Animal is the debut studio album by American singer and songwriter Kesha. The album was first released on January 1, 2010 by Sony Music, and was released in the United States on January 5, 2010, by RCA Records. Kesha worked on the album with a variety of record producers and songwriters such as Lukasz "Dr. Luke" Gottwald, Benny Blanco, David Gamson, Greg Kurstin, Max Martin and others. Kesha had been recording demos for several years when one eventually ended up in the hands of Samantha Cox, senior director of writer/publisher relations at BMI. Cox passed along the demo and it ended up in the hands of Gottwald, who decided to have Kesha perform on the song "Right Round" with American rapper Flo Rida. Within two months, the song became a hit in multiple countries around the world. The event led to Kesha being sought after by many major labels, and she eventually signed a multi-album deal with RCA Records.

Musically, Animal draws from the electropop genre, while incorporating elements of dance-pop in its production and beats. Lyrically, the majority of the album's songs are based on Kesha's past life experiences of love, heartbreak, boys, and having a good time. The album received mixed reviews from music critics. Some appreciated its fun, carefree nature, while others dismissed it as juvenile and said that it seemed insincere. The album attained chart success, debuting at number one on the Canadian Albums Chart, the Billboard 200 in the United States and the IFPI Greece Albums Chart, while charting within the top ten in seven other countries. Animal has since been certified 4× Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for sales of over 4 million equivalent units in the United States and, as of 2017, has sold over 8 million equivalent units worldwide.

Four singles were released from the album. Its lead single, "Tik Tok", was released on August 7, 2009, and was a worldwide hit, reaching number one in eleven countries. It reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 in the US and stayed at the top for nine consecutive weeks. The song sold 12.8 million digital copies worldwide in 2010, making it the best-selling single of the year; whereas 6.8 million of those downloads were sold in the United States alone, making it at the time the sixth best-selling song in digital history. It has since sold over 18 million copies worldwide as of August 2019, making it one of the best-selling digital singles worldwide of all time. The album's second, third and fourth singles ("Blah Blah Blah", "Your Love Is My Drug" and "Take It Off") all achieved similar success, reaching the top ten in multiple countries, including Australia, Canada and the United States. The album's commercial success led to its nomination for the Juno Award for Best International Album at the Juno Awards of 2011.

Name	Status	Rating	Review
catsco		5/5 stars
sloane
Quinn Callahan