Kesha

Kesha Rose Sebert, born March 1, 1987, and formerly stylized as Ke$ha, is an American singer, rapper, and songwriter. She is best known for her hit records and chart success, attaining two number-one albums on the US Billboard 200 with Animal (2010) and Rainbow (2017), alongside top-ten albums Warrior (2012) and High Road (2020). She has accumulated ten top-ten singles and three number-one hits on the US Billboard Hot 100 as a lead or featured artist, including "Tik Tok", "We R Who We R", and "Timber" with Pitbull.

Kesha was born in Los Angeles to Rosemary Patricia "Pebe" Sebert, a singer-songwriter who raised Kesha and her older brother Lagan as a single mother. In 1991, the family relocated to Nashville after Pebe secured a songwriting deal. Kesha was taught songwriting by her mother at a young age and began recording demos. She attended Franklin High School and Brentwood High School, where she played the trumpet and saxophone in the marching band. At age 17, she left school after producer Max Martin convinced her to return to Los Angeles to pursue music. Although she achieved a near-perfect SAT score and was offered a scholarship to Barnard College, she chose to focus on her music career.

In 2005, Kesha signed with the publishing company Prescription Songs and later joined DAS Communications Inc. While working toward a major label contract, she worked as a waitress and adopted the stylized name Ke$ha. During this period, she sang background vocals for Paris Hilton and Britney Spears, appeared in Katy Perry's "I Kissed a Girl" music video, and co-wrote a single for The Veronicas. She gained mainstream attention in early 2009 after providing uncredited vocals on Flo Rida's number-one single "Right Round".

Kesha signed with RCA Records in 2009 and released her debut album, Animal, in 2010. Its lead single, "Tik Tok", set digital sales records and became the best-selling digital single in history at the time, selling over 14 million copies worldwide. She followed Animal with the companion EP Cannibal (2010), featuring the number-one single "We R Who We R". That year, she was named Billboard's Hot 100 Artist of 2010, won Best New Act at the MTV Europe Music Awards, and hosted a benefit concert for Tennessee flood victims. She launched her first headlining world tour, the Get Sleazy Tour, in 2011.

In 2012, Kesha released her second studio album, Warrior, supported by the top-ten single "Die Young". To coincide with the album, she published an illustrated autobiography titled My Crazy Beautiful Life, which also inspired an MTV documentary series of the same name in 2013. Alongside her creative projects, she served as the Humane Society's first global ambassador for animal rights and received the organization's Wyler Award in 2013.

Kesha's career was paused between her second and third albums due to a legal dispute filed in 2014, known as Kesha v. Dr. Luke, involving allegations of abuse, defamation, and breach of contract. The lawsuit was settled out of court in June 2023. After completing her contract with Kemosabe and RCA Records with her 2023 album Gag Order, she established her own label, Kesha Records, to release her first independent album, Period (2025). Recognized as the 26th top artist on Billboard's 2010s decade-end charts, she has also co-written songs for artists including Britney Spears, Ariana Grande, Miley Cyrus, Miranda Cosgrove, and Girls' Generation.