"Tik Tok" (stylized as "TiK ToK") is the debut solo single by American singer Kesha, who co-wrote the song with its producers Dr. Luke and Benny Blanco. It was released on August 7, 2009, as the lead single from her debut studio album, Animal (2010). According to Kesha, the song's lyrics are representative of her and based on her life.
In the lyrics, which have a carefree message, the narrator talks about not letting anything bring them down. "Tik Tok" is an electropop and dance-pop song incorporating Auto-Tune and a minimalist bitpop beat interspersed with handclaps and synthesizers. The verses use a rap/sing vocal style while the chorus and bridge is sung. Some critics complimented the production as catchy, but others took issue with it as generic and disposable compared to the mainstream pop music scene.
In the United States, "Tik Tok" spent nine weeks atop the Billboard Hot 100 and ended up being certified 12× Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). Topping the charts in many other countries including Australia—where it was certified ninefold platinum, Canada, France, Germany, Norway, and Switzerland, it was the best-selling single worldwide in 2010, and has sold 14 million digital copies worldwide. Furthermore, it is currently listed as the 68th biggest Billboard Hot 100 hit of all time.
Background and development In 2005, Dr. Luke had just finished producing tracks for Kelly Clarkson's album Breakaway (2004) 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. The latter of the demos caught Luke off guard when she ran out of lyrics and started to rap, "I'm a white girl/From the 'Ville/Nashville, bitch. Uhh. Uhhhhh." The improvisation made her stand out from other artists that Luke had listened to, which he recalled: "That's when I was like, 'OK, I like this girl's personality. When you're listening to 100 CDs, that kind of bravado and chutzpah stand out." Following this, at the age of eighteen, Kesha signed to Luke's label, Kemosabe Records, and his publishing company, Prescription Songs.
After being signed to Luke's label she also signed to David Sonenberg's DAS management company. While at the label she worked with record producer Greg Wells, which she attributes to developing her sound on her first record, Animal (2010). 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 2008 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 led to different labels sparking interest in signing her, including RCA Records, to which she eventually signed.
Writing and recording
"Tik Tok" was written by Kesha, alongside Dr. Luke and Benny Blanco and was co-produced by Luke and Blanco. Kesha said the inspiration behind the song came from coming home half-drunk and stumbling after a night out of partying. She would then write down a few words to a song, and 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 Sean Combs, known professionally as P. Diddy, being in a similar scenario. She then proceeded to bring the song to her producer Dr. 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.
Engineering of the song was done by Emily Wright and Sam Holland at Conway Recording Studios in Los Angeles, California. While Kesha was in the studio with Dr. Luke and Blanco, she took three takes to get the song correct as she jokingly "white-girl rapped" over the beat. At one point in the song's production, she had wanted to re-write the verses of the song because she did not think that they were "funny or clever", feeling that they "kind of sucked." She elaborated, "I thought it was just another song, I thought it was just like all the other ones I'd written. 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." Kesha ultimately did not end up rewriting any of the song's lyrics. 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.
Composition
"Tik Tok" is an upbeat dance-pop and electropop song that incorporates the sound of '80s video game noises in its production, to earn a bitpop beat.
Kesha uses a spoken word rap style in the verses while the chorus is sung. Throughout the song Kesha's vocals are heavily enhanced by Auto-Tune. The song also features two lines by P. Diddy ("Hey, what up girl?", which is said after he is mentioned in the lyrics, and "Let's go!") Lyrically, the song speaks about "excess pleasures, from drinking ('Ain't got a care in the world but I got plenty of beer') to men ('We kick 'em to the curb unless they look like Mick Jagger')." According to Kesha the lyrics are representative of herself, stating, "It's about my life. It's 100 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. While the song was being crafted she took a different vocal approach to the song than in her earlier records, explaining, "I've done the country, done the pop-rock, done the super-hard electro, ... I was like, whatever, throw some rap in there, why not?" The song is in common time with a moderate beat rate of 120 beats per minute. The song is set in the key of D minor. It has the sequence of B–C–Dm as its chord progression and Kesha's vocals span from D3 to D5, similar to that of "California Gurls" by Katy Perry. Musically, the song has been compared to Lady Gaga's debut single, "Just Dance", for their similar composition and lyrical context and to Fergie for their similar rap style.
Release and promotion In July 2009, 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, 2009, and on August 25, 2009, in the United States. Barry Weiss of RCA/Jive Label Group relied on a similar marketing scheme to that of Britney Spears' in 1999 when choosing to give the song away for free. 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 interest in her. The song quickly topped iTunes charts after. The song appeared in the 2011 film Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules. It was also featured in the notorious "couch gag" for the television show The Simpsons.
To promote the single, Kesha made several television appearances and performances across the world. The first televised performance of the song was on a part of MTV Push, a program broadcast on MTV Networks worldwide, where she performed the song alongside her other tracks "Blah Blah Blah" and "Dinosaur". She performed the song alongside "Blah Blah Blah", "Take It Off", "Your Love Is My Drug" and "Dirty Picture" in a set for BBC Radio 1's Big Weekend. On May 29, 2010, Kesha performed "Tik Tok" alongside "Your Love Is My Drug" at the MTV Video Music Awards Japan.
Kesha has also made appearances on It's On with Alexa Chung, The Wendy Williams Show, Lopez Tonight, Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien and The Ellen DeGeneres Show to perform the song. This song was also performed on Saturday Night Live in a season 35 episode hosted by Ryan Phillippe on April 17, 2010. On August 13, 2010, Kesha performed "Tik Tok" on Today. On November 7, 2010, Kesha performed the song at the MTV Europe Music Awards. 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".
Critical reception
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." Paine, referring to her appearance on "Right Round", wrote that she "offers her own fun and frivolous ode to a wild night out" as she sings about drinking and men. The review was concluded with the consensus the Kesha's debut "reveals a knack for getting the party started." Jim Farber of the New York Daily News called the song "a vintage lick of dance candy too tooth-rottingly sweet to resist" that featured a "stabbing synthesizer hook". Fraser McAlpine of the BBC, giving the single four out of a possible five stars, called it a "dirty little ditty" that had "'hit' written all over it". McAlpine noted its similarities to Lady Gaga's "Just Dance" for their partying subject matter, but concedes that "she does make it sound kinda fun though." Billy Johnson Jr. of Yahoo! compared "Tik Tok" to the 1988 L'Trimm hit "Cars That Go Boom" and notes that Kesha has "take[n] on L'Trimm's vocal styling for her own hit."
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. Levine said the use of auto-tune was "fun" and described Dr. Luke's backing track as "bouncy" and "bubblegummy". The review highlighted the song's chorus with Levine calling it "stonking great" and "completely trashy in the best possible way." David Jeffries of AllMusic called the track "fun", listing it as one of the album's best tracks. David Renshaw of Drowned in Sound felt that the song was effective in what it was trying to do, writing: "Trashy and rambunctious, it's a brash summer anthem about getting drunk and partying hard. 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." Mikael Wood of Entertainment Weekly listed the song as the recommended download off of Animal, writing that "her Valley Girl sneer with electro-glam arrangements that make brushing one's teeth 'with a bottle of Jack' sound like an awesome way to kill the morning-after blues."