Great Singles That Never Were... Ke$ha's "Animal"

     Now it may be my second worst reviewed album on my site, but Ke$ha’s debut album, Animal, contained a couple of beautiful gems that will unfortunately never see the light of the day. The album was seen as a full-fledged party album, so I can understand the decision to release loud, up-tempo pop tracks that dominated the radio, but only two of the four singles were actually good. All of the four singles did however become top ten hits, one of the few debut records to accomplish such a feat. Going back through the album, I was wondering which song would have been the best successor to the four hits if a fifth was serviced. Any thoughts?

     The album starts off strong, with the singles “Your Love is My Drug”, “Tik Tok” and “Take It Off”, and then from tracks 5 through 8 I thought my ears were going to bleed. Just when I was about to knock over my stereo, a fun, sing-a-long track came to save the day. “Backstabber” is not the greatest song ever recorded, but for some reason when I first played the record, the track was one that left an impression on me. It is one of the few Ke$ha tracks I still have on repeat today. We have all had those “friends” in our lives who would go behind your back and do some stupid stuff, maybe that is why I loved it so much: I could relate. The song is one that shouldn’t be taken too seriously. Just enjoy.

      “Backstabber” quickly gets your attention with a unique instrumental intro, something different from the rest of the generic track list. Ke$ha claims her friends have loose lips, running their mouth more than anyone else she has ever known. Harsh words. One of my favorite moments on the track is when the artist spits out some accusations, letting the one that did her wrong really have it. I am not one of Ke$ha’s biggest fans, but I think this one of my favorite songs she has released. I heard the song in demo form, the official version impressed me more, and I think it was even in line to be the fifth single. A music video was filmed and was leaked soon after. Kind of cool if you ask me.

     Hands down though, the best song the artist has recorded in her short career has to be the beautiful, ballad-esque “Dancing With Tears in My Eyes”. I hope no one tries to argue that because they will lose in a heartbeat. Ke$ha’s work has been known to be plagued with amateur lyrics that sound as if she was drunk or high writing them. Let’s be honest she probably was. But this precious, show-stopping track, buried between pure garbage, was one that almost made tears fall from my eyes. The artist is always seen as this tough, don’t give a crap, kind of girl, so to hear a heartfelt, emotion-filled ballad showing a bit of innocence and vulnerability was a nice change.

     This track should have been the fifth single off her debut if her label should have decided there to be one. It would have showed her fans and the rest of the world a different side to her tough exterior. It would have also shown that she can actually hold a song that did not rely heavily on AutoTune or loud production. The writing is one of reasons I love the track so much. Yes she does throw in references to zombies and lunatics, but silly as they may sound, they are extremely sad, speaking of despair and heartbreak when you lose the one you love. The artist is almost ready to unleash her next full-length album and I am hoping she has decided to stick to this route. Throw away the pop trash darling.

     If these two songs would not have been chosen as the album’s official fifth single, then the only other possible choice would have been “Blind”. Just like “Dancing With Tears in My Eyes”, the song is on the slower side, showing more talent and emotion than ways to party and get wasted. It is songs like this that back up the reality of the singer having an actual career. Some notes may have been missed, but overall, it is better than half the album.