Featuring Kesha

You guys. Kesh is on this week's episode of my podcast. I am so excited you are here. I'm so excited to be talking to you. I'm so impressed. You know, I've admired you for so long, not just because you're songwriting skills, but just because if you're honesty and you're just so candid about everything, and it's very refreshing. Thanks. I I think that the culture right now is so I was just thinking about this when I was home. I was like going in my head in circles about it.

I want to be as open as possible, but then I'm so scared I'm gonna say one stupid thing and the whole world canceled or whatever. The cancel culture that's such a thing now, so I want to be as open as possible. But it's kind of also terrifying. It's terrified because you say one stupid thing, which I do all the time. Everybody says stupids just being human exactly, but then you get canceled. I just started canceling. I

think they should cancel a canceled culture. I agree with that. Well, I want to talk to you about a lot of things today. I want to start just with your new album, high Road. I'm so excited. How long did it take you to make this album? Um? Some of the songs I've been working on since before Rainbow came out, there actually songs I wanted to put on Rainbow, but I didn't have really the space, and I wanted to save them for a lighter time. Like I really wanted Rainbow

to be a specific thing. I had a really specific idea for what I wanted Rainbow to be. So there were some songs that I just kind of felt it wasn't the right time and place, So I kept in my back. Because I'm a songwriter, I've written so many songs, so I was like, I'm going to save this for after this album. And so this record, you know, four years some of the songs and then some of them I'm still finishing. Really, So how fast is a turnaround

for a song? Would you say, Oh, it can be anywhere from like a song on my first record, I think I had written on and off for like six years, So it could be anywhere from six years to one day. Would you say your perfectionist with Seth, I'm like O. C. D. When it comes to arn't really. Yeah. So the this record coming out High Road and Rainbow, I got to

executive produce, so I got to pick every song. I got to write every song, I got to pick every drum sound, I got to pick every good guitar tone, and I just I also don't really care as much if people like it or dislike it, because I'm proud of it. Yeah. Is that how you define success? Yeah? For me, I think it's been a learning process of how to define success, And for me, it's if I feel like I was as honest as I could be and as connected to the truth as I can be,

and if that's happening. And also with my new record, I really want to make my fans happy because they've been through it with me. We've gone on a long tumu, very tumultuous road. That's looks great about your music. It's a journey. It's not just like album just for music. It's like you can see your progression as an artist, which is the coolest thing. Thank you. And like, I don't even you're probably if you're seventeen. You were seven

when TikTok came out. That sounds about right. So it's like just crazy to me that like you would even know the progression of me as an artist because you're so young. But that's so impressive that you've probably heard Animal I hope. But even if you haven't, if high Road is the first record you hear from me, hopefully you'll get the broad scope of who I am as a human and artist. So after people listen to High Road, what do you want them to take away from it?

I think that the number one thing is you can go through things in life that are difficult and come out on the other side and reclaim your happiness and find your joy and I feel like yourself and it might be something you'll never truly get over, but that's okay, and you can grow from the pain and make art out of it, and I think it's so difficult to do.

Though it is difficult, but it also heartbreak creates great art in my opinion, So even if it's any kind of heartbreak, you know, yeah, I mean I think you know it's your album's called high Road. Is that why you chose to name it that? It's actually a little play on words. So after I put out Praying for my last record, I thought people would really expect me to be taking the high road on like in all

case scenarios. But sorry, dad, But the song high Road itself is actually about there are all these things on social media that used to just get to me and like be so grating and would really affect me. And now it's legal here, but now I just get stoned and laugh about it, and I really try not to let it affect me, which is more difficult than just saying that. But like, that's what the song is about, is just being like, I'm just gonna get high and

laugh at this because it's so petty. Well, for those who don't know, we are actually recording this episode where you recorded Praying Yes in the studio. In the studio, this is so this studio must mean just a lot to you. Yeah, I've recorded. I recorded with Alice Cooper in the studio. I recorded praying in the studio. We've recorded a lot of stuff in the studio. The engineer who's here with us today is like he's recorded a lot of the songs that he could probably remember more

