Kesha is an American singer who signed to RCA Records and shot to fame on the release of her debut single ‘Tik Tok’. She’s released four studio albums, but does she write her own songs?
Kesha considers herself a songwriter primarily and has a writing credit on every song from her first two albums, ‘Animal’ and ‘Warrior’. Asides from writing her own music, Kesha has penned tracks for other hit artists, including Miley Cyrus, Britney Spears, and Ariana Grande.
Read on to learn more about Kesha’s passion for songwriting, along with her songwriting credits.
Songwriting in Her Blood
Born to songwriter Pepe Sebert, who co-wrote the country hit ‘Old Flames Can’t Hold a Candle to You’, and raised in Nashville, Kesha was exposed to music from a young age.
Pepe would take her daughter along with her to recording studios and before long, the mother and daughter duo would write songs together each day when Kesha got home from school. Kesha says that her mother taught her how to write and that Pepe’s advice was not to “write fake stuff. People can tell if it’s not real” adding “I’ve stuck to that the whole way through.”
The aspiring songstress also took songwriting classes and soon began recording demos with Pebe’s guidance.
Speaking exclusively to CBS Sunday Morning, Kesha described her songwriting: “it’s the most magical, beautiful feeling in the world it’s like when you’re watching the sunset over the ocean and there’s dolphins flying around, that’s how it feels when you write a song that’s good”.
She told The Atlantic that there’s a very real human aspect to songwriting in that the songwriting stems from your emotions, whether that be a place of joy or sadness. She continued, “ever since I was young, I’ve had an affinity for writing almost nihilist pop music just about living your life while you have it” sharing the importance of appreciating every moment.
Writing Credits
Writer, critic and self-confessed long-term Kesha fan, Sam Lansky, called Kesha “an artist who was capable of crafting superb pop melodies while remaining funny, charming and honest in her lyrics”.
Her writing credits are extensive, and she personally wrote 200 songs just in preparation for the release of her debut album ‘Animal’.
The singer-songwriter has so far released four studio albums, and has written songs for all of them.
Writing is an intensely personal process for Kesha, and her albums have each reflected different stages of her life.
Kesha sued her manager and producer, Dr. Luke, in 2014 for alleged abuse, accusations which were denied and ultimately dismissed. Having experienced such trauma, Kesha said that deciding on a direction for her fourth album, ‘High Road’, took a lot of consideration.
Though famous for her unapologetic pop, Kesha said “I felt I didn’t deserve to just be unapologetically joyous and happy, because as the whole world knows, I’ve been through some … traumatic things in my life.”
It was her brother’s encouragement that took her back to writing pop music, and she said of this familiar songwriting, “it was making my life happier by making happier music.”
For that album, Kesha was the sole executive producer, and wrote or co-wrote every single track, truly reclaiming creative control.
Listen to the lead single ‘Raising Hell’ from Kesha’s fourth album ‘High Road’ in the YouTube video below.
Songs for Other Artists
Whilst Kesha has a string of her own top hits, she’s also written numerous songs for other artists, keen to have a piece of her writing talent.
Among the songs she has penned are ‘Till The World Ends’ for Britney Spears, ‘Touch Me’ for Flo Rida, and ‘What Baby Wants’ for Alice Cooper.
Speaking to MTV about the joy of songwriting, Kesha said, “writing for somebody else is really fun ’cause I consider myself a songwriter first and foremost”.