Take It Off (Kesha Song)
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"Take It Off" is a song by American recording artist and songwriter
Kesha Kesha Rose Sebert (born March 1, 1987), formerly stylized as Ke$ha, is an American singer and songwriter. Her first major success came in 2009 when she was featured on rapper Flo Rida's number-one single, "Right Round". Kesha's music and ima ...
, from her debut album, ''
Animal Animals are multicellular, eukaryotic organisms in the Biology, biological Kingdom (biology), kingdom Animalia (). With few exceptions, animals heterotroph, consume organic material, Cellular respiration#Aerobic respiration, breathe oxygen, ...
''. It was written by Kesha Sebert, Lukasz Gottwald and
Claude Kelly Claude Kelly (born December 27, 1980)Shirley Halperin and Bob Love"THR Names Music's 35 Top Hitmakers,"''The Hollywood Reporter'', February 6, 2013. is an American record producer, songwriter, and singer. A four-time Grammy Award nominee, and h ...
and it was produced by
Dr. Luke Łukasz Sebastian Gottwald (born September 26, 1973), known professionally as Dr. Luke, Tyson Trax, and Made in China, is an American musician, songwriter, and record producer. He began his professional music career as the Saturday Night Live ...
with vocal editing done by
Emily Wright Emily Wright (born July 1, 1980) is an American songwriter, record producer and audio engineer based in Los Angeles. Early life Wright grew up in Wethersfield, Connecticut, graduating from Glastonbury High School and the Greater Hartford A ...
. It was released as the fourth and final single from the album on July 13, 2010. "Take It Off"'s initial writing consisted of Kesha attending a
drag show A drag show is a form of entertainment performed by drag (entertainment), drag artists impersonating men or women, typically in a bar or nightclub as a burlesque-style, adult-themed nightclub event. The modern drag show originated in the speake ...
and becoming turned on by drag queens taking their clothing off. The song is an upbeat song that uses heavy amounts of auto tune and utilizes an electro infused beat, driven by a melody known as the Arabian riff. Due to strong digital sales from the release of ''Animal'', the song charted on the United States ''Billboard'' Hot 100, the United Kingdom Singles Chart and the
Canadian Hot 100 The Canadian Hot 100 is a music industry record chart in Canada for songs, published weekly by ''Billboard (magazine), Billboard'' magazine. It was launched on the issue dated March 31, 2007 as the standard record chart in Canada; a new chart ...
before being announced as a single. After being released as a single, the song reached the top ten in Canada, Australia and the United States, and reached number one on Hungarian radio. With the song reaching the top-ten in the United States, Kesha became only the eleventh artist in history to amass four top-tens from a debut album. "Take It Off" was certified 4× platinum by the
Recording Industry Association of America The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...
(RIAA) for selling four million equivalent units in the United States. Two music videos for the single were released. The first video features Kesha and her friends on a distant planet, dancing around in a
mosh pit Moshing (also known as slam dancing or simply slamming) is an extreme style of dancing in which participants push or slam into each other. Taking place in an area called the mosh pit (or simply the pit), it is typically performed to aggressive s ...
while slowly turning into stardust as the video progresses. The inspiration for the video, according to Kesha, was about shedding your inhibitions and being "raw and real". The second video released for the song features
Jeffree Star Jeffree Star (born Jeffrey Lynn Steininger Jr., November 15, 1985) is an American makeup artist, media personality and singer-songwriter. He is the founder and owner of Jeffree Star Cosmetics. In 2009, Star released his debut studio album, ''Be ...
and incorporates a more dominant animal theme, while drawing from 1980s themed inspiration such as: the 1982 film ''
Tron ''Tron'' (stylized as ''TRON'') is a 1982 American science fiction action adventure film written and directed by Steven Lisberger from a story by Lisberger and Bonnie MacBird. The film stars Jeff Bridges as Kevin Flynn, a computer programmer ...
'',
David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer, songwriter and actor. Regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century, Bowie was acclaimed by critics and musicians, pa ...
as Jareth in the 1986 film ''
Labyrinth In Greek mythology, the Labyrinth () is an elaborate, confusing structure designed and built by the legendary artificer Daedalus for King Minos of Crete at Knossos. Its function was to hold the Minotaur, the monster eventually killed by the h ...
'', and the 1984 film ''
Revenge of the Nerds ''Revenge of the Nerds'' is a 1984 American comedy film directed by Jeff Kanew and starring Robert Carradine, Anthony Edwards, Ted McGinley, and Bernie Casey. The plot follows a group of nerds at the fictional Adams College trying to st ...
''. To promote the single Kesha performed "Take It Off" alongside earlier singles "
Your Love Is My Drug "Your Love Is My Drug" is a song by American singer-songwriter Kesha, taken from her first album, ''Animal'' (2010). It was released as the album's third single on May 14, 2010. The song was written by Kesha, Pebe Sebert and Ammo, who co-produc ...
" and "
Tik Tok TikTok, known in mainland China and Hong Kong as Douyin (), is a social media and short-form online video platform owned by Chinese Internet company ByteDance. It hosts user-submitted videos, which may range in duration from three seconds t ...
" on
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's ''
Today Today (archaically to-day) may refer to: * The current day and calendar date ** Today is between and , subject to the local time zone * Now, the time that is perceived directly, present * The current, present era Arts, entertainment and m ...
''.


