15 FAB KESHA FACTS
The kooky singer is yet another big name hitting the Sydney Mardi Gras stage this year. Here’s why Kesha matters…
She’s a big name hitting the Sydney Mardi Gras stage this year. Here’s why Kesha matters…
1. Kesha (her real name) describes herself as a “glitter goddess” and a “dance commander”.
2. One of the music industry’s most prominent
LGBT+ activists, Kesha received the 2016 Human Rights Campaign’s Visibility Award for her outstanding efforts in promoting equality. She was also nominated for outstanding musical artist at the 2018 GLAAD Awards. In
2010 she lent her voice to Dan Savage’s It Gets Better campaign, writing the chart-topping smash We R Who We R as a response to bullying that led to multiple suicides among LGBT youth.
3. She’s bisexual. “I love people,” Kesha announced nonchalantly early in her career. “It’s not about a gender… I wouldn’t say I’m gay or straight. I don’t like labelling things.”
4. She’s released four albums in the last decade: Animal (2010), Warrior (2012), Rainbow (2017) and this year’s High Road. The new album marks a return to her pop roots and was, Kesha exclaimed cheerfully, “the most fun I’ve ever had making a record”.
5. She was born with a tail. Yes, a tail, which was chopped off when she was born. “I’m really sad about that,” she says.
6. Before pop stardom she was working as a waitress and writing songs in her spare time. One of them, This Love, became a top 10 hit for Aussie duo The Veronicas in 2007.
7. Kesha sang backing vocals on Paris Hilton’s debut single, Nothing In This World. She and her family featured in a 2005 episode of The Simple Life, the reality show that starred Paris and BFF Nicole Richie as rich socialites slumming it.
8. Kesha overcame a serious addiction issue. After suffering from an eating disorder for a number of years (being told by her producer she had to lose weight) she checked into rehab in 2014 for two months. Her Rainbow: The Film documentary details, in part, her recovery.
9. When she originally hit the charts she was Ke$ha with the dollar sign but, after rehab, dropped the $ for a less costly s.
10. Last year she launched her own cosmetics line, Kesha Rose Beauty in partnership with Hipdot, an independent make-up brand.
11. When she’s not being a top pop personality Kesha performs in her country/rock band with the catchy name, Yeast Infection.
12. Kesha sued her long-time producer and musical svengali, Dr Luke, for sexual assault and harassment for a number of years before the case was dismissed by a judge due to the statute of limitations.
13. A long-time supporter of animal rights she has consistently voiced her opposition to animal testing, deep-sea fishing and baby seal clubbing. She even wrote to McDonald’s to complain about the conditions of their meat.
14. Having sold over 100 million copies worldwide, she was ranked as the #26th top artist of the last decade in Billboard magazine.
15. See you under the mirror ball staring up at the glitter goddess on February 29 at the Mardi Gras Party in Sydney! PS: Kesha celebrates her
33rd birthday the next day on March 1.