Inside I was really unhappy, but outside, people were like, 'Wow, you look great.'"
Kesha is no longer the glitter-obsessed party girl fans remember from her "Tik Tok" and "We Are Who We R" days.
The 28-year-old singer has been making headlines for her much more natural look over the past year, and in a new interview with Vogue, gets candid about her struggles with an eating disorder and her subsequent style transformation. Kesha entered rehab for an eating disorder last January, where she stayed for two months.
"It's been quite a journey. [With the criticism], I went to a dark place," Kesha reveals to the magazine. "There was a lot of not eating -- and I started to think being hungry to the point of feeling almost faint was a positive thing. The worse it got, the more positive feedback I was getting. Inside I was really unhappy, but outside, people were like, 'Wow, you look great.'"
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"I was singing these songs like 'We R Who We R,' and I really believed them," she adds. "I wanted to be genuine. But I was sad and [I wasn't eating]."
Kesha now makes a conscious effort to stay healthy and to love herself.
"I realized being healthy is the most important thing I can do for myself," she stresses. "Now, I'm trying to embrace the skin I'm in. It's difficult sometimes. Every day I have to look in the mirror and make the choice to be kind to myself. This is who I am -- I have to love that."
Still, she doesn't regret any of her more questionable outfits in the past.
"No, I look back lovingly because I was having so much fun [with hair and makeup]," she reflects. " ... And before I went on stage I used to pour beer on my body [as an adhesive] then roll in a bathtub full of glitter. I don’t do that anymore because it irritated my skin."
Though don't count out her love affair with glitter just yet. "I'm not done with it forever -- there are still hints of glitter," she says.
NEWS: Kesha -- 'I Was Really Hurting My Body'
Last October, Kesha rattled the music industry when she filed a lawsuit against music producer Dr. Luke, which accused him of sexual, physical, verbal and emotional abuse.
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