Writing and inspiration

"Take It Off" was written by Kesha, alongside
Dr. Luke Łukasz Sebastian Gottwald (born September 26, 1973), known professionally as Dr. Luke, Tyson Trax, and Made in China, is an American musician, songwriter, and record producer. He began his professional music career as the Saturday Night Live ...
and
Claude Kelly Claude Kelly (born December 27, 1980)Shirley Halperin and Bob Love"THR Names Music's 35 Top Hitmakers,"''The Hollywood Reporter'', February 6, 2013. is an American record producer, songwriter, and singer. A four-time Grammy Award nominee, and h ...
. It was recorded at
Conway Recording Studios Conway Recording Studios is a recording studio in Hollywood, California. People and awards Conway started in the early 1970s as a mastering studio. In 1976, the studio began recording albums, including projects by Elton John and Stevie Wonde ...
in
Los Angeles, California Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...
, and at Dr. Luke's studio in that city. The song was produced by Luke with vocal editing done by
Emily Wright Emily Wright (born July 1, 1980) is an American songwriter, record producer and audio engineer based in Los Angeles. Early life Wright grew up in Wethersfield, Connecticut, graduating from Glastonbury High School and the Greater Hartford A ...
. The main riff of the chorus is the same as that of "
The Streets of Cairo "Arabian riff", also known as "The Streets of Cairo", "The Poor Little Country Maid", and "the snake charmer song", is a well-known melody, published in different forms in the 19th century. Alternate titles for children's songs using this melod ...
", also using a similar rhyme scheme and parallel phrasing. During an interview with ''
Esquire Esquire (, ; abbreviated Esq.) is usually a courtesy title. In the United Kingdom, ''esquire'' historically was a title of respect accorded to men of higher social rank, particularly members of the landed gentry above the rank of gentleman ...
'' magazine Kesha was asked about her song writing process and used "Take It Off" as an example of how her songs come to fruition. She explained that the song came about when she was out one night and was visiting a drag bar, stating, "I have a song ... called 'Take It Off' about when I went to a drag show, and how really turned on I was by these transvestite men taking clothes off. I was like, What does that even make me?".


