Animal By Ke$ha

It’s debatable whether or not the world really needs another overdressed pop singer chanting about how drunk she got this weekend and how boys all want to ‘touch her junk.’ But nevertheless, that is what we’ve been given with Ke$ha. The 22-year-old has already broken records with the first single off her debut album, Animal, so it looks like, regardless of whether we need her or not, she’s here to stay.

The first single (the one that broke all the radio airtime records) in “TiK ToK,” and it’s remarkably addictive. It has the same idea as Lady Gaga’s “Just Dance” – not having a care in the world as long as you have booze and a party. When she sings about brushing her teeth with a bottle of Jack, you definitely expect someone like Kid Rock to make an appearance just to complete the trailer park vibe she appears to be going for (He doesn’t unfortunately).

Much of the rest of the album runs on this same theme with songs like “Party At A Rich Dude’s House,” “Take It Off,” and “Boots & Boys,” so it won’t deliver any lyrical surprises but Ke$ha must be given kudos for her musical experimentation. “Take It Off,” “Blind,” and “Kiss N Tell” move out of the pop area into a dance vibe. “Stephen” is minus the electro beat so makes for a much more pleasant ballad and “Backstabber” puts an electronic spin on a backbeat that wouldn’t be out of place in a show tune.

“Dinosaur” and “Your Love Is My Drug,” however, can be avoided.

As tempting as it is to pigeonhole Ke$ha and judge her for her image and genre alone, the fact is that she has a dazzling voice and has produced a remarkable album for a debut from someone so young, and Animal will definitely need to be played over and over. Pop fans will love it.