Kesha

Kesha biography

Kesha Rose Sebert (born March 1, 1987), known professionally as Kesha ( , stylized Ke$ha), is an American singer-songwriter and rapper. 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 came in early 2009 after appearing on Flo Rida's number one single, "Right Round." Her debut album, Animal and its re-release, Cannibal, were released in 2010. Kesha's irreverent music and image propelled her to immediate commercial success, with Animal debuting as the US's number-one album and producing two number-one singles, "Tik Tok" and "We R Who We R", and a string of top ten hits as well. At the same time, she continued to write songs for other artists, including co-writing "Till the World Ends" for Britney Spears.

1987-2004: Childhood and youth

Kesha was born in Los Angeles, California on March 1, 1987. Her mother, 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, at the time. They had to rely 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. Pebe moved the family to Nashville, Tennessee, in 1991 after securing a new publishing deal for her songwriting. Kesha's younger brother Louis was born shortly after. Pebe frequently brought Kesha and her brothers along to recording studios and encouraged Kesha to sing when she noticed Kesha's vocal talent. 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 began recording demos which Pebe would give to people she knew. Kesha was also in a band with Lagan. 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. 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."

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