Ke$ha

She climbed the entertainment ladder by writing songs for artists like Britney Spears and Flo Rida before releasing her debut album, Animal, in 2010, and its follow-up, Warrior, in 2012. To this day, her party anthem “Tik Tok” is the second-best-selling digital single in history. Her live performances are known for being shocking, vulgar, and impressive. She’s described it as a visual assault, and in the past made good on her words with cannons that shoot out packaged condoms and shouts of “Go get laid!” to a crowd that’s one-third tweens, sandwiched between sneering bravado, hip-hop rants, and near-yodeled vocals. Ke$ha celebrates a life of excess and spontaneity, arguing that as a woman in rock she should be allowed to pull off all the ridiculous shenanigans of her male counterparts. As of April, fans can easily get a glimpse into the whiskey-loving, man-objectifying artist’s life with her MTV documentary, Ke$ha: My Crazy Beautiful Life, just in case you’re interested in watching her try her own urine as a beverage or employ a roadie whose only job is to lather her in baby oil and sparkles. That’s okay: We’ve known since that first line of “Tik Tok” that she’s got some interesting hygiene habits. But Ke$ha also has undeniable talent, visible in the dozens of instruments she plays so well, her vast influences, and an ability to market sleazy party entertainment to the masses that the cast of Jersey Shore must envy.