than that that we recorded here. But we've recorded tons of stuff in here. Wow. I think this album of yours I personally love because I think it's very eclectic and there are so many different styles in one song, you know, So what is the process for you for just eating a song? For this record, it was different than ever before because, like for Rainbow, I had a lot of emotional baggage to sort through, and on this record, I really wanted to allow myself to move forward in

my life. Like I said, never get over something, but allow myself to move forward in trying to find and reclaim my voice and my joy and my happiness and all of those things. And I just realized I really didn't want to have any expectations for myself. I didn't want to have to adhere to any boundaries or genres, and I just wanted to, like purely funk around and

see what happened. And good. That's because I'll be listening to Run the Jewels, and then I'll be listening to Queen, and then I'll be listening to Cardi B. So it's like all different kinds of influences that make me happy. But I just wanted to make my fans really really happy. And you put that in all just one album, because I mean, why not. It's also it's my personality, so why not put it all on one true Do you have a favorite song off the album? I think today

my favorite song off the album is Resentment. But I'm just like so excited. It's a beautiful song. And you have a lot of collaborations on this album. Brian Wilson just a classic, well just iconic legend god himself. Yeah, I'm obsessed with pet Sounds and I think that he's one of the most brilliant minds music has ever seen. So for him to even like know that I exist

on the planet Earth is insane. And let alone do a song because for me, like recording with an artist or working with an artist, or collaborating and just taking the time to spend time with each other on a piece of art together. That's the highest form of respect in my book. Yeah, and just like have him have anything to do with me on any levels just insanity. And also Stirgill Simpson is like a dream come true. And then a really close friend of mine and collaborator,

an amazing songwriter, Ray Ball, is on there. So it's just like this dream team of some of my favorite human beings on the earth, even people that you've looked up to for years since I was like a child, So how long have you been writing music? Like, were you like writing poetry as a kid and you didn't even know what re turnto music? Or was it a later on things as you were a teenager. So my mom's a songwriter and she wrote songs for Dolly Parton and Johnny Cash. So I grew up always being around

studios and always being around songs. I would grow up like being in the the sound booth while she was observing it all. Yeah, and I always loved it. And I would walk around singing and everyone would be like, tell the kid to shut up. I were studying it and you didn't even know it. And so then when I went to like middle school, high school was total hell.

Like we're talking about earlier, school sucks and at least from a social aspect, and really it's high school can be hard, it can be really really hard it and I didn't have the greatest time. I grew up in the Bible Belt. There was a lot of closed mindedness, homophobia, racism, a lot of that happening, and I just felt like, like totally to get away from comfortable. I felt really uncomfortable and very isolated and like total outcast and misfit

of school. And I just got like so made fun of and never had a group of friends till I moved to Los Angeles and I found people that kind of understood me. But that's when I started writing songs. Is when I just started having this outsider feeling. I just always felt like I was outside of everything, especially at school. I can relate to that. It's a hard feeling.

It sucks, it really sucks, but if you can use it and channel it and help create your dreams by just being like, Okay, I'm not going to focus on the pettiness that's happening at school. I'm an focus on where I want to go and what i want to be, and I'm going to let this help drive me. That's how I took it, and it seems like you're doing

the same thing I'm trying. It's hard, though. What would you say to your younger self, you're seventeen year old self, I would say, don't be so hard on yourself and it's all going to be okay. Man, it's like you're talking to me. I can feel that we are kindred spirits. I agree, and I just like know how that feels to be in school and not feel like you're being seen or understood or belonging. And it's just like a

really it makes you feel bad about yourself. It's so very demoralizing and I and I hate that for anybody who's going through it. But I will say, you can get out of town and create a whole life that is perfectly for you, and it does get better. I know it sounds so cheesy, but like once you follow your dreams, it gets better and more comfortable. It's hard to remember in the moment. Have you ever seen the musical Deer of Van Hanson? I have not. Okay, if

you like, you know, I will write it down. I will take now, just listen to the like the album you can listen to it, you will like connect with it because we we like you were on the same level here, like listen to that, like you we're blown away. I won't. I won't. It's gonna be great, is it? What's it about? It's about UM, a high school kid with anxiety and he goes into the new school. We are. It's a very dark subject. It deals with like suicide

