Kesha Shading Diddy Doesn't Mean He's Missing Out On Royalties From "Tik Tok"

Highlights

• Diddy collaborates on "Tik Tok" but may still receive royalties, showing his business savvy in the music industry.
• Kesha's surprise diss at Coachella reflects her complicated past with Dr. Luke and highlights Diddy's involvement in her hit song.
• Despite legal battles and industry drama, Kesha's rise to fame with "Tik Tok" showcases her resilience and continued relevance.

Kesha, formerly Ke$ha, delighted fans at Coachella where she not only made a surprise appearance, but also dissed Sean "Diddy" Combs while singing "Tik Tok." After a long absence from the spotlight, Kesha dropped the first line of the song to thrilled listeners while on stage with Reneé Rapp, and the modified lyric to "Tik Tok" made it clear how the singer feels about Diddy.

Instead of singing, "Wake up in the morning feeling like P. Diddy," Kesha instead sang, "Wake up in the morning like f*** P. Diddy." It's assumed that Kesha used the opportunity to drag Diddy in her music due to the multiple sexual misconduct lawsuits against him, as Kesha herself has been to court over similar allegations against her former producer. Yet Kesha's original track did include a nod to Diddy, but also a couple of lines by the artist himself. Does that mean Diddy is still earning royalties from "Tik Tok" today? Here's what we think.

Diddy Likely Receives Royalties From Ke$ha's "Tik Tok"

With two lines on the track, Diddy was in the studio with Kesha for "Tik Tok"

Though most articles referencing the making of "Tik Tok" are now deleted, Wikipedia suggests that Kesha thought the song up after stumbling in after a long night of partying. It's said that the P. Diddy line was inspired by her imagining Sean Combs waking up surrounded by beautiful women, as Kesha herself had experienced.

After that concept was put on paper, Kesha worked with Dr. Luke and Benny Blanco to complete the song. In a moment of serendipity (it's not stated whether Diddy had heard the song), a few hours laer, Diddy called Luke and wanted to collaborate.

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Diddy reportedly came to the studio the same day and recorded his lines; after Kesha raps "Wake up in the morning feeling like P Diddy," Diddy says, "Hey, what up girl?"

After her next line, "Grab my glasses, I'm out the door, I'm gonna hit this city," Diddy says, "Let's go."

The two seemingly insignificant lines in the song weren't enough to get Diddy a byline in the song's artist slot, but that doesn't mean he didn't protect himself with some sort of contract. The 2009 song wasn't produced by Diddy, nor does the song credit him, but it only makes sense that Diddy would have learned from his own royalty problems that he should get something on paper for every collaboration.

Diddy Pays Out Plenty Of Royalties Himself

Odds are, Diddy knows how royalties work and protected himself

Diddy took to social media to joke about owing royalties to other artists, but that doesn't mean he's made the same mistake twice. Back in 1997, Diddy released "I'll Be Missing You," which sampled the 1983 song "Every Breath You Take." In an interview, Sting, the frontman of the Police, seemingly confirmed that Diddy didn't ask for permission until after the song came out.

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Sting confirmed that he liked the song, but also answered in the affirmative when asked whether it was true that Diddy paid him $2,000 per day in royalties. Diddy took to X (formerly Twitter) to joke, "Nope. 5K a day. Love to my brother @OfficialSting!" but later confirmed he was just kidding.

Either way, Diddy knows how royalties work, and after the possible misstep he made in 1997 — though both he and Sting say they are friends now — he is unlikely to have made the same mistake twice. So when he got the invite to sing a few lines in Kesha's "Tik Tok," Diddy probably secured the bag beforehand.

Kesha Was A Relative Unknown Before "Tik Tok"

It was only by chance that Kesha got Diddy on her track

After a long history with Dr. Luke, Kesha wound up accusing her former producer of assault and other crimes, including financial, but ultimately lost the suit.

Dr. Luke responded by suing Kesha for defamation and breach of contract, a suit he was later said to have won, though in truth, the two parties came to a private settlement agreement a month before the trial was set to conclude.

All this to say that Kesha is no longer on good terms with Dr. Luke, and seemed to be supporting both assault victims and artists by lashing out against Diddy, who was apparently close with Dr. Luke in the past.

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Still, working with Dr. Luke and Benny Blanco on "Tik Tok" led to Kesha's rise to fame, even if she hasn't managed to maintain the same level of success since her debut. It was something of an accident that Diddy wound up on Kesha's song, and also a shock that the song went viral in its heyday.

However, all signs point to Diddy securing his payout before agreeing to contribute the lines, so even if Kesha performs the song differently live, Sean Combs is likely earning some amount of royalties each time fans stream "Tik Tok."