Will Black Keys Team Up With Ke$ha? First They Want Jim Nabors

The duo sat down with MTV News in Berlin to discuss a pair of unlikely collaborations.
By James Montgomery

<P>Theirs is a relationship that has spanned time and Twitter, <a href="https://twitter.com/#!/keshasuxx/status/77286418598211584" target="_blank">seafood</a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/#!/keshasuxx/status/157523381602889728" target="_blank">shaving</a>, but over the years, the unlikely bond between the <a href="http://www.mtv.com/music/artist/black_keys/artist.jhtml">Black Keys</a> and <a href="http://www.mtv.com/music/artist/id_3213641/artist.jhtml">Ke$ha</a> has grown to become something <i>more</i>: a genuine friendship, marked with the occasional trespassing charge.</P><P></p><div class="player-placeholder right" title="Would The Black Keys Ever Collaborate With Ke$ha?" id="vid:731631.id:1678505" width="240" height="211"></div><p></P><P>"We're friends with her, we've known her since way before she was famous, before she was even a singer, I guess," Keys drummer Patrick Carney told MTV News. "When she was 16 years old, she used to sneak into our shows. We kind of became friends with her by kicking her out of our backstage room, over and over again. She actually has snuck into shows in L.A., San Diego, Coachella ..."</P><P>"She snuck in and [got] kicked out of one show, like, <i>five</i> times," frontman Dan Auerbach added. "[She] snuck in through the kitchen. I don't know if she's such a big fan; she just likes breaking the rules."</P><P>So, when MTV News sat down with the 'Keys in Berlin during the premiere of their <a href="/news/articles/1678662/black-keys-gold-on-the-ceiling-music-video.jhtml">"Gold on the Ceiling"</a> video, we had to ask if their friendship with Ke$ha would take the next step: an actual musical collaboration. It's not all that far-fetched, considering both Ke$h and Auerbach live in Nashville ("I see her every once in a while flying by in her T-Top [convertible]," Auerbach laughed), and recently, the glittery one has logged studio time with <a href="https://twitter.com/#!/keshasuxx/status/160846424609787906" target="_blank">the Flaming Lips</a>. So, could we see a team-up on the next Black Keys album?</P><P>"I guess, I don't know," Carney said. "We don't really do that many collaborations, really."</P><P>OK, so if a Ke$ha collabo isn't in the cards, just who would the 'Keys like to work with next? Well, as it turns out, they've got their eyes set on landing a very big star for the next record ... even if they mistakenly believe he's deceased.</P><P>"We both want to work with Jim Nabors very badly, but apparently he's not with us anymore," Carney said. Oh, <a href="http://www.jimnabors.com/" target="_blank">but he is.</a> Which means that, much like Nabors, the dream is alive. The Ke$ha collabo? Eh, probably not so much.</P><P><i>Should the Black Keys hit the studio with Ke$ha? Leave your comment below!</i></P>

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