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Assumptions About Kesha and her Weight in 2010 that Were Very Wrong

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I sometimes read old articles about Kesha because it's always fascinating to read the misconceptions people had about her. In 2010 the feminist news site Jezebel.com had a short article Fantastic "Take It Off" Cover Makes Ke$ha Sound Lovely.

 

This cover of "Take It Off" by 23-year-old Meghan Tonjes proves that when stripped of Auto-Tune, glitter, and extraneous punctuation marks, Ke$ha's music can actually be lovely. So long as it's not being performed by Ke$ha. Source

 

 

Tonjes is an indie artist who released a couple of albums and an EP. The comments on the article are interesting in hindsight after Kesha's infamous bikini pictures, criticism of her body shape/comparisons to SpongeBob, and eating disorder treatment. In 2010, Kesha was unpopular on Jezebel with both writers and commenters. By 2011, a lot of commenters liked her but the writers usually didn't until about 2013.


So being 2010 this particular article had mostly negative comments. And some of the comments centered on weight and looks. In hindsight these assumptions were so far off knowing what we know now.

 


The next comment also assumed Kesha got a record deal largely based on her looks.

 

Is there room for a serious discussion about how Meghan clearly has far more musical talent than Ke$ha, and is obviously a natural beauty, yet she is less likely to be taken seriously in the music industry than a hack like Ke$ha, due to her size? Aren't we tired of these talentless idiots like Ke$ha being pushed on us by record companies? Isn't it time for people to reclaim what we listen to and be color-blind, size-blind, image-blind, and just listen to the talent?


Someone defending Kesha from this comment was a bit wrong as well because they assumed her looks were a factor in getting a deal. And Kesha's only blonde because she dyed her hair.

 

What stuff like this really makes me think about is the unlikeliness of someone who looks like Meghan getting a record deal. And that makes me feel very sad, when it's clear that she's a talented individual and when it seems all too easy for people who look like Ke$ha to get one.

 


 And I don't think it's entirely fair to throw Kesha under the bus like that—from everything I've heard, she worked pretty damn hard before she actually got signed, too. Sure, the path was probably a little smoother for her because she's young and cute and blonde, but she worked for it, too.

 

The person who made the next comment had no way of knowing Kesha was pressured to lose weight as soon as she signed her first deal at 18.  
Unlike many popstars, weight and body shape have been big issues for Kesha. She was overweight in childhood and her early teens. She was bullied and ostracized at school due to her weight. Her mom said when she was in middle school, She had to drop a lot of weight to get signed. She put on weight in 2011 and received abuse in the media and allegedly from Dr. Luke as a result. Despite having a mom in the industry, her looks made it difficult for her to be taken seriously.

 

She was 20 lbs. overweight, and no one would even talk to her.

 


I've had so many people telling me, 'No, you can't do that,' 'No, you're not pretty enough,' 'No, you're not skinny enough. And I just had to be like, 'You're not stopping me. Get out of my way.'I used it to motivate me then, and I still do. I remember every person who told me I couldn’t do something or that I was ugly or too fat. I have a ‘s*** list’—people from my past who have been soulless and judgmental. Even after I got through my awkward phase, got my braces off, and figured out how to dress my body, people in the music business were like, “You’re never going to make it.” 

 

 

 

 

 

It's hard to fault these commenters though because they had no idea what Kesha went through to get where she did. 

Meghan does have a lovely voice but not as lovely as Kesha's in my opinion.

 

 

 

Keha.png

 

Kesha was very thin around the time she released Tik Tok

   

 

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Very interesting um1

 

I'm glad the GP has mostly come around now. It's sad that it took her going to rehab for them to stop being assholes about her weight though

 

um3

Indeed, bunch of assholes.

 

Rising Star helped a bit too sass5

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As a stan since 2009, I've been exposed to this kind of perception of Kesha long before I thought to look for any kind of music forum... it's always interesting looking back and seeing what people thought of Kesha back then, but sadly there are still a lot of people that feel that way now. But it has gotten a lot better, that's for sure. The thing is, it obviously wasn't an easy road to stardom for Kesha. Anyone just has to look at her highschool pictures to see that she didn't have the natural popstar image that people perceived she did which was part of the reason she got a record real. Her image took a lot of work, and even then was only acceptable because artists like Lady Gaga had kind of paved the way for "weirder" acts to be accepted. There's no way that Kesha would have made it back in 2007 with her 2009 image. Let's not forget the fact that she was signed in 2006 by Luke, who ignored her until 2009 when she by chance walked in on Flo recording Right Round, who wanted a female vocal on the track, which then blew up and made Luke pay attention to her after three years of being put on the back burner. Even when she finally got signed, she was still in music industry limbo for three years.

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