Ke$ha’s trying to corner the current market on low-brow pop tartalage, having started with party anthem “Tik Tok” and bringing her up to Hooters and Budweiser name-checking on “Come On,” released today. Even as single “Die Young” continues to ascend toward the top of the Hot 100, her label is obviously eager to get more of a party going by time her new album “Warrior” drops on Nov. 30.
Stopping here: If there’s anything to be learned from Morrissey is that if you’re only going to sing three or four notes ever, you’d better sing them well — or at least make them yours. “Come On” may be one of the least imaginative melodies to come from Ke$ha’s camp (camp being operative), sung by a still-rising pop star who I think has traditionally good instincts for a hook. But of the four notes that she really sings, she makes them all her own.
Despite her marketing efforts to align her with Hollywood trash, I like to think of Ke$ha’s voice as the Midwestern accent of the singing world. It’s all hard consonants and dipthongs, and the over-emphasis on mispronounced words like your mom saying she’s going to get her herr done. The “yum” lyrics in “Come On” nod heavily at Salt-N-Pepa’s “Shoop,” as generic “carpe diem” all-nighter messaging hits on par with Katy Perry’s “T.G.I.F.” It’s all pretty safe stuff from a self-sworn member of the Illuminati (go watch “Die Young’s” video).
If you want more hard edges from “Die Young,” Dr. Luke has just released a remix of that track with rap cameos from Juicy J, Becky G and Wiz Khalifa. Check that below, too.