Becoming one of pop's top-selling acts over the past two years hasn't changed Ke$ha much - the girl who got famous by celebrating the trashy life and writing raunchy songs about it is still revelling in it.
"I still love having really terrible house parties," says a relaxed and reflective Ke$ha. "I still don't live my life with my happiness being dependent on name brands or how much things cost or some sort of VIP club … I still love being kind of scummy, to be honest."
Her second album Warrior, released last month, flaunts the same uncouth attitude that propelled her debut Animal and the EP Cannibal up the charts. Like those recordings, Warrior is filled with upbeat, living-in-the-moment anthems such as her current single Die Young, which radio stations stopped playing following the mass shooting in Connecticut.
On December 18, the singer responded with an apology on Twitter and a claim that she was "forced" to write the song: "I understand. I had my very own issue with 'die young' for this reason. I did NOT want to sing those lyrics and I was FORCED TO."
That tweet has since been deleted, but an apology remains: "I'm so so so sorry for anyone who has been effected by this tragedy. And I understand why my song is now inappropriate. Words cannot express."
Her song is still on heavy rotation on UAE radio stations, and while Ke$ha may not be actively courting respect, she's getting it - and from an elite group in the music industry. Warrior features an expansion of collaborators beyond musical overseer Dr Luke, the hit maker who discovered and signed Ke$ha when she was 18. Among those on the album are Iggy Pop, Nate Ruess of fun., Patrick Carney of The Black Keys and Wayne Coyne of The Flaming Lips. Last year, Andre 3000 did a verse for a remix of her track Sleazy.
Ke$ha says she pushed herself to put her "heart on the line" by reaching out to the musicians she admired. "And then when they respond and they're down to collaborate with you, it's scary as an artist because you don't want to get into the room with somebody who you adore and have them think you suck," she says. "You never know how good you're going to be on a certain day or what they're going to think of you."
Ke$ha says she "stalked" Iggy Pop "because I'm obsessed", but the other musical partnerships came through mutual friends. They serve as a reminder that she's a hardworking songwriter at heart, not a label-manufactured dance-pop star. She began her career in the industry writing for others, and co-wrote Britney Spears' hit Till the World Ends.
"It was nice to know that people who I really love wanted to collaborate. Because I feel like when you collaborate with somebody, there has to be some element of mutual respect. Because you're putting your name with their name for the world to judge," she says.
Ke$ha co-wrote five songs for Warrior with her mother Pebe Sebert, a singer-songwriter from Tennessee who penned Old Flames Can't Hold a Candle to You, a hit for Dolly Parton in 1980. She says she learnt about songwriting by sneaking into her mother's sessions as a child. They now bounce ideas back and forth regularly.
"I can write with her about anything. I can write with her about boys. I wrote the song Cannibal with her, which is about me dismembering men and eating them," Ke$ha notes.
The album features more guitar than her previous efforts, with her punk and hard rock influences heard on Gold Trans Am and Dirty Love, the collaboration with Pop. It also features less Autotune: after being criticised for relying too heavily on voice manipulation technology, she shows her natural pipes throughout Warrior and on an accompanying five-song acoustic EP, Deconstructed.
Despite all the fame and fortune, Ke$ha is happy to get away from it all. At the end of her last tour, she turned off her phone and backpacked around Central and South America and Africa.
"When you live a life where you're surrounded by a lot of people all the time, it's a very egocentric lifestyle. And to prevent myself from, like, totally living on another planet, I wanted to, like, you know, run around barefoot and sleep in the dirt and go meet random people who have no idea who I am and just don't care," she says. "And that was really nice."
