story /LOGAN BRENDT
photo / YU TSAI
“I talk about penises and partying in my songs and some people get so offended,” says Ke$ha. Candid and straightforward, never shying away from the truth, the chart topping pop star discusses the typical double standards between women and men in the music industry, particularly when it comes to song lyrics. She remarks, “So many dudes say much crazier and more offensive things and never get ridiculed and scrutinized for it. I’m doing what every other girl my age is doing, but I’m just honest about it in my lyrics.”
It’s clear that Ke$ha doesn’t lose sleep over what others think of her. Through all of her oddly charming eccentricities, the outlandish things she says, and her Auto-Tune controversies, she’s comfortable with who she is. And since the public expects celebrities to disclose every detail of their life as though their job is a part-time soap opera character, Ke$ha deals with it as well as anyone could under the circumstances, even if she still can’t get over the paparazzi following her around. “I don’t think you ever get used to that. They are like weird butthole zombies,” she says. Conceivably, this could be why she would rather beat them to the chase by giving us all a more extensive glimpse into her life with her new docu-series on MTV, premiering at the end of April.
My Crazy Beautiful Life (also the same name of her recently released book) shows an in-depth, behind-the-scenes look of the singer’s everyday, including her work schedule, her adorable cat named Mr. Peep$, her usual peculiarities like her beard fetish, and her unusual one time incidents like when she drank her own urine. Let’s just assume that to her, it tastes like champagne. After all, she sings “Champagne tastes like piss to me” in one of her songs off her current album Warrior. See what I did there?
The docu-series was co-directed by her brother, Lagan Sebert, who is also her best friend and allowed to capture almost everything. Even though Ke$ha doesn’t seem to get embarrassed that easily, there are a few scenes in the show that make her blush. She says, “I’ve had some, shall I say, questionable choices in the make-out department. Though it might be cringeworthy, don’t we all have those [moments]? I think it’s important for my fans to see that I make out with weird losers too sometimes.”
Fans will also get to see plenty of bearded guys beg for her attention on the show. And since most of us have already seen that she obviously doesn’t have a problem sticking beards into her mouth, I find myself compelled to ask her what she would do if she had the unfortunate incident of coming across a guy that happens to have food stuck in his beard. She simply answers, “Bite it.” Somehow this answer shouldn’t surprise anyone by now.
It’s also not surprising that she gets her family involved in her career, since she is so close to them. In addition to working with her brother, she frequently collaborates with her mother, Pebe Sebert, when songwriting, finding it to be a largely intuitive process between the two of them. Ke$ha says, “My mom obviously understands me better than anyone else I work with. We do disagree a lot and fight constantly, but it’s only because we are both extremely passionate.” But since we’ve been taught that mothers are always right, is her mom always right? “Definitely not,” she exclaims.
Ke$ha also returned to collaborate with hitmakers Dr. Luke and Benny Blanco on Warrior, making sure to continue her infectious pop-driven hits. Like any other clever artist, she has continued to reinvent herself, this time incorporating more of the metaphysical and magical into her songs. Learning from the best at maintaining longevity, she also worked with Iggy Pop to create the alternatively raunchy and rowdy “Dirty Love” in which she shrieks with desire, “I just want your fucking filthy love”. She says, “It’s one thing to get to meet your idol but to work with him or her is a whole different thing. It was my favorite part of making this album.” Feeling that the both of them are 100% kindred spirits, she adds, “I love him and look up to him in every aspect of my career.”
There’s a transcendental side that starts to emit from Ke$ha, even though this can appear almost contradictory, considering that her ostentatious and grittier actions are predominantly highlighted. But she affirms, “I’m part hippie— not the patchouli wearing kind of hippie, but the spiritual and super loving kind.” It’s this more subtle, soft side that also loves and relates to animals, even wishing to be reincarnated as a white lion in another lifetime. Maybe it’s her Pisces sun sign, the chameleon of the zodiac, that also corresponds with her intuitive and almost psychic nature, adding to the empathy she has concerning all living creatures. Convinced, she says, “Our lives are definitely written in the stars.”
Accompanying her attraction to the mystical that interweaves throughout Warrior, Ke$ha does maintain an interest in astrology, partly influenced by her mother. Since I am also fascinated by celestial alignments, I ask her if she’s confident enough in her comprehension of the subject in order to give a reading. Ke$ha replies, “I can give you a reading, sure. What do you want to know?”
