Kesha, recession pop’s favorite party girl, has returned, finally free from the abusive grip of her former producer. She established her own label, Kesha Records, in 2024, and released her latest album, Period, in July 2025. She’s back in a big way, but her songwriting influence was always present in the interim.
Throughout the 2010s, Kesha was writing songs for other people as well as for herself. Some she wrote before her own big hit, “Tik Tok,” while others came after her rise to fame. Here are some of the songs Kesha wrote for other artists that may come as a surprise.
“What Baby Wants” — Alice Cooper
Kesha was recruited for Alice Cooper’s 2011 album Welcome 2 My Nightmare, and according to Cooper, she had to be reined in while writing the provocative lyrics. She co-wrote and was featured on the song “What Baby Wants,” the 12th track on the album, portraying the role of The Devil. Apparently, Cooper was inspired when he ran into Kesha at the Grammys.
“I think a lot of my audience is going to go KESHA!?, but she probably wrote the most disgusting lyrics in the song – we had to rein her in,” Cooper said at the time. As The Devil, Kesha warns Cooper that it’s time for him to give up his soul as the ultimate sacrifice.
“Touch Me” — Flo Rida
Flo Rida’s 2009 album R.O.O.T.S. featured a contribution from Kesha that remained uncredited until 2024. She co-wrote the song—which is obvious in the lyrics if you’ve spent any time listening to Kesha—and had featured vocals in the chorus. This album also included the track “Right Round,” where Kesha also contributed uncredited vocals. While she didn’t write any of those lyrics, she would still go on to become an iconic collaborator with fairly mainstream rappers. “Timber” by Pitbull, anyone?
“Fancy Like” Remix — Walker Hayes
Known colloquially as “the Applebees Song,” Walker Hayes’ country-cringe track “Fancy Like” took social media by storm around 2021. That same year, Kesha was tapped to remix the song, and the two released a music video as well. The original track sings the praises of a low maintenance date night, and Kesha’s contributions keep with the theme.
“Oh, I don’t need no Bentley to impress me,” Kesha sings in the second verse. “I’ll ride a bull into the party like a jet ski / Boy, put that Dom down, take me to Waffle House / Give me those cheap thrills, chillin’ in the deep South.”
Photo by Jaime Nogales/Medios y Media/Getty Images
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