Diva Spotlight: Pink

The first P!nk song I ever heard was Get the Party Started when I was about nine years old and I immediately thought that she was one of the coolest people I'd ever seen. I mean she had PINK HAIR and her NAME WAS PINK for crying out loud. P!nk's musical evolution from the beginning of her career to where she is now is really something to see, from hearing her voice mature to her switch from R&B to rock to watching her adult life play out through her lyrics. I've had a lot of respect for P!nk since I watched a documentary on her life on either MTV or VH1 close to ten years ago, and I was really excited to do a deep dive into her music this week since I'd never done a full album listen through for her before.

As per usual, here's a quick crash course in P!nk if you aren't familiar with her work (all information current as of February 2021):

-Legal name is Alecia Moore

-41 years old (first album was released at age 21)

-Born in Doylestown, Pennsylvania (roughly 39 miles from Philadelphia)

-Vocalist and songwriter

-Married motocrosser Carey Hart in 2006 (they have a daughter, Willow, and a son, Jameson, together)

-Has won 131 awards, including six Billboard Music Awards, 1 Emmy, and 3 Grammys

-Received her star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2019

-Has released 8 studio albums and one greatest hits compilation

While I absolutely must give honorable mention to Raise Your Glass and Fuckin' Perfect, which were released as new singles on her Greatest Hits album in 2010, I'll only be focusing on P!nk's eight studio albums for this post and my top 3 songs from each album after their initial listen throughs. So, to paraphrase this week's diva, let's get this party started.

Can't Take Me Home (2000)

P!nk's debut R&B/dance pop album was released April 4th, 2000 by LaFace/Arista. With a run time of 54:21, it produced 3 singles: There You Go (2/20/00), Most Girls (9/4/00), and You Make Me Sick (12/18/00). The album has been certified 2x Platinum by the RIAA for selling over 2 million copies in the US. This album started off a week of "Wait, I didn't know P!nk sang this" moments for me. The whole album felt like watching literally any teen movie or romcom from the early 2000s which was admittedly pretty fun, and picking my top 3 was pretty easy.

Track 3: Most Girls (written by K. Edmonds, D. Thomas)

This exact song was my first "Wait, this is a P!nk song?!" moment for me. It's still a total banger twenty-one years later, and it was kind of funny for me to hear how young P!nk sounded not only on this song but on the entire album.

I never cared too much for love/It was all a bunch of mush that I just did not want/Paid was the issue of the day/If a girlfriend’s got some game, couldn’t be more fly, getting paid was everything/But I’m not every girl, and I don’t need that world to validate me/‘Cause shorty got a job, shorty got a car, shorty can pay her own rent/Don’t wanna dance if it is not in my heart/Most girls want a man with the bling bling, got my own thing, got the ching-ching/I just want real love/Most girls want a man with the mean green, don’t wanna dance if he can’t be everything that I dream of/A man that understands real love

Track 7: Love Is Such a Crazy Thing (written by C. Sills, D. Jones, J. Boyd, M. Keith, L. Maxwell, Q. Parker, M. Scandrick)

I really like the piano that starts this song out and the chill R&B, somewhat Alicia Keys-ish vibe this song gives off. P!nk always pours her entire heart into her music and that really shows off here.

I never thought I’d find someone/But you came along and made me see/That you were the only one for me/Boy, I love you constantly/You are my love, my only love/Baby, my heart belongs to you/Be with me, don’t play with me/If you want love, just let me know/Love, love is such a crazy thing/Never understood the way I/Was supposed to feel/Is this love for real/Oh, love, love is such a crazy thing/Never understood the way I/Was supposed to feel/Is this love for real/Love for real

Track 8: Private Show (written by A. Martin, C. Schack, I. Matias, K. Karlin)

The beat of this song is almost painfully 00's, but I dug every single minute of it. It's a fun, sway-to-it type of bop that fits the overall narrative of the album.

Silly you, silly me to let you in and put a move on me, yeah, yeah, yeah/Never once asked for love, always took I for what it’s worth, memories/See, I don’t wanna meet on a lonely street where the talk is cheap and the price is sweet/I’m not that girl, I’m not that girl/And you don’t wanna see the other side of me, so I’ma hit you off and I’ma set you free/Before you fall too deep, don’t fall too deep/He don’t know/I’m gon’ be the one who’s gonna let him go/Even if he wants to stay, I’ll let him go/‘Cause all he wants from me is a private show, oh, oh

M!ssundaztood (2001)

P!nk's sophomore pop/dance/R&B album was released November 20th, 2001 by Arista. With a run time of 55:16, it produced 4 singles: Get the Party Started (10/9/01), Don't Let Me Get Me (2/19/01), Just Like a Pill (6/10/02), and Family Portrait (12/17/02). The album has been certified 5x Platinum by the RIAA for selling over 5 million copies in the US and was nominated for two Grammys in 2003. This album is the perfect example of early stage P!nk; I do like the sound of this one a little more than Can't Take Me Home and I love that this is where P!nk starts showing up more on her writing credits. Overall this album was a really good time to listen to, and choosing my top 3 was again fairly easy.

