Ke$ha on bringing 'irreverence' to pop

By Maura Johnston, Rolling Stone

Kesha performs onstage during the 40th American Music Awards held at Nokia Theatre L.A. Live on November 18, 2012 in Los Angeles, California.

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• Ke$ha has a new album titled "Warrior"
• Singer says she loves pop music
• She has worked with several artists, including Iggy Pop

(RollingStone.com) -- Though Ke$ha's first album, Animal, was a glitter-coated gutter dance party, with the brash singer getting sleazy and leading throngs of revelers into the night, no guitars were invited. On her new full-length album, Warrior, rock music scores a place on the guest list: the LP's first single, "Die Young," has a strummed guitar front-and-center.

The resulting album splits the difference between Ke$ha's signature brand of hooky rap-pop ("Come On," "Crazy Kids") and razor-sharp rockers ("Only Wanna Dance With You," a collaboration with the Strokes' Julian Casablancas and Fabrizio Moretti), with a few strikingly intimate moments (the piano-tinged "Wonderland," which features the Black Keys' Patrick Carney). Rolling Stone spoke with Ke$ha while she was promoting Warrior in the U.K., and she opened up about bringing imperfections into pop music, working with Iggy Pop and who on her tour has been playing the essential role of "Mr. Penis."

RS Playlist: Ke$ha's Favorite Party Starters

Rolling Stone: How did you decide to evolve from Animal to Cannibal to Warrior?

Ke$ha: On this record I wanted to maintain what I believe is who I am -- wild, filthy-mouthed, very honest -- but at the same time, address the changes in my life, and bring the music I listen to offstage together with the music I make. For me, that meant working with awesome collaborators. There was a strict no-guitar rule on Animal. I just had this vision of making everyone on the planet dance. I wanted to be the Dance Commander. On this record, I wanted to bring the music I listened to offstage -- [Iggy Pop's] The Idiot, The Slider, Electric Warrior [both by T. Rex] -- into my music, which is pop music.

Now, to some people, pop is a dirty word, or only a "guilty pleasure." But I f**king love pop music. I always have, and I will 'til the day I die, and I want to make pop records. But I love bringing [rock's] balls and irreverence to my music as much as I can. I once said that I wanted to make "c**k pop." And there are moments of that on the record, but there are also the quintessential Ke$ha moments like "Come On" -- rap-talking, s**t-talking -- and there are also moments that are unexpected, stripped-down and just me. As far as the people I collaborated with, I just wanted to take all my idols and make a record with them.

Lady Gaga buys Michael Jackson costumes at auction ,Eddie Murphy named most 'overpaid' actor by Forbes

Lady Gaga buys Michael Jackson costumes at auction

This jacket from the Dangerous tour sold for $216,000 (£134,000)

Lady Gaga has bought 55 items at an auction of Michael Jackson costumes in Los Angeles.

She tweeted that the clothes would be "archived & expertly cared for in the spirit & love of Michael Jackson, his bravery, & fans worldwide".
The auction included a jacket worn during Jackson's Bad tour, that went for $240,000 (£148,000) and two crystal gloves.
The items were all made by designers Dennis Tompkins and Michael Bush.
Lady Gaga also tweeted a picture of herself and her bidding paddle at the auction.
More than $5m (£3.1m) was raised by the sale, according to LA-based Julien's Auctions.
This hand-sewn crystal glove sold for $115,000 (£71,000) Other items that went under the hammer included jackets from Michael Jackson's Dangerous and Thriller tours and a pair of jeans that went for $50,000 (£31,000).
Some of the money raised by the auction is being donated to a guide dogs charity and a hospice in Las Vegas.
American costume designers Michael Bush and Dennis Tompkins created thousands of original pieces for Michael Jackson during his career.
However, despite Lady Gaga's assurances, some fans expressed their anger online, claiming that Jackson wanted his costumes to end up in a museum.
The singer died on 25 June 2009 from an overdose of the powerful anaesthetic propofol.
His personal doctor, Conrad Murray, was later found guilty of his involuntary manslaughter and sentenced to four years in jail.

Eddie Murphy named most 'overpaid' actor by Forbes

Eddie Murphy has been named 2012's most overpaid actor, says Forbes magazine.

The star of hits such as Shrek and Dr Dolittle has recently appeared in a number of flops including Imagine That, A Thousand Words and Meet Dave.
According to the list, those box office flops mean that for every $1 (62p) Murphy was paid for his last three films, they took an average of $2.30 (£1.40) at the box office.
Reese Witherspoon and Katherine Heigl also feature in the top five.
Comedy performers feature heavily on the list, with Adam Sandler, Jack Black and Ben Stiller all being criticised for their high salaries and low box office returns.
Despite movies such as Stiller's Tower Heist being a success, earning $153m (£95m) in takings, it cost $75m (£46.5m) to make, with actor's salaries making up a large proportion of that figure.
Sarah Jessica Parker, Jack Black and Katherine Heigl feature on the list Former Sex and the City star Sarah Jessica Parker has had less success since leaving the franchise, with her films earning an average of $7 (£4.35) for every $1 she is paid.

Top 10 overpaid actors 2012

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• 1 - Eddie Murphy, $2.30 box office takings for every $1 earned
• 2 - Katherine Heigl, $3.40
• 3 - Reese Witherspoon, $3.90
• 4 - Sandra Bullock, $5
• 5 - Jack Black, $5.20
• 6 - Nicolas Cage, $6
• 7 - Adam Sandler, $6.30
• 8 - Denzel Washington, $6.30
• 9 - Ben Stiller, $6.50
• 10 - Sarah Jessica Parker, $7

Her 2011 film I Don't Know How She Does It cost $25m (£15.5m) to make but took only $30m (£18.5m) at the box office, contributing to her place on the top 10 most overpaid actors.
Will Ferrell, who has topped the list twice in the last four years, fell out of the top 10 this time round, as has Drew Barrymore.
Forbes does not take ensemble casts into account and Barrymore has not been the main star in enough films recently to be considered for the list.
Despite winning an Oscar in 2010, Sandra Bullock still made the list