and love and all this and that. But it's about I, at least I took away from because it is a very depressing musical. Just coming out on the other side of it and inspiring. And I think you know, through your music you really channel just the positivity. And I'm actually really interested with your philosophy and positivity because it's hard to UM, it's hard to forgive and it's hard to move on, especially with the positive mindset. How do

you do that? UM? I can't say that I'm perfect at it, Like you know, when I'm talking with people, I feel like I want to be this perfect role model, right, But I struggle with forgiveness. It's hard sometimes because you can forgive, but you don't forget what people do to you or what they say to you. So it can be really difficult to rebuild trust. That's what my song Resentment is about, is you get resentments towards people and

unless you address them, they can really destroy relationships. And I just try to always remember that I'm really really lucky to get to do my dream as a job, and it's not just my job, it's my life. And I get to do things like this and meet other really talented, amazing people and talk about art as my life and it's so cool. But like, this is your job when you would be doing it even if it wasn't be doing it if I was not getting paid at time, exactly. But that's when you know when you

love something, Yeah, it's your dream. And when it comes to fruition, I just try to live in the gratitude. And then I also, just when I was going through a really dark time a couple of years ago, there were a lot of people total strangers that were really really kind to me that I had never met before and had no reason to be nice to me. And I just remember feeling so overwhelmed that I could just still cry about it every time I think about it.

I just I'm like, these people had no reason to be nice to me or there for me or supportive, and they were, and I just want to be that way towards other people. Yeah, kind of does so much, like just the simplest thing because you don't know what everyone's going through. You have no idea what anyone is

going through. Yeah, like even someone that flips you off in the car when you're driving, Like, of course I get that initial reaction to be like fuck you, yeah like that, but then I'm like, Okay, you don't know what they're going through. Just take a deep breath, turn on some CARDI B. Everything's gonna be okay. You know, there's actually a quote that I saw that I wanted to tell you. I don't I don't know who it's by,

so if anyone knows, let me know. But it's anger is a punishment we give ourselves for someone else's mistake. And I never heard that. I was like, huh, it's so true, right, Like it's a punishment we give ourselves. It's like that feeling when for someone else's action and take it personally. Yeah, that's the thing. If you've ever read The Four Agreements, and if not, it's a short, awesome book and one of the four Agreements of life

is trying not to take things personally. So when people rude or mean or just like girls or bitches at school, or you know, people have been caddy in the business simon and I just try not to take it personally because everyone has their own insecurities and it's usually not coming from it's like projection. I've done a lot of therapy around this stuff, but especially if I've ever been jealous of someone in the past, I now realize that

it's just my own insecurities. So I try to go into all things in my career and just be like hopeful and positive for every else. Because people were kind to me when I needed it, so I just want to be kind to people. I mean, I think that definitely shows good hope. So because I feel changed by the kindness I received, I felt like like taken aback and realized the power it can have. Would you say

that others people kindness inspired you in your music? Yeah, and inspired me to be a better person and not feel especially in industries women are so much pitted against each other, but also to support each other because there's enough room for everybody. Exactly. It took the words in my mouth and in entertainment but kind of it all starts in like high school, and then in movies women are fighting over a guy, and I just think it's kind of set up. It's setting us up all wrong,

Like we should band together. There's room for everyone, and it's not a competition. Life's not a competition. Like, I just really want to be super supportive, especially of women in this business, because that's what I received, and it was shocking how like impactful that was, and it changed my life. Okay, here's a question. Do you think you'd ever write a musical? Hell, yeah, I actually thought about it.

You should do it on this topic. I was thinking about that and just like the evolution of mankind and where society is going and how kind of fucked. But yeah, I'm like trying to stay hopeful. Yeah, like that's all you can do at this point. It's all that you can do, just especially with social issues. That's my main you know, place of concern is just where we have made progress. I just don't want to go backwards. And

