Ke$ha didn’t always wake up in the morning feeling like P. Diddy. No, folks, once upon a time—way back in 2000, to be exact—Kesha Seybert was just a normal tween, trying to make her name in the world by entering into middle school talent competitions and warbling moody hits by Radiohead.

And what, pray tell, did the young chanteuse sound like before she succumbed to the lurid temptations of Auto-Tune and glitter? Head below to watch the seeds of promise being sewn, as a 13-year-old Ke$ha sings “Karma Police.”

With Ke$ha’s 23rd birthday coming up on Monday, having this hot trash find its way online is probably the best birthday present we could hope for—well, for us, at least. Probably not so much for her.

And we admit, it’s kind of disorienting to watch a Ke$ha video where she’s not drunk or tying some dude up with duct tape. It kind of makes you even more appreciative of the insightful, precious gift we have now in the singer.

But in looking at the outfit she has on above, why do we have a strong suspicion that Ke$ha was wearing zebra print even at age 13?