Chart Feature: Kesha
We have arrived at the final week of the season. In retrospect, this season was a true triumph and a real representation of the industry; many artists gave up by week 4, at least half of them didn’t know how the internet works and basically all of them pulled any desperate tactic they could just to get ahead. But sadly – well, not really – some of them said goodbye to the industry for good as they announced their retirement. The latest artist to copy Marina’s award winning moment was Kesha.
Starting her career back in 2014, Kesha was the first artist to own the industry trainwreck that is Atlantic Records. Now thought to be a containment unit for all the leftovers no one wants to sign, the original iteration of Atlantic Records was a highly successful label – of which executive Kesha was a proud example; scoring number-one after number-one and being responsible for her highest selling album to date: ‘Chronicles’. However, Kesha feels that “It was a very bleak moment actually, you know still being under Dr. Luke's contract. As the label representative of Atlantic Records, I couldn't do much and I was forced to sign papers that ended up ruining my career for a while”. Oh well, we wish Troye Sivan nothing but the worst in running this freakshow once again.
It wasn’t until 2016 that Kesha really found herself and she discussed that struggle in lead single ‘THISwarofMINE’. Kesha discusses the track: “It was another moment, I didn't really sell many singles at that time from my 5 fans because everyone decided to just buy the album. Not everyone has that”. Another struggle she found was getting people to actually listen to this track, as it faltered at the number-sixteen position on the Hot Singles Chart and became her lowest-peaking single as a lead artist ever.
However, her true biggest flop is the collaboration she had with Emily Ratajkowski (also known as Ella). While ‘Redemption’ proved to be an accurate title, and the track almost reached a gold-certification, it remains her lowest-peaking track at #19. When asked why she accepted this collaboration, Kesha stated: “Don't we love a charity moment? We went to New York and grabbed the largest rat we could find. We had it moan into a microphone and called it a day! I even got writing credits”.
The true fact of the matter is sometimes collaborations just don’t work out. But all collaborative efforts are different and Kesha certainly knows an opportunity when it comes along, as she is currently holds the only Diamond-eligible single in the industry as a feature on P!nk’s ‘Shoot You Down’. Kesha feels that the record was “Very cool and slightly interesting. I was so so honored that Miss Pink invited me into her caravan to record this. Her backyard is so small but I swear I've never seen so many chickens at once”. P!nk also commented on Kesha’s inclusion by stating “I don’t know any Keisha”.
As a solo artist, Kesha proved to everyone that she’s not some girl that you can stick on any song you want (well, she is, but not only that!). One of the most surprising chart-hits to date was her 2017-single ‘Wake Up’ which peaked inside the top-five (#4) and is eligible for a platinum-certification. Even Kesha was surprised by this success; she states: “Honestly, I didn't even notice that it was so high on the charts at the time. If only I just had my alarm clock on at the time.”
Her biggest hit to date as a lead artist is the P!nk collaboration, ‘Warden’. Released on the heels of ‘Shoot You Down’, Kesha feverishly aimed for the top-spot but got blocked by another P!nk single. Kesha looks back on this track: “The label wanted 'Holy Grail' as the next single but I thought that 'Warden' was gonna be such a hit that it would extend my demographic to lesbians. Turns out another bigger lesbian blocked me from #1. Thank you to everyone who bought the single”. Once again, P!nk also commented on this collaboration and said: “I don’t know any Keisha. Stop asking me before my fist meets your face!”
As Kesha is enjoying her retirement, we don’t have any current projects to speak about, and therefore we asked her about her favorite record to date. She stated that “My favourite album has to be Better Days, hands down the best experience ever for me. I worked with Max Martin at the time who produced most of the album and I wrote it mostly with my mom on our home piano. Probably my best #1 album”. The record became Kesha's 4th number-one album and is eligible for a gold certification.
Finally, we spoke to Kesha about her eligible-certifications which will become official this weekend. Currently, she has one diamond-eligible release, eight platinum-eligible releases and twenty other records that are eligible for a gold certification. She responded: “Oh my god, these numbers. I can only count to five. Sorry”. We’re so happy for Kesha, wish her the best in her retirement and hope that she returns to the industry never.