Why Kesha Dropped the Dollar Sign From Her Stage Name

As many of her fans probably recall, before she became famous for her music, Kesha made a brief appearance on The Simple Life, the notorious reality show featuring Paris Hilton and Nicole Richie. The artist has come a long way since her television premiere back in 2005. 

There is no arguing that Kesha has been responsible for delivering some of pop’s biggest bangers. “Your Love Is My Drug” and “Tik Tok” were just some of the unforgettable tracks from the star’s debut album, Animal. Several albums and hits later, the singer had made a subtle change to her stage name. 

The origin story behind Ke$ha and her original stage name

When Kesha first entered the stardom scene, she was known for her party-girl ways. The lyrics of her songs said it all. As one Billboard writer pointed out, “When we first met Ke$ha, she was a pop fun-splosion who loved singing about brushing her teeth with a bottle of Jack and partying at a rich dude’s house.” 

Regarding her stage name and the infamous dollar sign, the quirky addition felt fitting for the singer, who was known to be a bit of a rebel. On top of that, as the article “Jay-Z, CeeLo, Kesha & The Art of Stage-Name Stylization” points out, the dollar sign was actually an ironic nod to just how broke Kesha was at the time. 

On that note, some of her fans and followers may have been shocked to learn she changed her stage name. Reported by Celebrity Net Worth, with a net worth of $5 million, she clearly isn’t broke anymore, but is there more to the story?

Why did Kesha change her stage name? 

Kesha surprised many of her fans and followers when she changed her stage name away from Ke$ha. Dropping the notorious dollar sign, the Grammy-nominated singer has officially just been going by Kesha. 

The decision came shortly after the star decided to admit herself to a rehabilitation center to seek help for an eating disorder. Definitely playing a role in the singer’s transformation, this seemed to be an essential milestone for Kesha.

In an interview with Refinery29, Kesha explained, “It [losing the $] happened after I went to rehab for my eating disorder. I let go of my facade about being a girl who didn’t care. My facade was to be strong, and I realized it was total bullshit. I took out the $ because I realized that was part of the facade. It was a journey and I’m happy — that was me in that part of my life.” 

The singer jokingly added that although it isn’t her stage name anymore, for better or for worse, she still has Ke$ha tatted on her hand. Nevertheless, the personal and vulnerable decision resonated with people all over the world.

A closer look at Kesha’s career and success 

Kesha‘s debut album, Animal, was released on Jan. 1, 2010. “Blah blah blah” was one of the album’s many songs that led the singer to get nominated that year for the Teen Choice Award’s “Choice Music: Female Breakout Artist.” 

Later that year, in November, Kesha released Cannibal. This EP included fan favorites like “We R Who We R” and “Crazy Beautiful Life.” The following year, quite literally changing it up, Kesha released I Am the Dance Commander + I Command You to Dance: The Remix Album.

Taking seemingly no time off, in 2012, Kesha released Deconstructed. Kesha’s fans probably remember this EP for songs like “Die Young.” The star’s next album came that same year. Warrior‘s tracklist included “Crazy Kids,” “Last Goodbye,” and other popular titles. 

Though it was never released, there was a collaboration with the rock band The Flaming Lips and Kesha, and the band recorded Lipsha in 2014. The singer’s next album was released in 2017 and was a huge success. 

As a result, Kesha was nominated for Best Pop Vocal Album at the 2018 Grammy Awards. Her latest studio album, High Road, was released in 2020. IMDb has documented all of the singer’s impressive award nominations and wins. 

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