboard described two of the demos in a cover story, the first as "a gorgeously sung, self-penned country ballad" and the second as "a gobsmackingly awful trip-hop track" where Kesha raps ad lib for a minute after running out of lyrics. It was the latter track that attracted attention.[24]
Artistry
Musical style and image
Kesha wrote or co-wrote every song on her first two albums and considers herself a songwriter primarily,[146] writing for artists including Britney Spears and Miley Cyrus.[61] Along with a mezzo-soprano voice,[147][148][149] she possesses a "strong, sneering vibrato",[41] with a distinct yodel-like quality to her voice;[150] she employs actual yodeling on the songs "Tik Tok" and "Cannibal".[151][152] Having previously done country, pop rock, and electro,[153] she had a clear idea of the synth-pop sound that she wanted for her debut album.[154] The genre was popular at the time with many of her peers releasing similar sounds.[42] Both of those albums are of the genre with catchy hooks and synthesized productions often compared to pop singer Dev by music critics, creating misunderstandings among the fans of the two.[41][155][156] "Party at a Rich Dude's House" and "C U Next Tuesday" have 1980s derived backing,[155][157] while "Stephen" begins with "Kansas-style vocal harmonies".[158] "Dinosaur" follows a verse-chorus formula, and has a "cheerleader-type tune" reminiscent of "Hollaback Girl" (2005) by Gwen Stefani and "Girlfriend" (2007) by Avril Lavigne;[159] the song uses the overt symbolism of dinosaurs, carnivory, and other primitive motifs to tell the story of an older man who preys on younger women.[160] According to Kesha, the song is based on true events.[160] While her vocals on Animal were heavily processed with auto-tune, often to produce rapid stuttering or over-pitch corrected vocal effects, leading to questions on vocal talent,[161] she expressed confidence in her abilities,[162] showing some of her vocal talent in the ballads "Animal" and "Hungover" on the album.
Kesha's second studio album Warrior used considerably less auto-tune, although it still showed in a number of songs. The album's piano and guitar-driven ballads such as "Love into the Light", "Wonderland" and "Past Lives" display Kesha's vocal ability. Kesha also uses a trademark talky "white-girl" rapping style with exaggerated discordant phrasing and enunciation.[41][153] Her vocal technique has led her to be credited as a rapper, a topic she disagreed with until fellow rappers André 3000, Wiz Khalifa, and Snoop Dogg endorsed her. On the subject, she said: "The first time someone called me a rapper, I started laughing. I was shocked, and thought it was hilarious. It's crazy and funny to me."[163] The New York Times said Kesha "threatens to become the most influential female rapper of the day, or at least the most popular. Pretending Kesha isn't a rapper is no longer feasible."[164] "Crazy Kids" and "C'Mon" took greater shifts into "party rap".[165] Most of her lyrics chronicle her relationships and partying; the lighthearted subject matter of the latter and her unfiltered language saw many critics criticizing her for releasing frivolous and crass music.[43] Jonah Weiner of Slate, however, stated that her jarring lyrics allowed her songs to become more memorable.[41] In "Blah Blah Blah" and "Boots & Boys", she objectifies men to poke fun at how male fronted rock bands and rappers can get away with objectifying women and not vice versa.[7][25] The title track to her debut, "Animal", is more aspirational and is intended to inspire people to embrace their individuality.[166] Much more experimental than Animal, her second album, Warrior, contains dubstep elements and explores erotic experiences Kesha encountered with ghosts on the song "Supernatural".[167][168][169] Overall, Kesha said the theme of Warrior is magic.[170]
Critics praised Warrior for its rock music influences,[165][171] despite the album being deeply rooted in technopop.[172] Applauding the album's rock sound, Rolling Stone called the album Kesha's rock manifesto.[171] Rock icons The Flaming Lips, Iggy Pop, and Alice Cooper have collaborated with Kesha, endorsing her as a rock singer. Cooper told Billboard, "I immediately looked at her and went, 'This girl is not a pop diva. She's a rock singer.' She would much rather be the female Robert Plant than the next Britney Spears."[173] The A.V. Club said that Warrior proved Kesha a capable vocalist and songwriter.[172] The Washington Post said that the album is "pure fun", opining that Kesha can write good hooks despite her sometimes vapid lyricism.[171]
Her third album, Rainbow displayed a significant departure from the electro-pop sound from Kesha's previous two albums. While still primarily a pop album, it contained elements of glam rock, country pop, and pop rock. Its lyrical themes range from letting go of the past, finding forgiveness within oneself for past mistakes, self-worth, and female empowerment.[174]
Headlining
Co-headlining
Supporting
Cancelled