Track 1: Get the Party Started (written by L. Perry)

To this day, this is probably one of the top three songs people will name if you ask them what songs you associate with P!nk. Like I said at the beginning, this song helped me become a fan of hers as soon as I heard it and people still can't help but dance and sing along any time it gets played anywhere.

Get this party started on a Saturday night/Everybody’s waiting for me to arrive/Sending out the message to all of my friends/We’ll be looking flashy in my Mercedes-Benz/I got lots of style, check my gold diamond rings/I can go for miles if you know what I mean/I’m coming up, so you better get this party started/I’m coming up, I’m coming/I’m coming up, so you better get this party started

Track 6: Numb (written by D. Austin)

I liked the little bit grungier, dirtier sound given to the Dallas Mix of this song that's included on the album. The lyrics are what got me most on this song, specifically at the chorus, because I've felt a similar way in a relationship even though that specific relationship wasn't romantic in nature.

No sleep, no sex for you from your ex-girlfriend/I was too deep, I can’t let you go and just jump in/At times I would push my feelings aside to let you feel/I’m novocaine, I’m numb and nothing’s real/Like the coldest winter, I am frozen from you/I was weak before, now you made me so numb/I can’t feel much for you anymore/I gave you my all, my baby/I’m numb, numb, numb/But the tears were silent inside, you see/But the tears were silent inside, you see

Track 14: My Vietnam (written by L. Perry, A. Moore)

P!nk references her relationship with her father multiple times throughout her albums, and I like seeing glimpses into what seems to be a special relationship that the two of them share. The comparison of her father's time in Vietnam with the anxiety she feels every day trying to navigate a world that doesn't make sense to her was interesting to hear and it made for a good listen.

Daddy was a soldier, he taught me about freedom/Peace and all the great things that we take advantage of/Once I fed the homeless, I’ll never forget/The look upon their faces as I treated them with respect/This is my Vietnam/I’m at war/Life keeps on dropping bombs/And I keep score

Try This (2003)

P!nk's third album, a mix of pop and rock & roll, was released November 10th, 2003 by Arista. With a run time of 51:52, it produced 4 singles: Feel Good Time (6/20/03), Trouble (9/8/03), God Is a DJ (1/26/04), and Last to Know (4/04). The album has been certified Platinum by the RIAA for selling over 1 million copies in the US. To me, THIS is the album where P!nk starts to sound like the P!nk we all know and love today. While I enjoy some of her early R&B sounding stuff, P!nk is a rockstar to me, and she shows it on this album for sure. This was almost a full hour of "Wait, P!nk sings this?" for me, but again my top 3 were pretty easy to narrow down.

Track 1: Trouble (written by L. Price, A. Moore, T. Armstrong)

I had no idea P!nk sang this until this last Wednesday, but I remember hearing it in so many movies that year (The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement and Ice Princess just to name a few), and this song actually won her her first solo Grammy for Best Female Rock Vocal Performance (her first win was with Christina Aguilera, Mya, and Li'l Kim for Lady Marmalade). Absolute banger, 10/10 would recommend.

No attorneys to plead my case/No opiates to send into outer space/And my fingers are bejeweled with diamonds and gold/But that ain’t gonna help me now/I’m trouble, yeah, trouble now/I’m trouble, y’all, I disturb my town/I’m trouble, yeah, trouble now/I’m trouble, y’all, I got trouble in my town

Track 2: God Is a DJ (written by J. Davis, A. Moore, billyman)

I watch Mean Girls every single year on October 3rd, which is an important fact because that movie is the first place I ever heard this song (if you don't know, it's the song that plays when everyone is getting ready for the Spring Fling towards the end). This is another total bop and I really like the message behind it as well.

