Ke$ha Equation

The first break-out hit of 2010, with three consecutive weeks at the top of Billboard's Hot 100 list, is "Tik Tok," by newcomer Ke$ha. Ke$ha's debut album, "Animal," is poised to sell 100,000 copies this week and could end up at the top of Billboard's album chart. Earlier this week NPR commentator Zoe Chace criticized "Tik Tok" for having a sound that was totally derivative. "Ke$ha's reference points are a weird jumble of cultural references," she noted.

Now pop music is no stranger to the pastiche and we don't have a problem with some light artistic theft, but what makes the derivative nature of Ke$ha and "Tik Tok" so unique is how directly (and cynically) RCA and the producer Dr. Luke have cribbed from their sources.

"Tik Tok" is a pretty straightforward retread of Justice's "Tthhee Ppaarrttyy," which features the Paris-based rapper Uffie, while Ke$ha's album name points to an additional influence--Annie, the Norwegian-born pop star whose debut album was named "Anniemal."

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(minus wit)