Kesha

Kesha Rose Sebert (born March 1, 1987), better known by her first name Kesha ( /ˈkɛʃə/ KESH-ə, stylized Ke$ha), is an American pop singer, rapper and songwriter. Her debut single, "Tik Tok", released in late 2009, reached number one in eleven countries and set the weekly records for digital downloads of a female artist and total Top 40 Mainstream airplay in the US. By reaching the top in 2010, the song also became the first Billboard Hot 100 number one of the decade and the longest running number one debut single by a female artist since 1977.

At the age of eighteen, Kesha was signed to Dr. Luke's record label and publishing company. Although an active musician since 2005, singing background vocals and writing songs for other artists, her breakthrough only came in early 2009 after appearing on Flo Rida's number one single "Right Round". Before being brought to RCA Records, she had amassed an extensive social media following that was factored in for the promotion of her debut single and album. 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.

Kesha was born in Los Angeles, California to Pebe Sebert, a singer and songwriter. Pebe, a single parent, struggled financially while supporting Kesha and her older brother, Lagan, at the time and they had to rely on welfare payments and food stamps to get by. Pebe would often look after then infant Kesha onstage while performing. Pebe moved the family to Nashville, Tennessee in 1991 after securing a publishing deal. She frequently brought Kesha and her brothers, Lagan and Louis, along to recording studios and encouraged Kesha to sing.

Kesha was already working on her music in 2005 when the Seberts were featured in an episode of The Simple Life. Pebe had taught Kesha how to write songs and they would often write together when she returned home from high school. She described herself in an interview as being "very studious" in high school; she would drive to Belmont University to listen in on Cold War history classes after school and achieved "near perfect" SAT scores. However, she dropped out at the age of seventeen, and earned her GED afterwards, after being convinced by Dr. Luke and Max Martin to return to Los Angeles and pursue a music career. They had received Kesha's demo after Pebe passed it to a friend at BMI and were impressed.

Luke allowed Kesha to sing background vocals for Paris Hilton's single, "Nothing in This World," which led to an incident where Kesha vomited in Hilton's closet. At the age of eighteen, Kesha was signed to Luke's label, Kemosabe Entertainment, and music publishing company, Prescription Songs. Luke and Kesha later became estranged, with her eventually signing with David Sonenberg's management company, DAS Communications Inc. in 2006. They were tasked with obtaining a major label record deal for her in a year’s time with her having the option of ending the relationship if they failed. She worked with several top writers and producers while at the company and credits the creation of her beat-driven sound to a co-writing session with Greg Wells. She also co-wrote The Veronicas' single, "This Love" with Toby Gad.

While her songs were used on Degrassi: The Next Generation,The Hills, Teen Cribs and My Super Sweet 16, Kesha moonlighted as a waitress and a telemarketer to make ends meet. She had wanted Prince to produce her music, so she located and trespassed into his home. Once discovered, she was thrown out, but not before she left her demo with Prince. She would remark later that, "I felt it was harmless at the time, but looking back it was pretty psychotic." She had appeared in the video for Katy Perry's single, "I Kissed a Girl." Her appearance arose due to her friendship with Perry; they met frequently as aspiring pop singers in Los Angeles and shared many musical collaborators.

Kesha was said to have extended the deadline for getting her signed to a major record label for DAS and in 2008, they attracted the attention of Kara Dioguardi, who wanted to sign her to Warner. The deal fell through due to conflicts with Kesha's existing contract with Dr. Luke's label. She terminated her contract with DAS in September and reunited with Luke, who let her sing background vocals for Britney Spears' song "Lace and Leather".

Kesha gained exposure in the mainstream media in early 2009 after appearing on Flo Rida's number one single, "Right Round." The collaboration was called "an accident" by Kesha; she had walked into a recording session with Flo Rida and Luke. Flo Rida wanted a female voice for the song; Kesha was then suggested for the part by Luke. Flo Rida liked the end result so much that they did two more songs. Kesha is not credited for her feature on the US release of "Right Round" and did not collect any money for the part. She also refused to appear in the video; she explained in an interview that, "if you want to be a legitimate artist, it’s more important what you say no to. I knew he would want me to be some sexpot, shake my booty, and whatever." Kesha continued to live on a meager income, which inspired the dollar sign in her stage name. She states that it was meant to be ironic, in that she "actually [stood] for the opposite of putting a lot of emphasis on money."

Soon after, Kesha signed a multi-album deal with RCA through Luke's imprint, after being sought after by Lava Records and Flo Rida's record label, Atlantic Records as well. RCA had noticed her strong following on social media when negotiating her contract and thus relied on viral marketing to build a following for her debut single, "Tik Tok", offering the song as a free stream on MySpace in July. The song was released digitally in the US in early August and sent to radio two months later. She made her official stage debut at Lollapalooza and graced the cover of Women's Wear Daily in August. By then, Kesha had also co-written the title song for Miley Cyrus' The Time of Our Lives EP and made an appearance on Pitbull's album.

"Tik Tok" topped the charts in eleven countries and was the first number one of the decade on the Billboard Hot 100. For its second week at number one on the chart, the song set the weekly record for the most digital downloads of a female artist and became the second best-selling single in a week, after "Right Round", by shifting 610,000 copies. At its fifth week at the top, it broke the record for the highest weekly total Top 40 Mainstream airplay record. Spending nine weeks at number one, "Tik Tok" became the longest running number one debut single by a female artist since Debby Boone's 1977 single "You Light Up My Life".

Kesha's debut album, Animal, was released in January to mixed reviews from music critics. Rolling Stone summed the album up as "repulsive, obnoxious and ridiculously catchy." It debuted at number one in the US, selling 152,000 copies with 76% of sales coming from digital outlets, the largest weekly digital percentage share for an album at number one. By March, Animal had sold a million copies worldwide with half of the sales coming from digital downloads. Its singles had racked up eight million downloads as well. As of June, the album has reached close to 800,000 copies in sales in the US alone. Second single, "Blah Blah Blah" debuted in the top ten in the US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand before being announced as the next single due to strong digital sales following the release of the album.

In May, "Tik Tok" was featured in the opening sequence for The Simpsons episode "To Surveil With Love" where the entire cast lip-synced to the song, making it the first time that the series had forgone its traditional opening theme for another song since its creation. Kesha was also featured on two top ten singles by Taio Cruz and 3OH!3 in the same month. Later that month, Kesha's former managers from DAS filed a lawsuit, seeking $14 million in damages from Kesha and $12 million from Luke for commissions on her subsequent RCA Records deal, alleging that she squeezed them out of her career under pressure from Luke. She was a supporting act along with Travie McCoy on the summer North American leg of Rihanna's Last Girl on Earth tour. Spin called her "fantastically obnoxious" in her opening set in Vancouver, Canada.