Kesha Reveals The Pain Of Starving Herself In The Spotlight

You might know Kesha as the glittery yet edgy pop princess whose music is the best to pre-game and dance to. Or because she used to have a dollar sign in her name. She made her mark on the music charts with her hit single "Tik Tok," from her debut album, Animal (2009). Soon after came "Blah Blah Blah," "Your Love Is My Drug" and "Take It Off." All of these songs are funky and fun, the perfect pump-up tunes that convey confidence and a "life's too short not to have fun" mentality. Still, the woman singing them didn't always have that frame of mind. She recently opened up to Vogue about her body image issues.  With the great success of her music came even greater criticism, mean comments and crushing opinions that were impossible to ignore. “Slowly but surely my self esteem [started to] deteriorate,” she told the magazine. This eventually led to an eating disorder. And, while Kesha was aware of the dangerous road she was heading down, it was difficult to change her course. "There was a lot of not eating — and I started to think being hungry to the point of feeling almost faint was a positive thing," she says. "The worse it got, the more positive feedback I was getting. Inside I was really unhappy, but outside, people were like, 'Wow, you look great.'" But Kesha knew things needed to change. She was ready to make the effort to get her health and self-esteem back. She wanted to live the words she was singing. "I was singing these songs like 'We R Who We R,' and I really believed that," she says. "I wanted to be genuine."  Her eagerness to get better required transparency, and once she could face that she needed help, her journey began. "I went to an eating-disorder specific rehab site where a nutritionist taught me that food is a positive thing for your body," she said. While there, Kesha learned a lot and had some life-changing revelations. "I realized being healthy is the most important thing I can do for myself," she says. Now, one year later, she's trying to embrace the skin she's in. "Every day I have to look in the mirror and make the choice to be kind to myself. This is who I am—I have to love that," she says. Today she's in a much better place — staying positive, and only surrounding herself with those with the same values. After a painful previous year, when she sued former manager Dr. Luke for alleged sexual and emotional abuse, it sounds like the singer is moving forward. (Vogue)