[1] 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.

The event led to Kesha being sought after by many major labels, and she eventually signed a multi-album deal with RCA Records.

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.

Its lead single, "Tik Tok", was released on August 7, 2009, and was a worldwide hit, reaching number one in eleven countries.

At the age of eighteen, Kesha signed to Dr. Luke's label, Kemosabe Records, and his publishing company, Prescription Songs.

Luke was busy with other projects at the time, and Kesha ultimately wound up signed to David Sonenberg's management company, DAS.

Kara DioGuardi, an artists and repertoire (A&R) representative for Warner, was also interested in signing Kesha but the deal never went through because of the outstanding contract with Luke.

[4] At the end of 2008, Luke was working on a track with Flo Rida called "Right Round" for his album R.O.O.T.S., and the two decided they needed a female hook.

The event led to Kesha being sought after by many major labels,[4] and she eventually signed a multi-album deal with RCA Records.

[8] 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.

[21] "Dinosaur" features a whistle-synth infused backing while the lyrics describe the story of older men hitting on younger girls.

[20] "Party at a Rich Dude's House" is reminiscent of music from the 1980s which according to Jeffries could have appeared on the soundtrack to the 1982 film Fast Times at Ridgemont High.

"Dancing with Tears in My Eyes" is an upbeat pop-rock ballad; one of a small minority of tracks to incorporate guitars in the instrumental, as Kesha tried to exclude the style from the album.

[8] RCA noticed Kesha's strong following on social media when negotiating her contract and thus relied on viral marketing to build a following for her debut single, "Tik Tok" offering it for free a month before releasing it for digital download.

[5] While "Tik Tok"'s airplay was not stellar right out of the gates, it soon gained enough momentum to give RCA the go ahead to release Animal in January 2010.

[27] She wore her trademark glitter eye make-up and bounced throughout the stage while her backup dancers were dressed as human TV sets showing intermittent images of the American flag, owls, and skulls.

[28] Kesha performed "Your Love Is My Drug" and "Tik Tok" on a season 35 episode of Saturday Night Live hosted by Ryan Phillippe on April 17, 2010.

[29] On May 29, 2010, Kesha performed "Your Love Is My Drug" alongside her previous single "Tik Tok" at the MTV Video Music Awards Japan.

[31] On August 13, 2010, Kesha performed "Take It Off" alongside earlier singles "Your Love Is My Drug" and "Tik Tok" on NBC's Today.

[46] The single was met with mixed reaction from music critics, some praised Kesha's unapologetic lyrics combined with an auto-tuned working hook, while others called it trashy.

[59] Ann Powers of the Los Angeles Times stated that Kesha was "offer[ing] a thoroughly fleshed-out character to embrace or despise," comparing her persona to "classic screwball blond[s]" such as Jean Harlow and Mae West, while praising her and Dr. Luke for "refashion[ing] the screwball heroine role to suit a new era of aggressive superficiality and libertine self-empowerment".

"[55] Ailbhe Malone of NME gave Animal a mixed review but concluded that "[b]eneath the patina of skeezy Freshers'-Week-LOLZ lyrics ('got a water-bottle full of whiskey in my handbag')" it seems there "lies a talent.

"[56] Andrew Burgess of MusicOMH was impressed with Kesha, calling her an "auto-tuned talk-singing, gum-smacker" that may well be "a pop-genius, a gutter-glam Jonathan Swift."

"[8] James Reed of The Boston Globe believed that Kesha's "personality is completely missing from [the songs]," resulting in her sounding "vapid and faceless.

"[60] Jonathan Keefe of Slant Magazine was extremely critical of the album and Kesha, saying that her attempts to sing and rap were "pitiful", describing her as "insincere" and "souless".

[58] Dave Simpson of The Guardian also questioned the honesty of her lyrics while comparing her unfavorably to Lady Gaga, Katy Perry, and Britney Spears.

[61] With "Tik Tok" occupying the top spot on the Billboard Hot 100 at the same time, Kesha became the first act to achieve this feat since 2008 when Spirit and "Bleeding Love" by Leona Lewis simultaneously held the pole positions.

[65] In 2024, the album received a 4× Platinum certification by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for sales of 4 million equivalent units.