Kesha revealed that she received ‘support’ from Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl when she was a rising artist in the music industry.
Dave, 55, enjoyed a longstanding reputation as the ‘nicest guy in rock’ until his image was tarnished last month when he publicly confessed he fathered a child ‘outside of my marriage’ of 21 years to his wife Jordyn Blum.
When Kesha was a young star, she longed for the guidance of another female pop singer but ‘found more support from the rock boys’ like Dave, she shared.
‘So now I try to reach out to artists, girls and women, and just offer my services of life experience,’ the 37-year-old explained to Elle.
Two in particular have become her proteges – Renee Rapp, 24, whom Kesha hailed as ‘iconic’ and ‘genuinely cool,’ and Chappell Roan, 26.
Kesha revealed that she received ‘support’ from Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl when she was a rising artist in the music industry
Dave, pictured in June, enjoyed a reputation as the ‘nicest guy in rock’ until his image was tarnished last month when he confessed he fathered a child ‘outside of my marriage’
Kesha first met Foo Fighters – including Dave, guitarist Pat Smear and the late drummer Taylor Hawkins – backstage at Madison Square Garden in 2009, she told NME two years ago.
At that early stage of her career, she ‘was definitely having some real imposter syndrome,’ she said. ‘Taylor, his wife Alison, Dave and Pat all really took me under their wing and reassured me: “You’re good; you’re home.”‘
Kesha, who shot to fame with her smash hit single Tik Tok in 2009, explained in her new interview that she now feels ‘protective of young women in music.’
Her remarks come a year after she settled her long-running legal battle with music producer Dr. Luke, which played out in the headlines.
Early in her career, Kesha and Dr. Luke had a professional relationship, but it dissolved into a legal slanging match in which she accused him of misconduct as severe as rape and he sued her for defamation, denying her allegations.
In June 2023, a month before the two of them were meant to go to trial, they released a joint statement declaring they had arrived at a settlement.
Although her songwriter mother Pebe Sebert ‘held my hand through this whole process,’ she yearned for the support of another female pop star.
‘When I was coming up, I wished there was some woman in pop music that I could have reached out to and talked to about stuff I was going through,’ said Kesha.
Kesha is pictured with Dave at Wembley Stadium in 2022 for a tribute concert to his late bandmate Taylor Hawkins, in a picture posted to her private Instagram page
Kesha has become a mentor to Renee Rapp (left), whom she has hailed as ‘iconic’ and ‘genuinely cool’; they are pictured performing together at Coachella this April
Kesha and Renee befriended Chappell Roan at Lollapalooza this summer, where they saw the latter deliver a barnstorming set; Chappell pictured in Tennessee this Tuesday
When Kesha was a young star, she longed for the guidance of another female pop singer but ‘found more support from the rock boys’ like Dave, she shared
‘So now I try to reach out to artists, girls and women, and just offer my services of life experience,’ the 37-year-old explained to Elle
Kesha, who shot to fame with her smash hit single Tik Tok in 2010, shared that she now feels ‘protective of young women in music.’
‘I found more support from the rock boys – Foo Fighters, Dave Grohl, Pat Smear, and Alice Cooper were very real, and helped me talk through things. So now I try to reach out to artists, girls and women, and just offer my services of life experience.’
Kesha has privately messaged Renee on Instagram, telling her to feel free to commiserate with her about the pitfalls of their shared industry.
‘When I was the same age in my career, I was so stressed. Renee has this really beautiful confidence of knowing exactly who the f*** she is,’ said Kesha. ‘It’s inspiring to see women be exactly who they are, and still be so supportive.’
She was filled with acclaim for Renee, whom she described as ‘the most genuinely cool, calm, unbothered, iconic pop girlie.’
Renee in turn said Kesha ‘raised an entire generation of “f*** the man”-like girls. You would have to genuinely go out of your way and hate yourself not to like her.’
Last November, Renee had Kesha as a guest performer at her show at Avant Gardner in Brooklyn, describing the older pop act as her ‘hero.’
Kesha once again served as a guest star during Renee’s set at Coachella this April, when the pair delivered a duet version of Tik Tok.
Tik Tok began with the line ‘Wake up in the morning feeling like P Diddy’ – a lyric that had to be changed in light of Diddy’s downfall amid a blizzard of allegations that he engaged in physical abuse and sexual assault.
‘When I was coming up, I wished there was some woman in pop music that I could have reached out to and talked to about stuff I was going through,’ said Kesha
Kesha explained the reasoning behind her becoming a mentor, saying: ‘I really hope my joy can stand for others to know that it’s available to them and to not give up’
Since that Coachella set, Diddy has been indicted for sex trafficking and video footage has surfaced of him violently assaulting his ex-girlfriend Cassie Ventura.
When Renee and Kesha performed together at Coachella, the scandal around Diddy was already unfolding, and so the original line about him was adjusted to reflect the situation: ‘Wake up in the morning like: “F*** P Diddy.”‘
Renee explained that the lyric change was ‘was pretty quick and easy for the both of us. Diddy is such a f***ing a**hole. So many men who were working prominently at that time were such disgraceful shames of human beings. Kesha certainly doesn’t put up with any s***, and I most definitely don’t put up with any s***.’
Kesha and Renee befriended Chappell at Lollapalooza this summer, where they saw the latter deliver a barnstorming set.
Chappell has been vocal about her exasperation over ‘weird’ fans making her ‘uncomfortable’ with their intrusive behavior – prompting a backlash from social media users who felt she was being ungrateful for her stardom.
When she played Lollapalooza this summer, reports swirled that her audience was the biggest in the 33-year history of the music festival.
The massive crowd caused Chappell to feel a kind of tension that Kesha was able to recognize, causing a bond to form between the two singers.
‘Kesha was so lovely to me after my Lollapalooza set,’ said Chappell, pointing out the way in which they were able to relate to each other.
‘I enjoy feeling my power, which hasn’t been available to me for a really long time, and I’d love to give that gift to others if I can,’ she said
‘Because with that huge of a crowd, maybe only five other people there understood what that’s like. Kesha came to talk to me after, and it felt like a big sister was helping me through it. Me and Renee were crying because we felt like we were seen in a way we never had been before,’ the Super Graphic Ultra Modern Girl singer added.
Chappell continued praising the Cannibal hitmaker, saying: ‘Kesha has always stood up for women and what she believes in and that’s very inspiring.’
Kesha explained the reasoning behind her becoming a mentor, saying: ‘I do have a sense of feeling protective of young women in music.’
She continued: ‘I really hope my joy can stand for others to know that it’s available to them and to not give up. I enjoy feeling my power, which hasn’t been available to me for a really long time, and I’d love to give that gift to others if I can.’
