Ke$ha: Here for the party

That party anthem is rife with typical Ke$ha insouciance — “I’m talking about everybody getting crunk, crunk/ Boys tryin’ to touch my junk, junk/ Gonna smack him if he getting too drunk, drunk.”

Up close, the performer, who is in town to perform at Sunday’s MuchMusic Video Awards, was surprisingly sober, as in both lucid and serious. Chatting with the Star backstage after soundcheck at the network’s Queen St. headquarters, Ke$ha cited Bob Dylan as inspiration, lauded the power of positive thinking and came close to tears on the subject of animals dying in the Gulf oil spill. She seemed older than her 23 years despite the trademark shorts and glittery eye shadow.

“I am a very serious songwriter and a very serious artist and I take what I do very seriously; it just so happens that what I do is make people dance,” said Ke$ha who co-wrote every track on Animal. “And as silly as it may seem it’s very important for people to have fun. My main objective with this record is to embody youthful irreverence and happiness.

“I was broke, my family was broke, all my friends were broke, and instead of making it into a pity party and writing a slow, depressing record, I decided to look at it as a challenge and in a positive sense.”

Though she was raised with two brothers by mom Pebe Sebert who struggled with her own singing career before finding moderate success as songwriter, Ke$ha wasn’t deterred from going down the same path.

“Ever since I was little, she told me that’s it up to me to create my own reality,” explained the entertainer who went from “yodelling around the house” as a child to starting her first band in Grade 8 and moving back to Los Angeles on her own at 17 to pursue a pop career.

“I’ve actualized all of this. Singing was the only thing I ever thought I was really good at and I thought might as well run with it, because I love doing it and I don’t feel like being a banker.”

Though her nascent demo landed in hands of Animal’s executive producer Dr. Luke six years ago, Ke$ha toiled in the trenches — penning tunes or singing backup for the likes of The Veronicas, Paris Hilton and Britney Spears before getting a break on Flo Rida’s top-selling “Right Round” last year.

“That was a huge turning point. I didn’t get credit or money from it — I got featured internationally, but not in the States — but for an artist who has been struggling, been raised by single parent who is a struggling artist, finally to hear your voice on the radio and to be taken seriously as a songwriter and musician and an artist and a singer was a massive moment for me.”

She adopted the dollar sign in her name as “a confidence booster, because I was really broke and instead of being upset about it I decided no money was not going to bring me down. I was not going to let a dollar get in my way of realizing and actualizing my dreams. So put it in my name like, ‘I’m money, bitches! and here I am.’ “

Here she is, riding high with 4.9 million downloads, two MMVA nominations and the opening act slot on Rihanna’s summer tour. “Tik Tok” has been featured on The Simpsons and Ke$ha has made the rounds of all the high-profile American award and TV shows, including the Grammys and American Idol. Too busy to move out of her mom’s basement, she’s so big her former managers have filed a $14-million lawsuit against her.

“I’m very lucky, because I’m at a point where I can start reaching to a lot of people about things that are important to me; that’s really an upside to fame, but the rest of its really weird.”

Like the way everything she says goes viral. Yes, Ke$ha did tell some reporter or other about sending dog excrement to somebody that pissed her off, but she describes herself as “mortified” now that the story is making the rounds. She’d prefer people view that as the by-product of a creative mind and follow her lead on rescuing abused and abandoned dogs and raising money for Tennessee flood victims.

“People think I named my record Animal, because I’m a party animal. I can be, sure, but I feel like I am very much an animal, I’m very much in touch with that side of myself.”

That begs the obvious question.

“I wish it were something sexy like a jaguar, but I think I’m like a seal or a narwhal — something far more awkward and interesting.”

Details on the MuchMusic Video Awards:

Airing: 9 p.m. on MuchMusic; Red Carpet Special at 8.

Performers: Adam Lambert, Down With Webster, Drake, Hedley, Justin Bieber, Katy Perry, Ke$ha, Marianas Trench and Miley Cyrus (also co-host).

Presenters: Too many to name, but including Nikki Yanofsky, Karl Wolf, LIGHTS, Three Days Grace, hockey hero Jonthan Toews, actors Ashley Greene, Kellan Lutz and Xavier Samuel from the new Twilight film Eclipse, and TV stars Blake McGrath, Jessica Szohr, Kristin Cavallari, Miranda Cosgrove, Nina Dobrev, Shenae Grimes and, from Jersey Shore, Pauly D and Snooki.