Kesha

In 2009 Kesha catapulted into prominence as a bold, ambitious Grammy-nominated vocalist and tunesmith when her guest turn on Flo Rida’s “Right Round” seized the summit of the Billboard Hot 100. Her RCA debut album Animal arrived the following year, confirming her status as a genuine headliner with its buoyant electro-pop palette; the set topped charts in both the United States and Canada on the strength of the global celebratory anthem “TiK ToK.” Three further Top Ten entries emerged from the project, which also supported her inaugural headlining trek, the Get Sleazy Tour. The 2010 EP Cannibal housed another chart-topping single, “We R Who We R,” while Warrior, her sophomore full-length released in 2012, extended her streak to a third consecutive Top Ten Billboard 200 placement. That rock-tinged collection incorporated prior collaborator Wayne Coyne of the Flaming Lips, punk trailblazer Iggy Pop, and the indie-pop collective Fun. One year afterward she claimed a fourth Hot 100 number one via the Pitbull duet “Timber.” Following protracted courtroom conflicts with longtime producer Dr. Luke—allegations that encompassed physical and psychological mistreatment as well as contractual exploitation—Kesha resurfaced in 2017 with the third album Rainbow. Its messages of personal sovereignty propelled the record to number one across the U.S., Canada, and much of Europe. The buoyant High Road reached the Billboard 200 Top Ten in 2020, and 2023’s Gag Order found her working alongside producer Rick Rubin. The 2024 single “Joyride” signaled both her sixth studio album and the debut release on her self-founded independent imprint, Kesha Records.

Kesha Rose Sebert entered the world in Los Angeles yet relocated to Nashville at age four after her mother, veteran songwriter Pebe Sebert, secured a publishing agreement. More than a decade earlier, Pebe’s most notable composition, “Old Flames Can’t Hold a Candle to You,” had been cut first by Joe Sun and subsequently by Dolly Parton. Kesha returned to Los Angeles before completing secondary school in pursuit of a music career, forgoing an anticipated psychology curriculum at Columbia. There she encountered Dr. Luke, the co-writer and co-producer behind Kelly Clarkson’s “Since U Been Gone” and numerous other smashes, who responded enthusiastically to her demo material. She authored the Veronicas’ “This Love” and supplied backing vocals on Britney Spears’ “Lace and Leather,” both issued in 2008. The decisive break arrived in 2009 when she was enlisted to sing on Flo Rida’s Dr. Luke-helmed “Right Round,” a Hot 100 chart-topper.

Kesha promptly joined RCA’s roster; her debut album Animal, boasting input from Dr. Luke, Max Martin, and Benny Blanco, surfaced in early 2010. The project ascended to the apex of the Billboard 200 and yielded the number-one single “TiK ToK.” Cannibal, a nine-track EP, followed at year’s end, its single “We R Who We R” becoming her second leader while “Blow” also cracked the Top Ten. Another interim collection, I Am the Dance Commander + I Command You to Dance: The Remix Album, appeared in 2011. In 2012 rocker Wayne Coyne recruited her for the Flaming Lips’ collaborative set The Flaming Lips & Heady Fwends, where she joined Biz Markie on “2012 (You Must Be Upgraded).”

Dr. Luke returned for Warrior, yet the more guitar-driven album additionally welcomed Coyne, Iggy Pop, and Fun. Fronted by the Billboard Top Ten single “Die Young,” Warrior landed in December 2012 and reached the albums chart’s upper tier; follow-up singles “C’Mon” and “Crazy Kids” both entered the Top 40. In 2013 Kesha co-headlined a North American package with Pitbull, and the pair’s joint single “Timber” delivered her third Hot 100 number one.

Early 2014 saw her enter rehabilitation for bulimia nervosa, during which she composed and tracked more than a dozen songs intended for a third studio album. That June she joined Ludacris and Brad Paisley as a celebrity judge on ABC’s Rising Star. Late in the year she filed suit against Dr. Luke, citing sexual assault, harassment, emotional abuse, and exploitative business conduct while seeking to exit her Kemosabe contract. Although the initial rulings denied her claims, widespread public backing ultimately prompted Kemosabe to release her in early 2016.

Her first post-hiatus performance occurred at Coachella in April 2016, where she performed “True Colors” within Zedd’s set; the studio version appeared weeks later. After headlining her own global summer tour she finished Rainbow, whose lead single “Praying” dropped in July 2017. The album arrived the next month and debuted at number one on the Billboard 200. Subsequent singles included “Learn to Grow” and “Woman,” the latter topping the U.S. Dance Club Songs chart. January 2018 brought two Grammy nominations: Best Pop Vocal Album for Rainbow and Best Pop Solo Performance for “Praying.” Later that year the single “Here Comes the Change” supported the Ruth Bader Ginsburg biopic On the Basis of Sex, while 2019’s “Best Day” graced the Angry Birds 2 soundtrack.

High Road, her fourth studio album and a return to exuberant early-career pop, emerged in January 2020. Powered by lead single “Raising Hell” featuring Big Freedia, it debuted at number seven on the Billboard 200 and generated further singles “My Own Dance,” “Tonight,” and “Resentment,” the last of which included Brian Wilson, Sturgill Simpson, and Wrabel. She subsequently mounted the Kesha Live Tour and collaborated with Sam Feldt on “Stronger.”

May 2023 brought Gag Order, her fifth studio album, largely helmed by Rick Rubin and addressing the turmoil surrounding the Dr. Luke litigation and the ensuing public-silence constraints. The paired lead singles “Eat the Acid” and “Fine Line” accompanied the release, which peaked at number 14 on the Top Alternative Albums chart and registered on the Billboard 200. The Zhone-produced “Joyride” surfaced in July 2024 as the first offering from her sixth album and inaugural Kesha Records single; the power ballad “Delusional” followed in November alongside her cover of Lindsay Buckingham’s 1983 hit “Holiday Road.” Early 2025 found her contributing “Dear Me” to the soundtrack of the documentary Diane Warren: Relentless.