Las Vegas binge turns into huge hit for Ke$ha

Ke$ha says her smash hit, "Tik Tok," was what she got from waking up in Vegas.

Ke$ha's dance-pop song -- one of the biggest downloads ever -- begins, tongue-in-cheek:

"Wake up in the morning feeling like P Diddy. ... Before I leave, brush my teeth with a bottle of Jack, 'cause when I leave for the night, I ain't coming back."

In the video, she climbs out of a bathtub, looking like a party mess.

On Saturday, she told me about the Vegas connection.

"Actually, the concept of me waking up in the bathtub for the 'Tik Tok' video is when I spent a few debaucherous nights in Vegas and woke up in a bathtub.

"I didn't have any toothpaste, so I grabbed the Jack Daniels from the night before. And there was 'Tik Tok.' "

Ke$ha, 23, performed a few songs at Mandalay Bay's Moorea pool club, then opened for Rihanna. Ke$ha is a tall drink of water. What is she, 5-foot-11?

I told her I like that her music mocks the post-Paris Hilton party lifestyle that she simultaneously embraces.

"Absolutely," she said. "It's taking the piss out of all of it. It's very irreverent. I really truly don't care what other people think. And I'm having fun. I think that I will gain respect in time. It's just gonna take time. So for right now, I'm just trying to take the piss out of all this."

THE DATE WHISPERER

Freshly single Jennifer Love Hewitt looked great at Palazzo's Azure pool on Saturday and was as nice as ever.

People talk about her not-tiny butt. I scrutinized it, and I declare it thumbs-up.

She's in a new Lifetime movie, "The Client List," in which she wears lingerie "24/7."

She told me she has been chilling since "Ghost Whisperer" ended.

"For the first time in five years, I don't have to 'crossover' the dead every day."

SIGHTINGS

Jenny McCarthy, post Jim Carrey, made another Vegas appearance Saturday night at club Vanity, partying with friends in a short black dress, drinking Grey Goose-and-cranberry and dancing with some dude until 4 a.m. ... Matthew McConaughey called into Lavo on Saturday to pay for brother-in-law Bruno Alves' dinner and clubbing. That's some brother-in-law move. ... "Bachelor" victor Vienna Girardi wouldn't do interviews for her Saturday appearance at Tao Beach, and she was late for her own red carpet, so I bolted. Mark Gray reported in People that the newly single nobody toasted, "To being single," then downed a shot and pumped her fist. What a tool. ... AnnaLynne McCord from "90210" and her "Twilight" boyfriend, Kellan Lutz, lit up her 23rd birthday at Wet Republic day club on Saturday. She was overheard saying that she would choose a vampire over a werewolf because she's not into hairy chests, that her dad does Vegas a lot and that she loves to gamble. Her sister Angel showed up with an amazing bikini bod. ... Bill Maher played three-card poker for the first time ever here this weekend, while performing at The Orleans, and won $640 on a straight flush. ... Kelly Osbourne and 10 friends ate at Union for her best friend Blake Wood's birthday, then went to Haze, where she hung with Common. She didn't drink booze but went with sugar-free Red Bull from a champagne glass. She looked quite in shape, dealing with a breakup from fiance Luke Worrall, who cheated on her, reportedly. Then she flew home. And? "My life just could not get any wors(e) right now," she wrote on Twitter. "I come home to find my dog Woody is dead." Man, that sucks. ... Ke$ha took 30 friends and crew to eat on the balcony of Yellowtail on Saturday. She partied later at club Bank at Bellagio. ... Lil Jon ate at Johnny Smalls on Sunday and partied at day club Rehab and club Vanity, where he was seen making the acquaintance of many lasses.

Doug Elfman's column appears on Sundays, Mondays, Tuesdays and Fridays. E-mail delfman@reviewjournal.com. He also blogs at reviewjournal.com/elfman.