I just see we're already starting. I've already yea And you see it and you feel it and you want to fight against it. And I feel as if there's just racism raging and home of obia raging and anti semitic, like it's everywhere, just anybody you want to fill in the blank. So I think it's just important to just try to spread love as much as you can, positivity and good good vibes, because that's all you can do at this point. You know, vote, vote, I'm actually going

to be voting in this the first first time. So important. I'm so excited, just like I've been, Like, I'm taking you as government class and a US history, so I'm like extra educating myself, watch the news every so like trying to like stay intact with it smart because you learn what not to do from not repeating habits that we have maybe done in the past and made mistakes within no history, to not repeat history. Yeah, I kind of did the same thing in high school. I studied

a lot of um. I studied could where history for fun. I was studying religious history. I was obsessed. So was history your favorite subject when you in scool? Did you like anything? I liked it all, honestly, I really like That's like me. I love learning, but I hate the other aspect of it. I hated like the rest all of it, but I liked learning information because I feel like information does help you create a more educated decision about who to be and how to act. And I'm

sure that affects your songwriting too. The more you know on the topic, it can affect how the song sounds well, especially just also knowing that when I first started out, this was again ten years ago. I just want to make people dance and shake their ass and I still, I mean, that's still a goal of mine. I still want to make people a dance and have the best night of their life when they come to a show

like that. But I just the more I've learned about social progress and also going backwards, the more I want to put messages and meaning and depth into not only my music, but also give back in any way I can. So all of a sudden, it's not just like this total nurse assist being a famous person thing. It's also utilizing your life platform and all of that. Well, I think we have to talk about TikTok. I feel like it would just be a shame, It would be it would just be a shame if we didn't. How did

do you How did that song come about? And do you realize it would be such a hit that it began. No, you never know what's going to be a hit and what's not. You really don't. You just write songs. Pray for the best and that song actually, I remember writing the lyrics and I was like, this is like it

was a joke. I was joking. I was like taking the piss out of like life, and I wrote all these different lyrics that were a lot deeper and more complicated, and then I just wrote TikTok versus as literally a joke. And then I remember somebody I was working with was just like, just for fun, make it as dumb as humanly possible the money, yeah, And I was like pedicures on my test test and they're like, that's great it and I was like, but it's so dumb, Like it's good.

But I think it also set my career up in a way where people didn't know if I wasn't on the joke or not. So I've spent if you were, if that's how you actually worked an artist, or if that was just you messing your head. Yeah, And I don't know if you listened to the Best Boys, but especially their first record, like it was them having fun and just kind of being idiots and being happy and fun and joking about ship and just like being nihilist young people. And that was kind of where my head

was at then. But then I also think that I had to spend a solid like five years trying to prove to people that I had a brain? Was that? Do you think that made it harder for you to prove yourself in the industry because you know that was your breakout song, but it wasn't everything you could accomplish

as an artist, right, And it did. And I feel like I've had to just proved myself over and over and over, and I finally feel like with this record, I only feel like I've been seen and heard for all sides of my personality, because I do have a side that's just kind of a jackass, but then I have a really emotional side that's every person. And that's what I think. I felt like I finally got to showcase on my last record, and so on this new record,

I have both sides. It's like a mix of it all and like all sides of my voice, all sides of my personality, and I hope people can have so much fun with it. But also there are songs where I'm like wailing and singing and that are really depressing. So it just depends on the day and how I'm feeling that day. But you can also be all those things. The song Father Daughter Dance, it is so beautiful. Thank you.

Is it hard to be that vulnerable on your records, because I know you did that with Praying and Rainbow and that whole album, um, but it's still hard to put out things so just authentic to your life. Well, that one was particular, literally hard. I was actually in the studio. Yeah, we're in this room, and I was working with him and my friend Drew, who I did a good portion of Rainbow with two he's a producer.

And I never really thought I had that much emotion behind not growing up with a father figure, and and then it just kind of started happening, like it really was my stream of consciousness. But I wasn't even conscious of it. It was you didn't realize how much he needed to put it out there. And I was very, very uncomfortable. It was very how can you not be though? It was so uncomfortable, especially especially if you didn't like

mentally prepare for something like that. Oh, I like really was fighting it and then I was with the two guys that both have children with have daughters, and they were like, no, this is important to keep going, and I was like, I just feel really uncomfortable. But usually the songs that are the most uncomfortable and you just like really don't how artists, those are the hardest. But usually those are the ones that people in my past experience have responded to and been like, Okay, I really

