| Cannibal | ||||
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| EP by Kesha | ||||
| Released | November 19, 2010 | |||
| Recorded | September 2010; Conway Recording Studios (Hollywood, Los Angeles, California) |
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| Genre | Dance-pop, electropop | |||
| Length | 31:59 | |||
| Label | RCA | |||
| Producer | Dr. Luke (also exec.), Benny Blanco, Ammo, Max Martin, Bangladesh | |||
| Kesha chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Cannibal | ||||
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Cannibal is the first extended play (EP) by American recording artist Kesha, released on November 19, 2010. The EP is a followup companion to her previous record, Animal. Originally the record was believed to only be released as a deluxe edition of Animal, but was instead sold and released as both an EP and a deluxe edition of Animal. Kesha worked with a variety of producers and writers such as Dr. Luke, as the executive producer, Benny Blanco, Ammo, Max Martin, Bangladesh and others. Musically, the songs on Cannibal are of the dance-pop genre while incorporating elements of electro and electropop in its production and beats. Throughout the album, the use of Auto-Tune and vocoders is prominent. Lyrically, the songs on Cannibal speak of ignoring judgement or hate and experiences based on love and heartbreak.
Critical reception of the album has been generally positive. A common complaint amongst critics was the overuse of Auto-Tune, while the album's production was generally highlighted. The album's lyrics were generally met with praise with Kesha being complimented for her authentic and unapologetic lyrical delivery. In the United States, the EP reached a peak of fifteen selling 74,000 copies in its first week of release. In Canada, the album achieved similar success reaching a peak of fourteen on the chart. Cannibal was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for shipment of 500,000 copies.
Two singles were released from the album. The lead single, "We R Who We R", was a worldwide success, reaching number one in the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia, and charting within the top ten in numerous other countries. In the United States, the song became the seventeenth song in the Billboard Hot 100's history to debut at number one. The album's second single, "Blow", was released on February 8, 2011. The song accomplished top ten positions in multiple countries including Australia, New Zealand and the United States.
Contents |
"This year has been carnivorous and life-changing. I have my rowdy, gorgeous fans to thank for taking me on the ride of a lifetime,[...] My only goal with this record is to keep them dancing. The songs on Cannibal were made to inspire people to ignore any hate or judgment and be themselves unapologetically. It's the perfect companion to Animal and I hope you guys like it. And if you don't like it — bite me"[1]
Originally believed to only be a re-release of Animal, Cannibal was instead released both as a deluxe edition of Animal as well as a standalone extended play (EP).[2][3] The EP has been classified as a follow up "nine-song companion" record to Animal.[1] Cannibal was originally intended to contain anywhere between four to eight tracks with the final outcome instead consisting of eight tracks, and a remix of her debut album's title track, for a total of nine tracks.[1][4]
Recording of the album took place during September 2010, at Conway Studios with Dr. Luke again as the executive producer. Like her debut album, Kesha worked with similar producers and writers such as: Dr. Luke, Ammo, Benny Blanco and Max Martin.[5] Unlike her debut album though, Kesha enlisted the help of producer Bangladesh. She explained the reasoning for enlisting his help was that she wanted to "add a tougher edge to her music".[3] Kesha recorded the abundance of Cannibal over a two week span with a variety of producers.[4][5] She said that the message she wanted to put out through this album was to create "good, positive, [danceable] music". She elaborated, "I feel like I’m creating this hopefully very youthful and irreverent movement of the kids, of like adolescence. I feel like the parents don’t get it, but the kids get it. And they deserve to have more good, positive music.”[4]
Musically, the songs on Cannibal are of the dance-pop genre,[6] while incorporating elements of electro and electropop in its production and beats.[7] Throughout the album, the use of Auto-Tune and vocoders are prominent.[8] The album's title track, "Cannibal" makes use of synth and dance driven backings with Kesha singing about maneater tendencies and makes a reference to serial-killer, Jeffrey Dahmer. Present throughout the song are snippets of Kesha yodeling.[9] "Blow" shows a darker side of Kesha with lyrics like: "We get what we want/ We do what you don't."[7] The song is more dominantly an electro infused track that uses a synth beat backing. Vocally the song uses snippets of Kesha's yodeling, combined with heavy use of auto-tune.[7] "Sleazy" changes pace from Kesha's normally persistent "talk-singing" vocal style, to a more rap driven style.[10] She raps over a thundering bass line and ticking beat backing, while speaking about telling off rich guys trying to hit on her and buy her attention. The song has been cited for drawing influence from multiple songs including; Gwen Stefani's "Hollaback Girl" for its "swagga", Jennifer Lopez's "Love Don't Cost a Thing" for its "attitude", as well as combining "a touch of Lil Wayne's "Milli"".[10]
