Ke$ha Reflects On 'Really Intense' Breakout Year

Billboard cover girl is the magazine's Hot 100 Artist of the Year.
By James Dinh

Ke$ha on the cover of the December issue of <i>Billboard</i>
Photo: <i>Billboard</i>

She was overlooked by the Grammys, but Ke$ha dominated radio and the charts in 2010 with her Auto-Tuned electro-pop and a distinctive "garbage chic" style that had everybody talking.

In the latest issue of Billboard, the party-girl pop star opens up about her whirlwind rise to the top, saying she has no regrets about her breakthrough year.

"Are you kidding me? I pretty much feel like I've been reborn into this completely different existence," the singer told the magazine when asked how life had changed for her. "My entire life has become making music and playing shows, and I love it. I've accepted the fact that my fans are now my family, and I won't be having boyfriends. I'll just be having a really amazing relationship with the radio."

The pop star said that although she "wasn't clueless" about what fame might bring, it far exceeded her expectations. "It's just not at all what I expected it to be like," she said. "It's really intense, more intense than I ever thought it would be."

Recalling paparazzi chasing her as she made her arrival at the 2010 MTV Video Music Awards, Ke$ha said, "I was having an anxiety attack, like, 'I just wrote some pop songs, man!' "

Ke$ha, who graces the mag's cover wearing a crown as she pops a bottle of champagne, also talked about her big debut single, saying, "Sometimes I need to remind myself that 'Tik Tok' only went to #1 in January, because it kind of feels like it was 17 years ago."

The mag went on to ask if "Tik Tok" was the best way to introduced herself to the public. "I don't know. We didn't really know which song to come out with first," Ke$ha said. "It was kind of a debate, because I didn't initially come out as a rapper; I've always been a singer. So having my first single classified as kind of a rap song felt bizarre to me. But now it's become something of a trademark, and it's becoming more legitimate. I've talked to some of my favorite rap artists over the past year — artists who are idols — and they've given me mad props."

What was your favorite Ke$ha moment of 2010? Tell us in the comments!

Related Artists

• Ke$ha

Source: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1654024/20101210/kesha_.jhtml

Jordana Brewster Josie Maran Joss Stone Jules Asner Julia Stiles