relate to that on like a deep level. So the uncomfortable and like painful and the tea sometimes good to put yourself, you know, in uncomfortable situations, like wow, I feel like I'm slightly addicted to putting myself an uncomfortable situation. I'm like forcing myself to sometimes because like and it's just like getting myself like Okay, Smith, you can do this. You can do it. And it's also like the adrenaline, and adrenaline helps so much. It does well when you

play live TV shows. Every time. I cannot imagine the adrenaline that comes from that. I get so scared and I've been doing this for ten years. Do you still get stage fright? Um? I get like massively terrified to the point of like for sure, crying before I take the stage. Ever, if it's a live TV performance, when I'm just playing shows, they're not televised, and I know it's just my fan and we're just write or die, and it's so fun and infectious. I don't get nervous.

I get excited, like I'm going to a house party.

So what is it about the live TV is because like so many people you know that don't necessarily know you are watching, or don't necessarily like me, or would like to find something to pick apart, or would like to find the one note that I miss because I don't lip sync, and things like that where I just don't want to be fucked if I can't hear myself and I hit one bad note, or if I'm dancing and I'm out of breath and it's just it's live, well, that's you know, it's life not That's what I think

is so incredible about live performances is because it's not exactly how it is and you can see that everyone's just human, and I think people forget that. Well, it's also like you don't know if people want that because it's We're also used to the face tune and the auto tune and all of these things that are supposed to make us all quote unquote perfect. I don't believe in that can like that concept. I don't believe in perfection as an even the thing. I don't think it exists.

But I don't think. But like we're all because what is perfect? It sounds really boring to me, but like, I just don't. I also think it's different for every person, and we're all fed that perfection is something that is almost unachievable and something that we're not. So it feeds this insecurity, especially in women, and I am just calling it bullshit. I'm thirty two years old over it, and

I don't want to be perfect. I'm not ever going to be, so no one is in the fact that you're showing that will help others to realize that, oh, like being not perfect is cool and everything and everyone is perfect if you stop comparing. True. Something I wrote on my ceiling when I was in high school and it's still there at my mom's house. How do you write what your ceiling? I stood on my beds put

posters up there and right on the ceiling. Nice, that's impressive, But you know there's a song there just from like your past music that I love, Good Old Days that you did with Mac That is such a beautiful song. And I think the lyrics and rainbow just about the rainbow. Yeah, and just like the colors, Like colors are great, colors are great. I just put out makeup and it's really I want to talk to you about that. Yeah, I'll

send you a box of it if you want. It's very bright and yes, please, okay, cool, I'll send you a box. But I'm so excited about it because it's so bright and colorful, beauty, And I just wanted to make something that would make people happy, and I think colors make people happy. There's something about it. I don't know what it is. What do you think your favorite colors? Like if you had to only wear one color for the rest of your life, I don't know if I could do that, Like if you had to, if I

had to, is rainbow a color? I'm not, no, I'm gonna. I'm gonna make it hard for you. It would be either a baby pink or turquoise, oh, or a puke green like a shart truth, So I can't pick. Yeah, but light pink is so pretty. All those I've had my hair all those colors, so I was thinking about all my favorite hair colors. I love your hair color. Is talking about this earlier. I think it's so cool. Thank you. I'm still kind of getting used to it. Yeah, I feel like when I look at myself in the mirror,

I kind of feel like an alien. Yeah, when you're used to seeing yourself fun way, But then I also like challenging it, Like I used to not wear a lot of color, and now I want to because it's almost just reconnecting with my child self, child self and my child heart is. I love color and I love glitter, and I don't care what I love glitter. I think it's like an innate animal instinct almost to like sparkly things. I know that I literally have unicorn socks and unicorn necklace.

I love color and everything well, I love also unicorns, so incredible. I want to talk to you about Kesher's beauty. The colors in your palette are just it makes me happy looking at it good. That was my goal packing and the color is just the whole thing to feel like magical. So do you when you're creating a makeup line, how do you decide what you want it? To look like, because it looks very cohesive but also very um different.