Composition

"Take It Off" is an upbeat dominant song that utilizes a "thumping, electro-infused beat with furious crescendos." Dr. Luke's production has been described as a " bubblegummy electro" number that uses a nursery rhyme hook in its delivery. Kesha's vocals on the song were noted for their heavy amounts of
Auto-Tune Auto-Tune is audio processor software released on September 19, 1997, by the American company Antares Audio Technologies. It uses a proprietary device to measure and Pitch correction, correct pitch in music. It operates on different principles ...
. Daniel Brockman from '' The Phoenix'' described the song as "a heavily Auto-Tuned reworking" of "There's a Place in France". Monica Herrera from ''
Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...
'', however, felt that the song "lifted heavily from
Robert Miles Roberto Concina (; 3 November 1969 – 9 May 2017), known professionally as Robert Miles, was an Italian record producer, composer, musician and DJ. His 1995 composition "Children" sold more than 5 million copies and topped the charts worldwid ...
' 1995 trance-lite hit, "
Children A child () is a human being between the stages of childbirth, birth and puberty, or between the Development of the human body, developmental period of infancy and puberty. The term may also refer to an unborn human being. In English-speaking ...
". Lyrically, "Take It Off" discusses opposite-sex objectification and its theme is literal to the title. According to sheet music published at Musicnotes.com by Kobalt Music Publishing, the song is written in
common time A time signature (also known as meter signature, metre signature, and measure signature) is an indication in music notation that specifies how many note values of a particular type fit into each measure ( bar). The time signature indicates the ...
with a moderate beat rate of 125
beats per minute Beat, beats, or beating may refer to: Common uses * Assault, inflicting physical harm or unwanted physical contact * Battery (crime), a criminal offense involving unlawful physical contact * Battery (tort), a civil wrong in common law of in ...
. The song is written in the key of
F minor F minor is a minor scale based on F, consisting of the pitches F, G, A, B, C, D, and E. Its key signature consists of four flats. Its relative major is A-flat major and its parallel major is F major. Its enharmonic equivalent, E-sharp ...
and has the sequence of D–E–Fm as the
chord progression In a musical composition, a chord progression or harmonic progression (informally chord changes, used as a plural, or simply changes) is a succession of chords. Chord progressions are the foundation of harmony in Western musical tradition from ...
. Kesha's vocal range in the song spans from the note of F3 to the note of C5. Music reviewer Bill Lamb commented on the lyrical writing of the song noting that the lyrics were symbolic, stating, "
he song He or HE may refer to: Language * He (letter), the fifth letter of the Semitic abjads * He (pronoun), a pronoun in Modern English * He (kana), one of the Japanese kana (へ in hiragana and ヘ in katakana) * Ge (Cyrillic), a Cyrillic letter cal ...
manages to expand out into an anthem about free expression ... celebration of the power of the night, and a bit of alcohol, to help shed inhibitions of the daytime." Lamb further commented that the lyrics drew similar reference to that of
Lady Gaga Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta (born March 28, 1986), known professionally as Lady Gaga, is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Known for her image reinventions and versatility across the entertainment industry, she is an influ ...
's commenting, "followers of Lady Gaga's
Monster Ball Tour The Monster Ball Tour was the second worldwide concert tour by American singer-songwriter Lady Gaga. Staged in support of her first EP, ''The Fame Monster'' (2009), the concert largely comprised songs from that recording as well as Gaga's debu ...
will be familiar with this point of view bout free expression"


