Ke$ha | |
---|---|
Birth Name |
Kesha Rose Sebert |
Born |
March 1, 1987 (1987-03-01) (age 24) Los Angeles, California, United States |
Origin |
Nashville, Tennessee, United States |
Genres |
Electropop, dance-pop, crunkcore |
Occupations |
Singer, Song-writer |
Instruments |
Vocals, Piano, Guitar |
Years Active |
2005 - Present |
Labels |
RCA, Kemosabe |
Ascosiated Acts |
Flo rida |
Website |
Kesha Rose Sebert (born March 1, 1987), better known by the mononym Ke$ha, is an American pop singer and songwriter. In 2005, at 18, Kesha was signed to Dr. Luke's record label, Kemosabe Entertainment, and publishing company. Although an active musician since then, 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."
Her debut single, "Tik Tok", released in late 2009, reached number one in 11 countries. Her debut album, Animal, was released in January 2010 and debuted at number one in the US, Canada and Greece. By September, Kesha had sold two million albums worldwide and released three more top ten singles from Animal. The album was re-released with a companion extended play, Cannibal, in November, preceded by the chart-topping lead single "We R Who We R".
Kesha has cited artists such as Madonna, Debbie Harry, Queen, Johnny Cash, Aaron Neville, Bob Dylan and Beastie Boys as musical influences. Her music incorporates elements of dance-pop, and she uses a spoken word rapping style on many songs.
Early Life[]
Kesha was born in Los Angeles, California on March 1, 1987. Her mother, Patricia Rose "Pebe" Sebert, is a singer-songwriter who co-wrote the 1978 single "Old Flames Can't Hold a Candle to You" with Hugh Moffatt for Joe Sun. Pebe, a single mother, struggled financially while supporting herself, Kesha, and her older brother Lagan; they relied on welfare payments and food stamps to get by. When Kesha was an infant, Pebe would often have to look after her onstage while performing. Kesha says she has no knowledge of her father's identity. However, a man who called himself her father approached Star Magazine in 2011 with pictures and letters, claiming them as proof that they had been in regular contact as father and daughter before she turned 19. Two of her maternal great-grandparents were immigrants from Szentes, Hungary while her other maternal great-grandmother was originally from Poland. Pebe moved the family to Nashville, Tennessee, in 1991 after securing a new publishing deal for her songwriting. Pebe frequently brought Kesha and her brothers along to recording studios and encouraged Kesha to sing when she noticed Kesha's vocal talent. Kesha claimed that she did not fit in at school in the Brentwood suburb of Nashville, which she has called the "Bible Belt", explaining that her unconventional dress sense including homemade purple velvet pants and purple hair did not endear her to other students. She played the trumpet and later the saxophone in the marching band in school, and described herself in an interview with NPR as being a diligent student.
Kesha attended Franklin High School and Brentwood High School. In addition to taking songwriting classes, Kesha was also taught how to write songs by Pebe, and they would often write together when she returned home from high school. Kesha began recording demos which Pebe would give to people she knew. Kesha was also in a band with Lagan. Kesha and Pebe co-wrote the song "Stephen" together when Kesha was 16, Kesha then tracked down David Gamson, a producer that she admired, from Scritti Politti who agreed to produce the song. She dropped out of school at 17, after being convinced by Dr. Luke and Max Martin to return to Los Angeles to pursue a music career, and earned her GED after. Around this time, Pebe answered an ad by reality series, The Simple Life, looking for an "eccentric" family to host Paris Hilton and Nicole Richie. The episode aired in 2005.[16] Luke and Martin had received one of Kesha's demo from Samantha Cox, senior director of writer/publisher relations at Broadcast Music Incorporated, and were impressed. Two of the demos were described in a cover story for Billboard, the first "a gorgeously sung, self-penned country ballad" and the second "a gobsmackingly awful trip-hop track" where Kesha raps ad lib for a minute when she runs out of lyrics near the end. Dr. Luke stated in an interview for the story that it was the latter track that caught his attention, saying "when you're listening to 100 CDs, that kind of bravado and chutzpah stand out."
Kids[]
- Because Is This Like Me
Personal Life[]
Kesha is openly bisexual and an ordained minister, having been ordained online. She has performed legal commitment ceremonies for homosexual couples as well.
On January 3rd, 2014, TMZ reported that Ke$ha has checked herself into the Timberline Knolls Residential Treatment Center in Illinois in order to seek treatment for an eating disorder, revealed to be both anorexia and bulimia.
Discography[]
Main article: Ke$ha Discography