Ke$ha literally went from what she describes as “a hobo” to a platinum-selling recording artist with a memoir in stores, all within a couple of years. It might take a lot to surprise her these days, but one publication did the trick.


“I was a little shocked. I was like, ‘Are you sure?’” Ke$ha recalled when she heard Vibe Magazine wanted her to grace its cover. The artist became the first Caucasian woman to appear solo on the front of the magazine. “It is shocking, but also massively flattering.”

The “TiK ToK” singer attributes the honor to the idea that with music these days, “there are no boundaries.”

“On this record especially, I worked with so many people from so many different genres of music,” she explained on “The Ralphie Show.” “From Iggy Pop, to Flaming Lips, and the Strokes, and the Black Keys, and then will.i.am and Nate (Ruess) from fun. There’s so many different genres of music represented.”

That new album, Warrior, comes out December 4. The lead singer of fun. is a co-writer on the first single, “Die Young.” He and Ke$ha haven’t even met.

“He was working with my friend Benny Blanco here in New York, and I was in LA making my record with Dr. Luke,” she recalled. “They just sent over the chorus-y, like idea. And then Luke and I were like, ‘Oh, that’s great.’”

And voila, hit record? Not so much. Ke$ha also revealed that she re-wrote the song 10 times until she felt it was representative of her. The artist’s meticulous detail to lyrics is the main reason why almost two years passed between the releases of her two full-length albums.

“I really wanted to take my time with my second record because I feel like that is the record you really make a name for yourself or it could suck,” she stated. “I just wanted to make sure that my second record was me and it was right and it was honest and it was dope.”

The Nashville-born singer is played on the radio next to artists like Rihanna, who has worked at a pace of releasing seven albums in the last seven years.

“I think I would die,” responded Ke$ha when asked if she could release music at that speed. “I have a lot of respect for her.”

In addition to Warrior, Ke$ha is also selling the Deconstructed EP through her website. The release features acoustic, broken-down versions of songs such as “Die Young,” – allowing the singer to once again prove she doesn’t need auto-tune.

“I was just like, ‘Really? You really still don’t think I can sing? F*** all ya’ll!’” Ke$ha exclaimed, eliciting laughter in the studio. “It’s really irritating when you can do one of three things in your entire life, and everyone’s like, ‘You can’t sing!’”