Today’s Song of the Day Challenge is “A song that’s a guilty pleasure”, and my pick is “Tik Tok” by Kesha (who also identified herself as Ke$ha back then). The catchy ear worm was co-written by Kesha and producers Dr. Luke and Benny Blanco, and released in August 2009. It took its time moving up the charts, but once it reached #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 that December, it held the top spot for nine straight weeks. It also topped the charts in Canada, Australia, Germany and 10 other countries.

I love the bouncy, electropop dance beat and hilarious bawdy lyrics about partying, getting drunk and having fun. (Ah, how I fondly remember those days!) Kesha later told Esquire that her inspiration for the song came from her own experiences coming home drunk and stumbling after a night out of partying. The opening line “Wake up in the morning feelin’ like P. Diddy” came from a time where she woke up in a big house (on Laurel Canyon in L.A. where the Eagles recorded “Hotel California”) surrounded by all these “beautiful women”, which led her to imagine P. Diddy being in a similar scenario. And he was more than happy to collaborate on the track, providing his vocals where he responds to her opening line with “hey what up girl“. Kesha’s vocals were heavily auto-tuned, but I think they’re perfectly suited for a song like “Tik Tok”.

On a weird level, the song also touches on female empowerment. In the lyrics “And now the dudes are linin’ up ’cause they hear we got swagger / But we kick ’em to the curb unless they look like Mick Jagger” and later “Boys try to touch my junk, junk / Gonna smack him if he gettin’ too drunk, drunk“, Kesha makes it clear that she and her girls have the upper hand when it comes to guys, and that they’re not gonna give it up to just anyone. OK, I know it’s a stretch, but work with me here!