Critical reception

Amar Toor from
AOL Radio AOL Radio was an online radio streaming service available exclusively in the United States. Originally powered by XM Satellite Radio and later CBS Radio and Slacker, the platform offered users access to more than 200 free digital stations. H ...
gave the song a positive review saying, "Much like the rest of the album, this new song is simply made for the dance floor. And, much like Kesha herself, the track seems to embody relentless, carefree hedonism at its best." He also noted, "And when Kesha talks about a 'place I know', where 'they go hardcore and there's glitter on the floor' in the style of a six-grade camp ditty, it's hard for anyone to not feel the urge to just take it off." Bill Lamb of
About.com Dotdash Meredith (formerly The Mining Company, About.com and Dotdash) is an American digital media company based in New York City. The company publishes online articles and videos about various subjects across categories including health, hom ...
gave the single four out of five stars. He was concerned with the overall lyrical depth and over-use of Auto-Tune but he complimented the song for its "irresistibly catchy beat and chorus" with a "celebratory mood of dropping inhibitions." He noted that "with the volume turned up and the chorus encouraging you to 'take it off,' you may just feel inspired to follow the commands. The ultimate effect by the end of the song is very cathartic as it hints strongly that there is more to "take off" than simply clothing." Andrew Burgess from ''
MusicOMH ''MusicOMH'' (stylized as ''musicOMH'') is a London-based online music magazine which publishes independent reviews, features and interviews from across all genres including classical, metal, rock and R&B. History ''MusicOMH'' was founded an ...
'' wrote that on the song the singer "oozes swagger." Melinda Newman of
HitFix HitFix, or HitFix.com, was an entertainment news website that launched in December 2008 specializing in breaking entertainment news, insider information, and reviews and critiques of film, music, and television. In mid-2010 HitFix crossed the 1,00 ...
used "Take It Off" as an example of Kesha's songwriting, noting that tracks which weren't over-thought were "fine". Newman wrote that "thinking too much is what gets Kesha, who co-wrote the songs here, in trouble. She’s fine wading in the shallow end with bouncy tunes like the literal 'Take It Off'." Monica Herrera from ''Billboard'' magazine criticized the song for its demonstration of overly processed vocals noting how easily an artist can "get lost in a sea of auto-tone". She went on to state that it "make it hard to tell whether the California party girl can actually sing". Robert Copsey of
Digital Spy Digital Spy (DS) is a British-based entertainment, television and film website and brand and is the largest digital property at Hearst UK. Since its initial launch in 1999, Digital Spy has focused on entertainment news related to television pro ...
met the song with a mixed review. He commented on the choice of the single, noting "the glimpses of emotion shown on her last offering, '
Your Love Is My Drug "Your Love Is My Drug" is a song by American singer-songwriter Kesha, taken from her first album, ''Animal'' (2010). It was released as the album's third single on May 14, 2010. The song was written by Kesha, Pebe Sebert and Ammo, who co-produc ...
', are as long gone as her sobriety." Although he was not completely convinced he wrote, "
hough Hough may refer to: * Hamstringing, or severing the Achilles tendon of an animal * the leg or shin of an animal (in the Scots language), from which the dish potted hough is made * Hough (surname) Communities United Kingdom * Hough, Alderley ...
the vocals are more processed than a cheese string ... the combination of a playful nursery rhyme hook and Dr Luke's bubblegummy electro production make this a pretty irresistible little dancefloor ditty." He went on to give the single three out of five stars. Fraser McAlpine of
BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...
met the song with a mixed review giving the song three out of five stars. Fraser criticized the choice of the song commenting, "there's a fear that if Kesha reveals that she's a sensitive young flower after all, with real feelings and a good, pure heart, her appeal with disappear like a soap bubble on a cactus, can it?". Nate Adams of No Ripcord was negative in his review of the song, calling it "outright stupid" and noted it would be something commonly heard on a
playground A playground, playpark, or play area is a place designed to provide an environment for children that facilitates play, typically outdoors. While a playground is usually designed for children, some are designed for other age groups, or people wi ...
. Adams wrote that the song touched on opposite-sex objectification, but wrote that the theme became wearisome on the album, using the song as one of the examples where the theme was overused.