I wanted it to be unique. I wanted it to be something that if you had it out on your counter or in your purse, that if you pulled it out, people would be like, what is that? That's really cool? Especially the I palette. I wanted it's foil and velvet and stars and there's a tassel, and there's all these colors and summer day and summer night and summer whatever

you want. And I just wanted to give people something really special because it's something that is it easy to apply, because it's hot, it's This is why it took me over a year to make this is because I love all the colors. So I was like, I want cold free, right, So it's cruelty free, not tested on animals, not made of any animals, super pigmented, which is hard to achieve when it's cruelty free and just has absolutely no harm done to any animals. Like working on a red that

was really difficult. I can't imagine how hard it is to develop red. It's hard because it's usually made out of like smushed up beetles. That's usually what red is from you learned something every day. No smushed animals in my makeup, so yeah, and if you add water to the eyeshadows then they get even more pigmented, so you can just like play with it and it's for playing,

it's for feeling. Oh, I want to try this, like happy and excited about life, and I like to do one eye one color sometimes and one eye the other color, and I'd just go full like yeah, why not exactly. I've just like, like I was telling you before, I've I'm not really into like beauty standards of what I'm supposed to be. I would like to just do what makes me happy, and I think especially with my makeup, I would like for everybody else to do that, just do what makes me happy. Well, I feel like you

just to sidetrack for a second. I feel like you have so many great memories and experiences just because you want to test things and try new things. What do you think the most memorable and or rebellious thing you did when you're a teen? Well, so my mom wasn't. Honestly, I think it was. She wrote country music. So I was like, what is the polar opposite kind of music

I could make? And it was like dancy, like it was emotional, but it was also like I don't call it rapping, I call it ship talking because I myself a rapper. But I was like, what would be like the polar opposite of what kind of music my mom writes? And so I kind of just went like full dance and was talking shit and like just went in a totally different direction. That's kind of how I found my sound initially was by accident. It was just me trying to rebel against what my mom would have wanted me

to do. Yeah, and it's funny because now I've come full circle and just but as a song with Sturgill Simpson and love country music. So hey, everything happens for a reason in that way, I think I like to believe it does, because if you don't believe that, and there are some days I don't, But I think it depends on the situation. Like I feel like, if the star is aligne, you know, then why not think it happens for a reason. It's kind of you can make

that choice or not. And it feels nice to think something's watching out over you and everything's happening for a reason and there is karma all of those very hippie things I do. I do believe in because it makes me feel comforted. Yeah, And I mean I also know that it might not be real, but I like to

believe it. I think I think it was you on the Zach Saying Show when I heard you say that you believe that, Well, you're talking about raising hell and you're talking about that you believe you can make heaven on earth. Can you talk more about that? Sure? I think that like our experience, how we behave to ourselves to other people, being honest, chasing our dreams, believing in ourselves, all of those things can contribute to leading a more

positive or quote unquote heavenly experience. And I'm not so worried about being judged at the gates of heaven or hell. I'm more concerned with leading a really honest life and standing for something and being remembered for standing for something and being a good person and being on the right side of history. And I feel like that to me is living in your heaven, and living in your hell would be not following your heart and not following your truth.

I love that is that how you want to be remembered, And like, that's what is that what you want your legacy to be weird. You're asking me that because I was up all night last night, I couldn't sleep because of the full moon, and I wrote a song called legacy. That's really bizarre. You asked me that that's so weird. But I was talking about how I don't really know

what I want to be on my tombstone. I think it should just say like party on but of us, Yes, because I also just think we're here for a short time. I think we're we all should try to have the best time we possibly can. And there's a little bit of nihilism in that, which is you know it is what it is. You know you never know how long you're going to be here for, so live it to the fullest. And a lot of my songs are about that.

I know. I think it's I just think it's so incredible and it makes me smile that you did a song with kes with Kesha with the dollar sign. Can you hear it? I love it. It's like, what made you? How do you come up with that idea to do

a collaboration with your former your former self, your former reputation. Well, I think it's just like me being self aware that at that time when I had the dollar sign and my name and people just have no idea what to do with me, and like really really had no idea, and so I wanted to be my current self, but featuring that part of me. And so what made you change from the dollar sign to the just a regular sum?

