Kesha Rose Sebert

Kesha Rose Sebert was born on March 1, 1987 in Los Angeles, California. Her family moved to Nashville when she was four years old because her mother has received a songwriting contract. Kesha spent a lot of time with her mother in the studio, which allowed her to work on a few song demos. She also went to a music school where she learned about songwriting. Kesha did leave school at 17 to pursue a music career. At the young age of 18, she was signed to Dr. Luke's label Kemosabe Records. She grew in popularity in 2009 after a collaboration between her and Flo Rida was released, called "Right Round." Kesha continued to write songs for herself and other artists and in 2012, her top-ten single, "Die Young" was the best selling digital single in history. It sold over 16.5 million copies worldwide.

In 2014, Kesha began a legal battle with her producer, Dr. Luke. This was due over charges that he allegedly sexually assaulted and emotionally harassed her. Dr. Luke then sued Kesha and her mother for defamation. Artists like Adele, Lady Gaga, and Taylor Swift reached out and supported Kesha. A 2016 court decision denied Kesha an injunction that would have freed her from her contract with Dr. Luke. Sony Music did want to fix the situation though, they made it possible for Kesha to record without any connection to Dr. Luke.

On July 5, 2017, Kesha announced that she would be releasing a single titled, "Praying," the following day. This is where Kesha becomes an amazing role model to me. "Praying" holds so much emotion in it that anyone can see.The lyrics convey the abuse she endured by Dr. Luke's hands. But what really sticks out to me is the forgiveness she speaks of. "I hope you're somewhere prayin', prayin'I hope your soul is changin', changin'I hope you find your peaceFalling on your knees, praying." This song provides so much hope for victims of sexual violence. In no way could this have been easy for Kesha to write or release this song, but the fact that she does makes it mean so much more in my heart.