Commercial performance

In January 2010, due to strong digital sales, the song charted on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, the United Kingdom Singles Chart and the
Canadian Hot 100 The Canadian Hot 100 is a music industry record chart in Canada for songs, published weekly by ''Billboard (magazine), Billboard'' magazine. It was launched on the issue dated March 31, 2007 as the standard record chart in Canada; a new chart ...
, debuting at numbers 85, 45, and 112 respectively. In the United States, the song re-entered the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 at number 92 on the issue date of August 7, 2010. The song steadily ascended the charts for six weeks before eventually reaching a peak of eight on its eighth week on the chart. With the song charting in the top-ten it became Kesha's fourth consecutive top-ten single and she became the 11th female artist in history to attain four top-ten singles off of a debut album. In September 2010, the song reached 1,000,000 downloads, making Kesha the second lead artist, following Lady Gaga, to achieve four million selling songs in 2010. The song later crossed the two million paid downloads mark in February 2011, becoming her fifth song to do so. As of March 2016, "Take it Off" has sold 2.5 million digital copies. In 2024, the song received a 4×
Platinum certification Music recording certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped, sold, or streamed a certain number of units. The threshold quantity varies by type (such as album, single, music video) and by nation or territory (see ...
by the
Recording Industry Association of America The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...
(RIAA) for sales of 4,000,000 equivalent units. In Canada, following its debut on the chart from her album ''
Animal Animals are multicellular, eukaryotic organisms in the Biology, biological Kingdom (biology), kingdom Animalia (). With few exceptions, animals heterotroph, consume organic material, Cellular respiration#Aerobic respiration, breathe oxygen, ...
s release, the song ascended and descended the chart for 12 weeks before eventually dropping off the chart. On July 13, 2010, the song re-entered the chart at 86. After ascending the chart for seven weeks the single reached an eventual peak of eight. In the United Kingdom, the song was listed on the UK Singles Chart for one week, dropping off the following week. On the issue date of August 28, 2010 the single re-entered the chart at 44."Official Charts Company - Kesha - Your Love Is My Drug"
Chart Stats. Retrieved 2020-06-06.
After steadily ascending the charts, the song eventually reached a peak of 15. In New Zealand, "Take It Off" entered the chart at 32 on the issue date of July 12, 2010. In the succeeding week the single rose ten spots to attain position 22. The song has since been certified gold by the
Recording Industry Association of New Zealand Recorded Music NZ (formerly the Recording Industry Association of New Zealand (RIANZ)) is a non-profit trade association of record producers, distributors and recording artists who sell recorded music in New Zealand. Membership of Recorded ...
(RIANZ). After eight more weeks of steadily ascending the charts the single reached a peak of 11 on its tenth total week on the chart. On August 22, 2010, the single entered the Australian Singles Chart at 29. The song ascended the chart for three weeks eventually reaching a peak of five. It has since been certified two times Platinum by the
Australian Recording Industry Association The Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) is a trade association representing the Australian recording industry which was established in the 1970s by six major record companies, EMI, Festival Records (Australia), Festival, Sony Music ...
(ARIA) for sales of 140,000 units.


Music videos


First version

The original video for "Take It Off" premiered on Vevo on August 3, 2010. It was directed by
Paul Hunter Paul Alan Hunter (14 October 1978 – 9 October 2006) was an English professional snooker player. He was a three-time Masters (snooker), Masters champion, winning the event in 2001 Masters (snooker), 2001, 2002 Masters (snooker), 2002, a ...
and Dori Oskowitz. Kesha revealed the main idea behind the video in an interview explaining that " he video wasabout erand all erhot vampire babe friends breaking into a hotel on another planet, and at the end we all turn into this beautiful stardust. Once you take it all off, all your inhibitions, your clothes, we're all made up of the same thing." She explained that she did not want the video to just be about "Taking it off", that the message behind the video and the theme wasn't "just about taking off your clothes and rolling in glitter. It's also about taking off your inhibitions and being raw and real". The video starts off with Kesha seen on a motorcycle. She proceeds to walk as her friends follow behind her as they enter a motel area. As the chorus of the song starts, Kesha and her friends start to run around the motel dancing and jumping off railings. The friends gather around an empty pool and start tearing at each other's clothing; While this is happening it is revealed they that are on a different planet and Kesha is seen rolling around in sand. Slowly as some of the friends start taking off their clothing, they begin to turn into star dust. The group starts to dance in the pool with some of the party goers exploding into dust. The remainder of the friends continue to dance in the dust that is now covering the bottom of the pool. As this is happening they all begin to lose different parts of their bodies as they explode into multicolored star dust. The video ends with everyone as dust with Kesha beginning to "unzip" herself as she turns into yellow dust. Jocelyn Vena of
MTV News MTV News was the news production division of MTV. The service was available in the US with localized versions on MTV's global network and an online news team. In 2016, MTV refreshed the MTV News brand to compete with the likes of BuzzFeed and ...
met the video with a positive review. She noted that Kesha "manages to embrace her inner party animal and throw a neo-colored party at an abandoned motel in the middle of nowhere." She stated that "While the concept of "a lot of pretty people dancing at dusk" is pretty simple, the neo colors manage to amp up the video, as does the colored sand that's thrown around in the air and mixed with glitter." Her conclusion of the video and of Kesha was that as simple as it may be, "she manages to be both sexy and fun while rolling around in the desert." Melinda Newman of HitFix criticized the video's first half, calling it "predictable." The video's second half, however, was met with praise with Newman commenting that the 'special effects at the end almost redeem it."


