She co-wrote the song with its producers Dr. Luke and Benny Blanco. It was released on August 7, , as the lead single from Kesha's debut studio album, Animal. The opening line of the song came from an experience where Kesha woke up surrounded by beautiful women, to which she imagined P. Diddy being in a similar scenario.
The experience prompted the writing of the song which she later brought to her producer, Dr. Luke, who was then contacted by P. Diddy in hopes of a collaboration; he came to the studio the same day and recorded his lines and the song was completed. According to Kesha, the song's lyrics are representative of her and based on her life; the song has a carefree message and talks about not letting anything bring you down.
Musically, the song has been compared to the works of Lady Gaga , Uffie , and Fergie. The song achieved commercial success by topping the charts in eleven countries.
In the United States, the song broke the record for the biggest single-week sum of all time for a female artist selling , digital downloads in one week. The song was the best-selling single worldwide in , selling The song was listed 61st on the Billboard Hot Songs of All-time. In , Dr. Luke had just finished producing tracks for Kelly Clarkson 's album Breakaway and was looking to expand further on his writing and producing credits.
Luke solicited around to different people in the music business asking for demos from unknown artists. Two of the demos he received were from Katy Perry and Kesha. He was particularly taken with Kesha's demos which consisted of a self-penned country ballad and trip-hop track. When you're listening to CDs, that kind of bravado and chutzpah stand out.
While at the label she worked with record producer Greg Wells , which she attributes to developing her sound on her first record, Animal Although she was signed to Luke and his label, Kesha never took priority as he was busy with other projects at the time. It was not until when Luke was working with Flo Rida on " Right Round " that he pulled Kesha in to contribute, giving her the female hook. Within a few months, the song became a worldwide hit.
The event lead to different labels sparking interest in signing her, including RCA Records, to which she eventually signed. Luke and Benny Blanco and was co-produced by Luke and Blanco. She would then write down a few words to a song, then the following morning she would wake up with the story waiting to be told. The opening line came from an experience where she woke up surrounded by "beautiful women", leading to her imagining P. Luke and Benny Blanco and the song was written. Four hours later, Diddy called Luke and said that they should do a song together.
Diddy came to the studio later that day to contribute his lines and the collaboration was completed. Luke and Blanco, she took three takes to get the song correct as she jokingly "white-girl rapped" over the beat. I didn't even know if it was very good. I wanted to rewrite the verses, I didn't think it was funny or clever. I thought it kind of sucked. But everyone else liked it.
She further described the theme of the song in an interview, emphasizing that it embodied her own lifestyle,. We're [Kesha and her friends] all young and broke and it doesn't matter. We can find clothes on the side of the street and go out and look fantastic, and kill it. If we don't have a car that doesn't stop us, because we'll take the bus. If we can't afford drinks, we'll bring a bottle in our purse. It's just about not letting anything bring you down.
Kesha uses a spoken word rap style on the verses while the chorus is sung. The song also features two lines by P. Diddy "Hey, what up girl? It's percent me. Kesha uses a rap vocal delivery which was influenced by the Beastie Boys. She claims that the track's creation would not have happened if it was not for their influence on her music. I was like, whatever, throw some rap in there, why not? The song is set in the key of D minor. In July , the song was offered as a free download on Kesha's Myspace page for over a month before its official sale release.
The song was later released to iTunes on August 7, , and on August 25, , in the United States. The song's marketing relied heavily on radio once she had achieved a strong online interest, but its radio release was delayed until October in order to capitalize on social media's interest in her. After spreading the song quickly topped iTunes charts.
It was also featured in the notorious "couch gag" for the televison show The Simpsons. To promote the single, Kesha made several television appearances and performances across the world. Throughout the performance she was seen wearing a leotard with day-glow makeup.
The performance featured a backing consisting of flashing lights and background dancers. The song's bridge was changed during the performance and featured a more "amping house music vibe".
Kelsey Paine of Billboard called the song "a love letter to DJs everywhere, with hand claps that build to a crescendo of pure, infectious dance-pop.
The review was concluded with the consensus the Kesha's debut "reveals a knack for getting the party started. Nick Levine of Digital Spy gave the song four out of five stars, he spoke of the song giving Kesha a "hussy image" but described the lyrics in a positive manner. Luke's backing track as "bouncy" and "bubblegummy". World rocking it might not be, but as a piece of disposable pop it captures a moment and boasts a huge hook which, really, is all you need to rule the radio, TV and ringtone airwaves. Jonah Weiner of Slate Magazine gave the song a negative review saying that "the song sets up ship on the fault line between charmingly daft and deeply irritating.
On the week ending December 27, , "Tik Tok" broke the record in the United States for the highest single week sales, selling , digital downloads, the highest ever by a female artist since tracking began in and second highest overall, behind her own spot, " Right Round ", by Flo Rida feat. Kesha which sold , copies on the chart dated February 28, The song made its first ever chart appearance in Canada, where the song debuted at number sixty-seven on the Canadian Hot In Europe, the song debuted at number thirty-eight in Sweden on the issue dated October 23, , and managed to peak at number three.
By the end of , "Tik Tok" had become the best selling song by a foreign artist at 1,, downloads in South Korea. The song sold The music video for "Tik Tok" was directed by Syndrome. The singer said "the last party scene is in this house called the drunk tank, which is one of my friend's houses that we all go party at.
So I like it cause its super-honest and genuine. The video begins with Kesha waking in a bathtub in a home as she stumbles out and begins to look for a toothbrush in the restroom. She makes her way down a staircase looking at the pictures lining the wall. Kesha makes her way to the kitchen and walks in on a family who are having breakfast, startling them. She shrugs and then leaves the home as the family gets up and follows her.
When she arrives at the sidewalk, she picks up a gold bicycle lying against a fallen fence and rides off. Kesha meets a group of children and trades the bicycle for their boombox. The video cuts to another scene where she rejects a guy and is picked up by a man portrayed by Simon Rex [68] who drives her in a gold Trans Am.
They are pulled over by the police, who handcuff Kesha. The scene then pans to her singing while standing in the T-top as she dangles the handcuffs hanging from her left arm. The next scene shows Kesha in an empty room filled with glitter. She then attends a party with Rex for the final scene.
The video comes to an end with Kesha lying in a different bathtub from the one she woke up in. The parody discusses youthful subjects such as attempting to view the nude bodies of women and dodging parents' anger.
Another parody came about when Israel Defense Forces soldiers created IDF Tik Tok in , a viral dance video that opens with six infantry soldiers on patrol in Hebron , walking cautiously down a deserted street, armed and wearing full combat gear, [79] when "Tik Tok" begins to play, and the soldiers break into choreographed dance moves. The members of Glee Club are asked to perform at the school's alcohol awareness assembly, in which "Tik Tok" is one of the songs performed.
Club wrote that the song's inclusion in the episode was superfluous, stating that it was just an excuse to get a Kesha song on Glee. It's a fitting end to the song, and the episode. From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
For the song by Todrick Hall, see Quarantine Queen. For other uses, see Tick tock disambiguation. Dance-pop electropop. Kesha Sebert Dr. Luke Benny Blanco. Is this too much? Is it clever enough?