Kesha Wants to Drop ‘Tik Tok’ Nod to Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs
Sean “Diddy” Combs‘ place in popular culture will never be the same. Case in point: Kesha said she will replace the positive reference to Diddy in “Tik Tok” as soon as she can. In addition, the pop star explained how she felt about “Tik Tok” 15 years after its release.
Kesha’s new ‘Tik Tok’ lyric shows she doesn’t like Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs
Kesh’a “Tik Tok” helped define the sound of the early 2010s. Alongside Lady Gaga’s “Just Dance” and the Black Eyed Peas’ “I Gotta Feeling,” it made dance-pop the dominant sound of 2009-2013. If you turned on the radio at that time, you would probably hear an upbeat song about clubbing.
Many zoomers are familiar with the opening line of Kesha’s “Tik Tok”: “Wake up in the morning’ feeling like P. Diddy.” In 2024, The Hollywood Reporter said that Kesha changed the line to “Wake up in the morning feeling like, f*** P. Diddy!” The singer plans on making that change permanent.
“‘Tik Tok’ was the first single that I put into this world that had my voice and my name credited!!!!” Kesha wrote on social media. “I remember making it fun and happy because that’s how I felt and wanted others to feel. What I’m so proud of is that’s how this song still makes me feel, through it all, and those are emotions I want all of us to connect to.”
Kesha said ‘the world has changed so much and so have I’
At the same time, Kesha described “Tik Tok” as a bit of a relic. “15 (!!!!!!) years later, I see this song as a snapshot into the way I saw the world at the time,” she said. “That girl was naive and wild and playful. This song eternalizes a side of myself that I love very much, and now see I have to protect fiercely. The world has changed so much and so have I.”
The “Die Young” singer vowed to rerecord “Tik Tok.” “I will rerecord it when I have legal rights to!” she said. “It stands for fiercely protecting my fun and unadulterated joy, in myself and in others. The whole ride has been absolute insanity, but the joy is still riding.”
‘Tik Tok’ took over the world
“Tik Tok” did incredibly well for a debut single. It topped the Billboard Hot 100 for nine weeks, lasting on the chart for 38 weeks in total. “Tik Tok” stayed at the top of the Billboard Hot 100 longer than all of Kesha’s other singles. It also charted for more weeks than any of Kesha’s other songs, with the exception of her Pitbull collaboration “Timber.”
Kesha included “Tik Tok” on her debut album, Animal. That record was No. 1 on the Billboard 200 for a week, charting for 85 weeks. Animal produced three other top 10 singles: “Blah Blah Blah,” “Your Love Is My Drug,” and “Take It Off.” While it wasn’t a charting single, the title track from Animal produced a memorable, trippy music video. Although Animal was not Kesha’s most critically acclaimed record, it defined her as a hitmaker.
Love or hate “Tik Tok,” the song will never feel the same way again.
