By Hanna McGuire
Executive Arts Editor
A live performance dictates whether a group or individual actually embodies talent. It is clearly evident from her concert at the Universal City Walk Gibson Amphitheatre on June 17 that Ke$ha has no artistic ability as a singer, songwriter or performer.
Although she is more risqué than the average artist, Ke$ha really took her “Get $leazy” Tour to the next level. Not only did she dress incredibly trashy, but her voice neared the quality of an auto-tuned Minnie Mouse, high pitched and hard on the ears.
Ke$ha has been touring since February to promote her latest album, “Cannibal,” in which the most popular track is “Blow.” “Animal,” Ke$ha’s first album, shot her into stardom in 2009.
Not only has her music received attention from millions, but her personal style and “party” attitude have as well, characterized her as the newest hot mess to hit the public eye.
In all of her songs and her usual performances, Ke$ha comes off as the “tough-as-nails” girl who is not somebody parents would approve of. “Sex, drugs and rock and roll” are always incorporated into her lyrics, which are meaningless and repetitive.
As in her lyrics, Ke$ha’s performance at the Gibson Amphitheatre was suggestive and distracting. She opened with “Sleazy,” followed by “Blow,” and appeared to be very confused on stage. At one point in the concert, she even pretended to strum a guitar instead of dance.
As Ke$ha continued her set, her whining and unnecessary screaming increased. She also proceeded to drink a beer and then spit it into the crowd. Also, it was extremely obvious when Ke$ha was and was not singing because her voice varied from sounding high-pitched and off-key to clearly recorded.
To add to her lack of performance, her greasy, Mick Jagger look-alike backup dancers stumbled around the stage with no purpose or synchronization. The costumes that they wore bore no relevance to Ke$ha’s songs and proved distracting.
As the concert came to a close, there was a glimmer of hope that Ke$ha might have some talent during her renditions of “The Harold Song” and “C U Next Tuesday.” But then her high-pitched voice hit the audience’sears again for “Your Love Is My Drug,” and all hope was lost. Ke$ha closed her set with “Tik Tok,” combined with an explosion of glitter into the crowd. Then she unfortunately came back on stage for an encore with “We R Who We R.”
Despite Ke$ha’s disappointing performance, the opening band LMFAO, consisting of members Redfoo (Stefan Kendal Gordy) and his nephew SkyBlu (Skylar Husten Gordy), were a pleasant surprise. Each song, including their newest single “Sexy and I Know it,” was partnered with a choreographed dance.
LMFAO kept the audience entertained by talking to them between songs, connecting with everyone. Both Redfoo and SkyBlu thanked all of their supporters like gentlemen genuinely humbled by their experience, unlike Ke$ha, who’s vanity was apperent, demonstrated by her shouted profanities into the audience.
Although Ke$ha’s popularity has stemmed from her unique character and simple lyrics, they will only take her as far as the recording studio, where her voice can be altered.
Ke$ha’s raunchy behavior on stage does not come off as entertaining, but rather unprofessional and tasteless.
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