* AP
The rules on fostering in the UAE
A foster couple or family must:
- be Muslim, Emirati and be residing in the UAE
- not be younger than 25 years old
- not have been convicted of offences or crimes involving moral turpitude
- be free of infectious diseases or psychological and mental disorders
- have the ability to support its members and the foster child financially
- undertake to treat and raise the child in a proper manner and take care of his or her health and well-being
- A single, divorced or widowed Muslim Emirati female, residing in the UAE may apply to foster a child if she is at least 30 years old and able to support the child financially
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Company profile
Name: Dukkantek
Started: January 2021
Founders: Sanad Yaghi, Ali Al Sayegh and Shadi Joulani
Based: UAE
Number of employees: 140
Sector: B2B Vertical SaaS(software as a service)
Investment: $5.2 million
Funding stage: Seed round
Investors: Global Founders Capital, Colle Capital Partners, Wamda Capital, Plug and Play, Comma Capital, Nowais Capital, Annex Investments and AMK Investment Office
8 traditional Jamaican dishes to try at Kingston 21
- Trench Town Rock: Jamaican-style curry goat served in a pastry basket with a carrot and potato garnish
- Rock Steady Jerk Chicken: chicken marinated for 24 hours and slow-cooked on the grill
- Mento Oxtail: flavoured oxtail stewed for five hours with herbs
- Ackee and salt fish: the national dish of Jamaica makes for a hearty breakfast
- Jamaican porridge: another breakfast favourite, can be made with peanut, cornmeal, banana and plantain
- Jamaican beef patty: a pastry with ground beef filling
- Hellshire Pon di Beach: Fresh fish with pickles
- Out of Many: traditional sweet potato pudding
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
VEZEETA PROFILE
Date started: 2012
Founder: Amir Barsoum
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: HealthTech / MedTech
Size: 300 employees
Funding: $22.6 million (as of September 2018)
Investors: Technology Development Fund, Silicon Badia, Beco Capital, Vostok New Ventures, Endeavour Catalyst, Crescent Enterprises’ CE-Ventures, Saudi Technology Ventures and IFC
THE BIO:
Favourite holiday destination: Thailand. I go every year and I’m obsessed with the fitness camps there.
Favourite book: Born to Run by Christopher McDougall. It’s an amazing story about barefoot running.
Favourite film: A League of their Own. I used to love watching it in my granny’s house when I was seven.
Personal motto: Believe it and you can achieve it.
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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RESULTS
5pm: Maiden (PA) Dh80,000 1,600m
Winner: Omania, Saif Al Balushi (jockey), Ibrahim Al Hadhrami (trainer)
5.30pm: Conditions (PA) Dh85,000 1,600m
Winner: Brehaan, Richard Mullen, Ana Mendez
6pm: Handicap (TB) Dh100,000 1,600m
Winner: Craving, Connor Beasley, Simon Crisford
6.30pm: The President’s Cup Prep (PA) Dh100,000 2,200m
Winner: Rmmas, Tadhg O’Shea, Jean de Roualle
7pm: Wathba Stallions Cup (PA) Dh70,000 1,200m
Winner: Dahess D’Arabie, Connor Beasley, Helal Al Alawi
7.30pm: Handicap (PA) Dh80,000 1,400m
Winner: Fertile De Croate, Sam Hitchcott, Ibrahim Aseel
The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
Dirham Stretcher tips for having a baby in the UAE
Selma Abdelhamid, the group's moderator, offers her guide to guide the cost of having a young family:
• Buy second hand stuff
They grow so fast. Don't get a second hand car seat though, unless you 100 per cent know it's not expired and hasn't been in an accident.
• Get a health card and vaccinate your child for free at government health centres
Ms Ma says she discovered this after spending thousands on vaccinations at private clinics.
• Join mum and baby coffee mornings provided by clinics, babysitting companies or nurseries.
Before joining baby classes ask for a free trial session. This way you will know if it's for you or not. You'll be surprised how great some classes are and how bad others are.
• Once baby is ready for solids, cook at home
Take the food with you in reusable pouches or jars. You'll save a fortune and you'll know exactly what you're feeding your child.
AIDA%20RETURNS
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ECarol%20Mansour%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarring%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EAida%20Abboud%2C%20Carol%20Mansour%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%203.5.%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
Dengue%20fever%20symptoms
%3Cul%3E%0A%3Cli%3EHigh%20fever%3C%2Fli%3E%0A%3Cli%3EIntense%20pain%20behind%20your%20eyes%3C%2Fli%3E%0A%3Cli%3ESevere%20headache%3C%2Fli%3E%0A%3Cli%3EMuscle%20and%20joint%20pains%3C%2Fli%3E%0A%3Cli%3ENausea%3C%2Fli%3E%0A%3Cli%3EVomiting%3C%2Fli%3E%0A%3Cli%3ESwollen%20glands%3C%2Fli%3E%0A%3Cli%3ERash%3C%2Fli%3E%0A%3C%2Ful%3E%0A%3Cp%3EIf%20symptoms%20occur%2C%20they%20usually%20last%20for%20two-seven%20days%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
FIRST TEST SCORES
England 458
South Africa 361 & 119 (36.4 overs)
England won by 211 runs and lead series 1-0
Player of the match: Moeen Ali (England)