"C U Next Tuesday" is dominantly an electro-pop ballad that is reminiscent of pop music from the late 1980s, the song has been cited for drawing influence of "new wave pop".[6] Lyrically speaking, the song talks about "lost and unrequited love"[11] "The Harold Song" has been cited as the album's power ballad that features a more stripped down vocal style portraying a vulnerable side of Kesha.[8] Lyrically, the song speaks of a young love gone bad. Music reviewer Bill Lamb wrote that the song would make Avril Lavigne proud.[6] "Grow a Pear" has been compared to Katy Perry's, "Ur So Gay".[12] The songs lyrics depict a man that would rather talk than have sex, to which Kesha responds in a negative way, saying "I just can't date a dude with a vag."[6] The album's lead single, "We R Who We R", is a dance-pop song that uses a synth-heavy backing.[13] The song incorporates elements of trance pop and electropop it both its production, and beats.[14] Lyrically, the song has been described as a pride anthem, with Kesha noting the songs lyrics were to be taken as "a celebration of any sort of quirks or eccentricities."[4]
| Professional ratings | |
|---|---|
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic | [12] |
| Billboard | (favorable) [11] |
| The Boston Globe | (Mixed)[15] |
| Entertainment Weekly | (B+)[16] |
| IGN | (6.5/10)[8] |
| Now Magazine | [17] |
| The Phoenix | [18] |
| Rolling Stone | [19] |
| Slant Magazine | [20] |
| Spin | [21] |
Cannibal received generally positive reviews from music critics upon its release. The album holds a score 73 out of 100 based on 11 critical reviews, according to the music review aggregator Metacritic.[22] Stephen Erlewine Thomas from Allmusic was positive in the review of Cannibal. Thomas was somewhat critical of the choice to release the EP noting that the only real reason for the release was that Animal had been "squeezed dry of hits".[12] Although he was negative in that aspect, Thomas wrote this about Kesha, "She’s all ravenous id, spitting at strangers and backstabbing friends, humiliating hotties, and laughing at the wreckage in her wake.[12] She is who she is and she offers no apologies."[12] Leah Greenblatt of Entertainment Weekly commented on Kesha's writing of the album noting that her "herky-jerky rhymes still sound like they came from the bathroom wall of a reform-school kindergarten", not citing that as a negative but instead noting, "Cannibal does have a sulfurous end-of-days whiff about it".[16] Greenblatt ended her review of the album giving it a rating of "B+" and called "Sleazy" and "Blow" the standout tracks on the album.[16] Will Hermes from Rolling Stone noted that Kesha's main pop competitor was Lady Gaga writing, "This EP proves Kesha would kick Gaga's ass in a freestyle battle" praising her rhyming and production by Dr. Luke calling Kesha the "snap queen of clubland."[19] Chad Grischow from IGN met the album with a positive review giving the album a rating of "passable". Grischow was critical of the production of the album and overuse of Auto-Tune writing that there was "so much overdubbing and autotune used that most of the songs may as well be sung by a spunky robot". He also noted that when Kesha's vocals were stripped down she could actually sing and called Kesha's ballads, "The Harold Song" and "C U Next Tuesday" as the album's best tracks.[8] Grischow ended his review writing, "Cannibal proves to be too mired in mindless lyrics and excessive vocal effects to have any lasting appeal."[8]
Sal Cinquemani from Slant Magazine met the album with a mixed to positive review.[20] Cinquemani praised Kesha for being able to pull off such authentic and unapologetic lyrics with ease. A complaint on the review was that the album was too similar to Animal noting that she failed to "branch out in any significant way".[20] Cinquemani ended the review praising the "Animal (Billboard Remix)" for its "promise of something deeper, something beyond Dr. Luke's latest recycled formula."[20] Gary Graff from Billboard wrote "Kesha sinks her teeth into some fresh flavors on "Cannibal," which will certainly enhance her "Animal" attraction."[11] Spin magazines Barry Walters reviewed Cannibal with a mixed outcome giving the album five out of a possible ten stars.[21] Walters criticized the album as a whole stating that it was full of contradictions, noting that on "We R Who We R" "she sends out pride vibes to bullied gays," while on "Grow a Pear", "she emasculates a potential boyfriend." The production of the album was stated as a positive praising Dr. Luke for his constant club-pop hooks and ability to "render the hypocrisy [of the album] nearly irrelevant."[21] Mesfin Fekadu from The Boston Globe was mixed in his review of the album.[15] Fekadu criticized the albums lyrical depth and use of auto-tune writing that the album was "filled with vapid lyrics and battles any T-Pain album for most use of the auto-tune." Kesha's mother, Pebe, was also targeted in the review criticizing her for helping write the albums title track, "Cannibal" which she called "disturbing" and "sad".[15]
In the United States, Cannibal entered the Billboard 200 on the week of December 2, 2010 at position fifteen. The EP sold 74,000 copies in its first week of release.[23] The following week the album dropped twenty-six positions to position forty-one selling an additional 26,200 copies.[24] After being present on the chart for two months the album surpassed 250,000 in sales.[25] In June 2011, the album received gold certification by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for shipment of 500,000 units.[26] In Canada, Cannibal entered and peaked at number fourteen on the Canadian Albums Chart.[27]