Second version

The song's second video was released via Kesha's
YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...
account. She revealed the video's completion, release and inspiration through a video description quote saying, "heyy to all my fans! so me ndmy friends were bored and we were really channeling some 80's nspiration(''
Tron ''Tron'' (stylized as ''TRON'') is a 1982 American science fiction action adventure film written and directed by Steven Lisberger from a story by Lisberger and Bonnie MacBird. The film stars Jeff Bridges as Kevin Flynn, a computer programmer ...
'',
David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer, songwriter and actor. Regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century, Bowie was acclaimed by critics and musicians, pa ...
in ''
Labyrinth In Greek mythology, the Labyrinth () is an elaborate, confusing structure designed and built by the legendary artificer Daedalus for King Minos of Crete at Knossos. Its function was to hold the Minotaur, the monster eventually killed by the h ...
'', and ''
Revenge of the Nerds ''Revenge of the Nerds'' is a 1984 American comedy film directed by Jeff Kanew and starring Robert Carradine, Anthony Edwards, Ted McGinley, and Bernie Casey. The plot follows a group of nerds at the fictional Adams College trying to st ...
''.) and we made this new video for take it off. it was really fun to make. i hope you guys like it". The video was directed by Skinny. This version of the video is known as "Take it Off (K$ N' Friends Version)". The video begins with a scene of a
leopard The leopard (''Panthera pardus'') is one of the five extant cat species in the genus ''Panthera''. It has a pale yellowish to dark golden fur with dark spots grouped in rosettes. Its body is slender and muscular reaching a length of with a ...
with glowing blue eyes (later revealed to be Kesha) walking down an alleyway. The song's title flashes on the screen and the video pans to Kesha. She walks down the alleyway with two men who grab another man. Kesha spray-paints a dollar sign on his chest. They come to a party where she and her friends flash their tattooed dollar signs on their wrists and forearms in order to enter. As they enter, everyone starts dancing and the party-goers' faces are shown changing into different animals'. In the following scene, Kesha is seen sitting on a chair with two men by her side.
Jeffree Star Jeffree Star (born Jeffrey Lynn Steininger Jr., November 15, 1985) is an American makeup artist, media personality and singer-songwriter. He is the founder and owner of Jeffree Star Cosmetics. In 2009, Star released his debut studio album, ''Be ...
then approaches Kesha. Kesha and Star engage in a choreographed dance battle; Star then shoots Kesha with a laser chain saw which she deflects with her bracelet, Kesha responds by shooting lasers out of her hands, killing Star. After the battle the party-goers crawl around Kesha and she is seen holding a gold cup with a blue foaming liquid spilling over the top of the glass. As Kesha gives the party goers a drink, their faces turn into different kinds of animals. The video ends with everyone dancing and turning into half animal humans, Kesha however, drinks from the cup and turns back into a leopard.


