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It’s been 15 years since Kesha burst onto the scene after “Tik Tok” took the world by storm, and the singer says she’s planning to return to the studio at some point thanks to a line referencing Diddy in the wake of the disturbing scandal involving the record mogul.
As is the case with most musicians, Kesha spent years subjecting herself to the brutal grind of the industry before getting her big break in 2009 thanks to “Tik Tok,” the party girl anthem that topped the Billboard Hot 100 for nine weeks and has earned eight platinum certifications in the United States since its release.
I probably don’t have to tell you the infectious and formerly inescapable track opens up with Kesha saying “Wake up in the morning feeling like P. Diddy” (the first famous musical figure referenced in a song where Mick Jagger is also name-dropped), which wasn’t a particularly controversial lyric at the time “Tik Tok” was released.
Of course, anyone who’s been keeping tabs on Diddy over the past year or so knows that’s no longer the case, as the Bad Boy Records founder was accused of disturbing allegations in a lawsuit that was filed by Cassie in 2023.
That led to more people who claimed they were victimized by the producer coming forward with even more heinous claims before he ended up at the center of a federal investigation earlier this year.
After the scandal began to unfold, Kesha (who spent years engaged in a high-profile legal battle with Dr. Luke over similarly disturbing allegations before the two sides reached a settlement in 2023) quickly tweaked the “Tik Tok” lyrics at live performances to avoid referencing Diddy by swapping the original line out for “feeling just like me.”
However, she unveiled a new approach while performing the hit during Reneé Rapp’s set at Coachella earlier this year by opting for a slightly more aggressive rebuke in the form of “F–k P. Diddy”—a change that’s apparently on the verge of becoming canon.
Kesha recently hopped on Instagram to commemorate the 15th anniversary of “Tik Tok” in a post where she revealed she plans to hop into the studio for a new version that will incorporate the more vulgar replacement lyrics, saying, “Yes it is permanent. I will re-record it when I have legal rights to!”
It’s unclear when “Tik Tok” (Kesha’s Version) will be released, but I can’t say I blame her for wanting to update it.