Ke$ha- Animal

Tipped as the degenerate Hannah Montana, Nashville rebel Ke$ha Sebert (note the American patriotism and rock and roll surname) hit the charts back in 2009, as a backing singer in Flo Rida’s ‘Right Round’. Previous to this, the Sebert family appeared on MTV’s The Simple Life and Ke$ha herself also featured on Paris Hilton’s extremely memorable single, ‘Nothing In This World’. Perhaps this trauma has something to do with the twenty two year old’s desire to present herself as an independent, brash mutineer without a cause on her debut release, Animal.

Her most successful single, ‘Tik Tok’, is the snakebite of pop songs: sweet, trashy and infinitely more tasty as time goes on. We all love to hate her whinging vocals, which are replicated in each of the album’s other offerings.

‘Blah Blah Blah’, Ke$ha’s latest release, again demonstrates her seemingly effortless ability to switch from half-singing to half-talking, and features an input from American teen punk-pop group 3OH!3. The themes in Animal still don’t extend past ripping up bars, teasing boys with futile flirting and getting ‘crunk’ whilst avoiding any parental judgement. Ironically, the co-writer on most tracks is actually Ke$ha’s own mother, who clearly approves of her careless attitude and is perhaps even encouraging towards her daughter’s love of Mick Jagger-esque males. Sadly, Ke$ha’s attempt at a more serious Clarkson style ballad seems to flop, lacking the signature punchy, emotional chorus which other American producers are so effective in creating.

There are a few glimmers of effective rhyme in this compilation of bubblegum pop-rap, the highlights including the lyric, “don’t be a little bitch with your chit chat, just show me where your dick’s at”.

Ke$ha’s tracks scream attitude and immorality yet seem playful; the singer sits back and snaps her gum but still manages to hit us where it hurts. Annoyingly, most tracks are very catchy and are likely to succeed commercially due to Dr Luke’s successfully eclectic sounds.

Ke$ha’s desire to drink until she vomits and stay out all night long will keep listeners diverted until the end, although some very poor lyrics and laughable imagery may inhibit this album’s rise to success.