Live performances

On August 13, 2010, Kesha performed "Take It Off" alongside earlier singles "Your Love Is My Drug" and "
Tik Tok TikTok, known in mainland China and Hong Kong as Douyin (), is a social media and short-form online video platform owned by Chinese Internet company ByteDance. It hosts user-submitted videos, which may range in duration from three seconds t ...
" on ''
Today Today (archaically to-day) may refer to: * The current day and calendar date ** Today is between and , subject to the local time zone * Now, the time that is perceived directly, present * The current, present era Arts, entertainment and m ...
''. In the performance, she is seen wearing boots, fishnets, glitter shorts and a loose tank top. By the second verse, her dancers, that are dressed in black start to undress as the chorus starts, revealing gold shirts and tank-tops. The performance featured smoke machines with Kesha playing notes on an electric keyboard while crawling on the floor. She has also performed the song in a set for
BBC Radio 1's Big Weekend BBC Radio 1's Big Weekend (R1BW) (previously known as One Big Weekend, for 2012 as Radio 1's Hackney Weekend, and for 2018 as BBC Music's Biggest Weekend) is a British music festival run by BBC Radio 1. It is held once a year, in a different l ...
. "Take It Off" was performed on November 21, 2010, at the 2010 American Music Awards. The performance started off with Kesha opening with "Take It Off" while playing on the keyboard wearing a glowing robot helmet; she soon transitioned into "
We R Who We R "We R Who We R" is a song by American singer Kesha from her first extended play (EP), ''Cannibal (EP), Cannibal'' (2010). The song was released as the EP's lead single on October 22, 2010. It was written by Kesha, with Jacob Kasher Hindlin, Dr. ...
". Kesha also performed the song during her first concert tour, titled
Get Sleazy Tour The Get Sleazy Tour (stylized as Get $leazy Tour) was the first concert tour by People of the United States, American recording artist Kesha in support of both her first album, ''Animal (Kesha album), Animal'', and first extended play, ''Cannibal ...
. The song was performed right after the concert opening track, " Sleazy".


Credits and personnel

;Recording *
Conway Recording Studios Conway Recording Studios is a recording studio in Hollywood, California. People and awards Conway started in the early 1970s as a mastering studio. In 1976, the studio began recording albums, including projects by Elton John and Stevie Wonde ...
,
Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...
, California, and at Dr. Luke's studio, Los Angeles, California. ;Personnel *Songwriting – Kesha Sebert, Lukasz Gottwald,
Claude Kelly Claude Kelly (born December 27, 1980)Shirley Halperin and Bob Love"THR Names Music's 35 Top Hitmakers,"''The Hollywood Reporter'', February 6, 2013. is an American record producer, songwriter, and singer. A four-time Grammy Award nominee, and h ...
*Production –
Dr. Luke Łukasz Sebastian Gottwald (born September 26, 1973), known professionally as Dr. Luke, Tyson Trax, and Made in China, is an American musician, songwriter, and record producer. He began his professional music career as the Saturday Night Live ...
*Production coordination – Vanessa Silberman, Megan Dennis, Becky Scott *Instruments and programming – Dr. Luke *Vocal Editing –
Emily Wright Emily Wright (born July 1, 1980) is an American songwriter, record producer and audio engineer based in Los Angeles. Early life Wright grew up in Wethersfield, Connecticut, graduating from Glastonbury High School and the Greater Hartford A ...
*Background Vocals – Claude Kelly, Aniela Gottwald, Tatiana Gottwald, Lukasz Gottwald, Graham Bryce *Engineering – Emily Wright, Sam Holland Credits adapted from the liner notes of ''Animal'', Kemosabe Recordings,
RCA Records RCA Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Group Corporation. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside Columbia Records (its former longtime rival), Arista Records and Epic R ...
.


Charts


Weekly charts


Year-end charts


Certifications


Release history


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Take It Off (Song) 2009 songs 2010 singles Kesha songs Music videos directed by Paul Hunter (director) Songs written by Dr. Luke Song recordings produced by Dr. Luke Songs written by Kesha Songs written by Claude Kelly RCA Records singles LGBTQ-related songs