"We R Who We R" was released as the EP's lead single on October 22, 2010.[28] Kesha said she was affected by the recent teenage suicides, in particular Tyler Clementi who committed suicide after being outed as gay by his roommate.[29] She elaborated, "I was really affected [..] having been subject to very public hatred [myself]. I have absolutely no idea how these kids felt. What I'm going through is nothing compared to what they had to go through. Just know things do get better and you need to celebrate who you are." She hopes the song will be an anthem for "weirdos", and said, "Every weird thing about you is beautiful and makes life interesting. Hopefully the song really captures that emotion of celebrating who you are."[29] "We R Who We R" debuted at number one on the Billboard Hot 100, shifting over 280,000 digital copies.[30] The song became the seventeenth song in the history of the chart to accomplish that feat. The song also reached number one in Australia, the United Kingdom and number two in Canada, while charting within the top ten in numerous other countries.[31][32] Critical reception of the song was positive with most critics praising the songs production and citing the song as strong dance-pop number, that combined strong beats with an inspiring message filled with genuine humor.[33]
"Blow" was released as the second single, and impacted U.S. radio on February 8, 2011.[34] Critical reception of the song was mixed to generally positive. The song's hook and opening were generally praised but the song's chorus was met with mixed reaction, some critics praised the song for its party anthem vibe, while others called it uninspiring and ordinary.[35][36] Commercially, "Blow" reached the top ten in the United States and Australia, becoming her sixth straight top ten hit in both countries as a solo artist.[37][38] The song also reached the top ten in New Zealand, and the top twenty in Canada.[38]
To promote the album, Kesha made several performances worldwide. Her first televised appearance was in Australia, where she performed her single "We R Who We R" for the time on the Australian X Factor on November 14, 2010.[39] Following the performance Kesha appeared live on November 21, 2010, at the 2010 American Music Awards where she once again performed the single. The performance first opened with previous single, "Take It Off", before transitioning into "We R Who We R".[40] "Blow" and "Animal" were performed live on May 22, 2011, at the Billboard Music Awards. The performance was opened with "Animal" as Kesha sang suspended over the stage in a structure shaped like a diamond. Midway through the performance she dropped backwards into her crowd of background dancers then transitioned into "Blow". The performance featured glitter cannons and the dancers wore orange unicorn heads.[41]
The album received further promotion from her first headlining world concert tour, entitled the Get Sleazy Tour, which kicked off on February 15, 2011, in Portland, Oregon.[42]
"Sleazy" was made available on November 2, 2010 as part of an iTunes exclusive countdown to the release of Cannibal.[43][44] In Canada, the song entered the Canadian Hot 100 on the issue date entitled November 20, 2010 at forty-six.[45] In the same week, "Sleazy" entered the Billboard Hot 100 at fifty-one.[46] The title track, "Cannibal", was the next offering and was made available on November 9, 2010.[47][48] In Canada, "Cannibal" entered the Canadian Hot 100 on the issue date entitled November 27, 2010 at sixty-two.[49] In the same week, "Cannibal" entered the Billboard Hot 100 at seventy-seven.[50] The next and final offering of the program was "Blow" which was made available on November 12, 2010.[51] The song entered the Billboard Hot 100 on the issue date entitled December 4, 2010, reaching position ninety-seven and dropping off the chart the following week.[52]
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Cannibal" | Kesha Sebert, Joshua Coleman, Mathieu Jomphe, Pebe Sebert | Ammo, Billboard | 3:14 |
| 2. | "We R Who We R" | K. Sebert, Lukasz Gottwald, Benjamin Levin, Coleman, Jacob Kasher Hindlin | Dr. Luke, Benny Blanco, Ammo | 3:24 |
| 3. | "Sleazy" | K. Sebert, Gottwald, Levin, Shondrae Crawford, Klas Åhlund | Dr. Luke, Benny Blanco, Bangladesh | 3:25 |
| 4. | "Blow" | K. Sebert, Gottwald, Levin, Åhlund, Max Martin, Allan Grigg | Dr. Luke, Benny Blanco, Kool Kojak, Max Martin | 3:40 |
| 5. | "The Harold Song" | K. Sebert, Coleman | Ammo | 3:58 |
| 6. | "Crazy Beautiful Life" | K. Sebert, Gottwald, Martin, P. Sebert | Dr. Luke | 2:50 |
| 7. | "Grow a Pear" | K. Sebert, Gottwald, Levin, Martin | Dr. Luke, Benny Blanco, Max Martin | 3:28 |
| 8. | "C U Next Tuesday" | K. Sebert, David Gamson, Marc Nelkin | David Gamson | 3:45 |
| 9. | "Animal" (Billboard Remix) | K. Sebert, Gottwald, Greg Kurstin, P. Sebert | Billboard | 4:15 |
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Total length:
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31:59 | |||
Tracklist as per the Cannibal audio CD.[53]
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Credits adapted from the liner notes of Cannibal, Dynamite Cop Music/Where Da Kasz at BMI.
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Year-end charts
Certifications
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| Region | Date | Label |
|---|---|---|
| Germany[56] | November 19, 2010 | Sony Music |
| Canada[57] | November 22, 2010 | |
| United States[53] | RCA Records | |
| Japan[58] | December 8, 2010 | Sony Music Japan |
| China[59] | February 18, 2011 | Sony Music |
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