Although Kesha’s overall fame and presence in the music industry may have faded slightly, there was a time when the American singer-songwriter was a commercial powerhouse. Before she broke into mainstream public appeal with her record-breaking chart success, what was she doing?
Before she was famous, Kesha was waitressing. At the time, the young singer was barely making a living in Los Angeles, where she was balancing her waitressing with her music career, both honing her songwriting and attempting to find a record deal.
From an early age Kesha was determined to pursue a career in music, the waitressing that she was doing was simply a way to make ends meet whilst she worked on her craft. Eventually, her persistence and patience paid off, as the goal she had been striving towards finally came into her grasp.
Roots in Music
In terms of the kind of jobs that were available to her, waitressing was likely one of the only avenues that she had available to her. The majority of her teenage years had been spent focused on one single goal above all else, the desire to start a career in music.
Her entire life had been colored by the idea of having a career as a singer, starting from her earliest childhood memories. She was the daughter of Rosemary “Pebe” Sebert, who was also a singer-songwriter like her daughter would later become, albeit with a completely different style.
Even as a young child, Kesha was exposed to the world of performing on stage. Due to her mother being a single parent, it often meant that when she had no other alternative than to bring Kesha along to the venue with her.
For Kesha, this meant being propped up on the stage along with her mother as an infant, just so that her mother could keep an eye on her whilst she was belting out some songs for her audience.
It was an upbringing that was infused with music, where she was either simply born with the same gifts as her mother, or had the idea ingrained into her whilst she was upon those stages as a child.
Pursuing Her Dream
It wasn’t long before Pebe took notice of her daughter’s talents, talents that so closely mirrored her own. Pebe had managed to successfully secure her own record deal, elevating the families position slightly and now offering a glimpse into more than just life on stage, Kesha was now receiving exposure to the world of studio recording.
During that time, the vocal talent of Kesha that Pebe had noticed shining through was put to the test. Whenever they were at a recording studio, Pebe gave her daughter the opportunity to sing, adding fuel to the fire that had been slowly burning away since her childhood.
Meanwhile, in school, Kesha was also excelling. With diligence and hard work, she had not only maintained her academics but had also joined the marching band, playing the trumpet and the saxophone.
With a combination of her status as what could be described as “a perfect student” and her musical abilities, she had a strong set of options for pursuing further education, including a spot at Barnard College.
For Kesha, however, the other factors going on in her life had crystallized her goal. As soon as the realization of what she truly wanted to do had struck her, she dropped out of college to set out on a similar path as her mother had followed.
Finding Success
The world is inundated with singers, actors, and all other kinds of performers that have both talent and dedication, yet are unable to achieve their goals. Kesha found this out the hard way over the course of her attempts to get a record deal and record music.
Her job as a waitress was taken out of necessity, something to keep her afloat whilst she worked tirelessly to get her name out into the music industry.
Her persistence paid off, however, as after what must have felt like a lifetime of songwriting for other artists, making small cameos or appearances on other songs, she finally managed to achieve her goal of securing a record deal.
Her debut single released, which broke multiple records and topped the charts, sending her days as a waitress into the realm of long distant memories.