Mar. 1: Pop singer and rapper, Ke$ha is 26 today.

-----

Born Kesha Rose Sebert in Los Angeles, CA. Her single mom, Pebe Sebert is a singer and songwriter. Ke$ha has said the dollar sign in her stage name is meant to be ironic, and she "actually stood for the opposite of putting a lot of emphasis on money."

Pebe moved the family to Nashville, Tennessee, in 1991, after securing a publishing deal for her songwriting. Pebe frequently brought Ke$ha and her brothers along to recording studios and encouraged Ke$ha to sing. She also taught Ke$ha how to write songs and they would often write together when she returned home from school.

 The Seberts were featured in an episode of The Simple Life, as the host family to Paris Hilton and Nicole Richie in 2005.

When she was 18, Ke$ha signed with Dr. Luke's record label and publishing company. An active musician since then, she sang background vocals and wrote songs for other artists. She appeared in the video for Katy Perry's single, "I Kissed a Girl" and sang background vocals for the Dr. Luke produced song, "Lace and Leather" by Britney Spears in 2008.

Her breakthrough came in early 2009 after appearing on Flo Rida's number one single, "Right Round." It was a case of being in the right pace, at the right time, and being ready. Ke$ha had walked into a recording session with Flo Rida and Dr. Luke. Flo Rida wanted a female voice for the song, and Dr. Luke then suggested Ke$ha for the part. Flo Rida liked the end result so much that they did two more tracks.

Soon after, Ke$ha signed a multi-album deal with RCA Records.

(Continued below video and Amazon portal ...)

Recommended (Press album covers for direct links to Amazon):

-----

Her debut single, "Tik Tok," released in late 2009, reached number one in eleven countries; in the US, the song topped the chart for nine consecutive weeks, becoming the longest chart topping single of the decade to date.

Her debut album, Animal, was released in January 2010 and debuted at number one in the U.S., Canada and Greece. By September 2010, Ke$ha had sold two million albums worldwide and released three more top ten singles from Animal. The album was re-released with a companion extended play, Cannibal, in November, preceded by the chart-topping lead single, "We R Who We R."

Her music incorporates elements of dance-pop, and she uses a spoken word rapping style on many songs. Ke$ha has cited artists such as Madonna, Debbie Harry, Queen, Johnny Cash, Aaron Neville, Bob Dylan and Beastie Boys as musical influences.

Her music and her party-girl image has often been criticized with emphasis being on her usage of autotune voice enhancement. The release of Cannibal however, has received positive reviews for her use of these techniques.

She has already been nominated for a slew of awards including Artist of the Year and Favorite Female Artist by American Music Awards. She won Best New Act at the MTV Europe Music Awards.

-----

For more about Ke$ha, visit her Website at-

http://www.keshasparty.com/us/home

####