Kesha Rose Sebert (pronounced /kɛʃə/; born March 1, 1987),[4] better known mononymously as Kesha (stylized as 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.
Kesha was born in the San Fernando Valley of Los Angeles. At the age of seventeen she dropped out of Brentwood High School in Nashville, 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.
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".
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.
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.
"Tik Tok" reached the top five on the Billboard Hot 100 and the UK Singles Chart as well as the top ten in many other countries. A number one placing in New Zealand gave Kesha her first number one, this was followed by number one positions in both Canada and Australia. The song features an uncredited cameo appearance by Diddy.
Kesha was a supporting act of Calvin Harris as part of a promotional tour in the UK1 and performed with Mickey Avalon in the US. She has been announced as one of the acts for the 2010 revival of Lilth Fair. Her album is called Animal and is due to be released on January 5, 2010 in the US.
Artistry
Kesha has listed artists such as Beck and Queen as musical influences while drawing from rap music and old-school punk She credits her brother with exposing her to musicians such as Fugazi and Dinosaur Jr. Columbia Records label head, Barry Weiss described her as a cross between Madonna and the Beastie Boys.
Her songwriting process is rooted in her life experiences and is greatly influenced by country music and their storytelling structure. Kesha has expressed frustration at the double standard for lyrics and objectification of women in songs. In her song "Boots and Boys", she sings the same way men traditionally sang about women. On the dollar sign in her name, she explained that she was being ironic because 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.
Birth name Kesha Rose Sebert
Born March 1, 1987 (1987-03-01) (age 22)
Los Angeles, California,
United States
Origin Nashville, Tennessee,
United States[1][2][3]
Genres Pop, electro, dance, hip hop
Occupations Singer, songwriter
Years active 2006–present
Labels RCA
Associated acts Flo Rida
Website www.keshasparty.com