Was there a mementire like today's the day I had like just a year of change and going through some really heavy stuff, and it was a lot thrown at me right in one year, and it just made me want to I wanted to respect myself as an artist more because I felt like I wasn't being seen for who I really am, and I think to be seen for who you really are, you have to present who

you actually are. And a huge part of that was being more vulnerable and not always just being so self deprecating and taking the piss Like my Twitter handle used to be Cashia sucks because I thought I'll just beat people to the punchline. So but then I just I wanted to just feel like I was being nicer to myself and it's hard to do that. It was thought literally the hardest thing in the entire world. That's my biggest challenge. What do you say to someone who's like

going through that needs to overcome to self love? Self love is such a hard thing because it's so easy to talk about, is really really hard to practice. I think giving myself a break is really really hard. And I mean, you seem like you're a very ambitious person yourself. It's really hard to be really ambitious and want to conquer the world in whatever field you're going for and then also take it easy on yourself. I don't know

if you I'm very I'm very critical of myself. Me too, and I think that's part of what makes my work ethic. I love to work and I love to be so involved in everything because it's so cool creating something. It's the best, the best feeling. Oh my god, I love it. This is the first thing I've ever created. And the fact that it's like, you know, I was working on it in my room and now it's like I'm talking to you, like man, like amazing. You should as you

totally should. And I used to just feel like, oh, I'm such a douche bag. If I ever say anything nice about myself, it's hard for me to do it. Like I'm trying to make more of an effort to just be like I want me too. Every day, every day something I work on because I just never want to come off like I'm full of myself, are conceited, or you're bragging. You know, you just want to share

your experience. I got you. But I also feel like, wow, I work, I work a lot to do this thing, and I should be able to say a nice thing about it without feeling like a douche bag. That's really hard for me. It's really hard to relax sometimes, like just especially just to take a breath, like live in the moment. It's one of the hardest things stay. But when you're in the moment, it's the best feeling. Well,

like here, I might here with you. You know, we're like creating something that is part of your destiny and mine. So I feel really good about this time. But then if I were to go home and just like lay on the couch, I would be there for about two minutes and then I would feel really guilty and go upstairs and start like playing the piano. That's so interesting. Yeah, I don't know if that's like the healthiest thing in the world, but I find it so interesting just I'm

obsessed with it creating. Yeah, it makes me feel like peaceful when I can create, it makes me feel useful and peaceful. And I don't know if it's like the healthiest thing, but for me in my life, I found it to be the most therapeutic thing when I create. What is your biggest goal as an artist? Is it to win Grammys? Is it to make a certain amount of albums? You know? What use to be things like of course, who doesn't want to grant me? You know? If you make music, of course that's like a dream.

But I've tried to make it more um less dependent on external validation. So something like that you really have no control over. So I don't want to put my happiness in the hands of something I have zero control over. I'd rather make control of situation. Yeah, and just feel successful in creating a song like praying. That song is like a journey, and like a song, I feel you every time I sing it, I feel like you go through a story. I go through it every every single

time I sing that song. But I've had so many people that have gone through very very different things that I've gone through and have just said they related to that song and that to me is the best feeling in the world. Knowing that you've connected with someone and I can't helped them in a way, I feel not alone. That to me is success. I hope that's what this does. And I'm just so happy and grateful that you know, you're on this week's episode, and it just means the

world to me. Thank you, And I'm so excited for you. And I'm like, you're seventeen, and that's so impressive that you're so you're just so in charge of your life and you're doing what you want to do, and I just think that's badass. It's really hard to just go after what you want and have the confidence to do it and really just do it, and you're doing it, and it's amazing and really inspiring. Well, thank you so much. Oh my god, Well, thank you so much for being

on this week's episode. Make sure you go listen to Kesha's new album High Road Amazing. Hope you guys like it. Bye, I'm so excited for you. I hope you guys enjoyed this episode with Kesha. I had such an incredible time just getting to know her. Make sure you go listen to her new album High Road and follow her on her socials. Her instagram is I is who I Is. Make sure you follow my instagram which is It's Sammy j I T S S A M M Y j A y E. And also follow my podcast instagram, which

is crazy to say, it's Sammy j Dot. Let's be real and you're gonna want to follow that because there are some pretty exciting giveaways coming and a lot of fun stuff. Um. I hope you guys enjoyed this week's episode by