Kesha
Kesha Rose Sebert (born March 1st 1987), known mononymously as Kesha (formerly stylized as Ke$ha), is an American singer/songwriter, rapper and actress who achieved international success in 2009 with her debut single "Tik Tok".
Kesha's "subversive" music and stage persona made her a polarizing figure,[1] but propelled her to immediate commercial success, earning her a string of top 10 hits. In 2014, Kesha became embroiled in a series of legal disputes with her producer Dr. Luke, in which she accused him of sexual assault and harassment and emotional abuse.
She returned in 2017 with her third album Rainbow, which went to No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart, supported by its successful lead single "Praying". Her most recent album, Gag Order, was released in 2023, peaking at No. 168 on the Billboard 200.
Kesha briefly courted controversy with The Residents and their fans in 2013, when she appeared onstage with backing dancers dressed in the anonymous group's iconic eyeball masks, top hats and tuxedos;[1] it is said that the apparent reference was conceived by one of Kesha's designers, and that Kesha was not aware of the origin of this image.[2]
History
Kesha's career began in 2005 when she was signed to Kemosabe Records at the age of 18. Her first major success came in early 2009, when she was featured on rapper Flo Rida's hit single, "Right Round".
Later that year, she released her debut single "Tik Tok", which broke the American record for the highest sales week for a single, with 610,000 digital downloads sold in a single week (the highest ever by a female artist since digital download tracking began in 2003). Her debut album Animal followed in 2010, with subsequent singles from the album also reaching the top 10 in the United States, Canada and Australia.
Kesha's deliberately unpolished aesthetic and stage persona, which she described as her own personality "times ten", propelled her to success while also making her a deeply polarizing figure. Some critics found her output to be unsophisticated, while others felt that she was manufactured and lacked credibility. Her second album, Warrior, was released in November 2012, supported by the single "Die Young", which peaked at No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100.
Kesha's career was put on hold in 2014, following a stint in rehab for an eating disorder, and a long-running legal dispute with her former producer Dr. Luke, in which Kesha accused Luke of physical, sexual and emotional abuse. The case was later settled out of court in 2023. Her third album, Rainbow, followed in 2017, reaching No. 1 on the Billboard 200; its lead single "Praying" went on to be certified platinum in several countries. Her fourth album, High Road, reached the top ten upon release in 2020. Her fifth album, Gag Order, was released in May 2023, peaking at No. 168 on the Billboard 200.
Kesha and The Residents
In an episode of her 2013 MTV reality series Ke$ha: My Crazy Beautiful Life, the singer is seen wearing a vintage Duck Stab! t-shirt. In the same year, on the tour supporting her second album Warrior, Kesha appeared onstage with backing dancers in eyeball masks, tuxedos and top hats, apparently a direct reference to the iconic costumes worn by The Residents.
The reference was picked up by fans (particularly during her stop in The Residents' home town of San Francisco), and images of Kesha performing on-stage with the eyeball-masked dancers were widely circulated and discussed in Residents fan groups, generating a mostly negative response.[1] In June and July 2013, the costumes were widely reported on by media outlets, including Yahoo! Music, NBC, and celebrity blogger Perez Hilton.[1][3][4] When asked, Kesha's representatives stated that the singer would not comment on the apparent similarity.[1]
Noting that the costumes couldn't be a coincidence, as "even down to the color of the eyes, it's what The Residents have used all these years," The Residents' collaborator Don Hardy (director of the documentary film Theory of Obscurity: A Film About The Residents, in production at the time) spoke to Yahoo! Music on behalf of the group, stating that The Residents were considering issuing a legal notice in response to Kesha's unauthorized use of their intellectual property:[1][5]
"They don't know what to do... [The Residents] feel as though [Ke$ha] is interfering with their intellectual property. Her people definitely didn’t call in to say, ‘Hey, can we use this?’ They're debating what to do. One potential way to deal with it is to ask for a cease-and-desist and have attorneys sort it out. I think they'd rather see a different outcome, though. When you're a smaller group, what do you do? If you file suit, people say, 'Oh, it's the small guys trying to get in on something big.' It's a no-win situation.
It could be a five minute conversation, if Ke$ha will acknowledge that the look came from The Residents and that she's giving them a tip of the hat. Telling people, 'If you've been to my show, it's an homage,' might encourage some of her fans to check out The Residents, and the bigger win would be that bit of recognition. [...] Residents fans are being negative to her, and that's unfortunate. It'd be great to unite the two worlds somehow. There's a subversive streak to everything she's doing that seems different from a Katy Perry."[1]
Don Hardy went on to say that he had unsuccessfully tried to secure an interview with Kesha for the Theory of Obscurity documentary after she had been filmed wearing a Duck Stab! t-shirt for her reality TV series; he believed that the messages were not being passed on to the singer by her representatives.[1]
In 2024, Homer Flynn of The Cryptic Corporation explained that one of Kesha's designers had come up with the visual reference, and that Kesha herself was unaware of the origin. Claiming that The Residents "kind of thought it was funny", Flynn said there were some negotiations with the singer's representatives about Kesha's team helping to promote an upcoming Residents release on her social media channels, but these plans ultimately came to naught.[2]
Discography
Studio albums
- Animal (2010)
- Warrior (2012)
- Rainbow (2017)
- High Road (2020)
- Gag Order (2023)
See also
External links and references
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 Chris Willman, "Does Ke$ha’s Stage Show Rip Off the Residents?", Yahoo! Music, July 3rd 2013 (archived via archive.org)
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Homer Flynn, "The Residents", Fear and Loathing Fanzine, ca. January 2024
- ↑ Perez Hilton, "Ke$ha Totally Rips Off Residents! Experimental Band EYE-ing Lawsuit!", Perez Hilton, ca. July 2013
- ↑ Josh Keppel, "Ke$ha Upsets Fans of The Residents", NBC Bay Area, June 18th 2013
- ↑ Joe Wilde, "Ke$ha Receives Harsh Words From Rock Group The Residents Over On-Stage Routine", contactmusic.com, July 6th 2013