I’ve been a girl with her skirt pulled high/Been the outcast, never running with mascara eyes/I see the world as a candy store/With a cigarette smile saying things you can’t ignore/Like, "Mommy I love you, Daddy I have you/Brother I need you"/Love or hate, fuck you, I can see everything/Here with my third eye, like the blue in the sky/If God is a DJ, life is a dance floor/Love is the rhythm, you are the music/If God is a DJ, life is a dance floor/You get what you’re given, it’s all how you use it

Track 13: Feel Good Time ft. William Orbit (written by B. Hansen, W. Orbit)

I've definitely heard the Beck version of this song before, but never knew P!nk's version actually was released first. It ended up being featured on the soundtrack for Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle (starring Drew Barrymore, Lucy Liu, & Cameron Diaz) and is a lot of fun to listen to to get yourself hyped up.

We go where we like, we got over time/We get paid to rattle our chains/We go in the back, paint our money black/Spend it on the enemy/Sleeping in the church, riding in the dirt/Put a banner over my grave/Make a body work, make a beggar hurt/Sell me something big and untamed/Now our time, real good time/Now our time, real good time/Now our time, real good time/A real good time/Baby, you’re mine

I'm Not Dead (2006)

P!nk's fourth album, listed as solely pop influenced, was released April 4th, 2006 by LaFace. With a run time of 54:07, it produced 6 singles: Stupid Girls (2/7/06), Who Knew (5/8/06), U + Ur Hand (8/28/06), Nobody Knows (11/20/06), Dear Mr. President (12/21/06), and Leave Me Alone (I'm Lonely) (3/12/07). The album has been certified 2x Platinum by the RIAA for selling over 2 million copies in the US and was nominated for a Grammy in 2007. This album came out right as I was starting high school so I have a lot of fond memories of hearing these songs on the radio. It's definitely more pop sounding than her other stuff but still retains that rock sound she introduced in Try This. I love the energy on this album, and here's my top 3 from the track list.

Track 2: Who Knew (written by L. Gottwald, M. Martin, A. Moore)

I do not like how many times I saw Dr. Luke's name on writing credits for this album, but this song is too good to pass up. This song gets credit from a lot of critics for revamping P!nk's career again here in the States, and I think this is a pretty good choice if there had to be one to say it got that job done.

You took my hand, you showed me how/You promised me you’d be around/Uh huh, that’s right/I took your words and I believed/In everything you said to me/Yeah huh, that’s right/If someone said three years from now you’d be long gone/I’d stand up and punch them out, ‘cause they’re all wrong/I know better, ‘cause you said forever/And ever, who knew

Track 9: U + Ur Hand (written by L. Gottwald, M. Martin, A. Moore, R. Yacoub)

This was my favorite P!nk song up until just a few years ago when it was bumped down to #2. I have a lot of fond memories of listening to this song when my parents weren't home because I was 14 and they would've had a stroke if they'd heard the lyrics and found out I knew every one of them even though I (somewhat embarrassingly) didn't know what most of them meant at the time. I love the shock value of this song and that P!nk is just completely unapologetic about saying whatever she wants through her art.

Check it out, going out on the late night/Looking tight, feeling nice, it’s a cock fight/I can tell, I just know that it’s going down tonight/At the door, we don’t wait ‘cause we know them/At the bar, six shots, just beginning/That’s when dickhead put his hands on me, but ya see/I’m not here for your entertainment/You don’t really wanna mess with me tonight/Just stop and take a second/I was fine before you walked into my life/‘Cause you know it’s over before it began/Keep your drink, just give me the money/It’s just you and your hand tonight

Track 11: The One That Got Away (written by B. Mann, A. Moore)

My third pick from I'm Not Dead is a far cry from the first two, but I loved it the minute I heard it. The more stripped down sound of this one and P!nk's vocals just really sold it for me.

I stood by the exit door of the hotel cafe, he was playing with his band/I’ve always been a sucker, had a weakness for a boy with a guitar and a drink in his hand/His words were like heaven in my hurricane, my knees buckled under/I thought everyone was watching me watching you save my life with a song/You were mine in the back of my mind/Oh just for one night, just for a while/There’s always one that gets away/The one that sneaks up on you then slips away

Funhouse (2008)

P!nk's fifth album brings back more of the rock edge in addition to her pop sound and was released October 24th, 2008 by LaFace. With a run time of 47:02, it produced 7 singles: So What (8/19/08), Sober (11/4/08), Please Don't Leave Me (1/31/09), Bad Influence (5/8/09), Funhouse (8/3/09), I Don't Believe You (10/5/09), and Glitter in the Air (1/31/10). The album has been certified 3x Platinum by the RIAA for selling over 3 million copies in the US and was nominated for three Grammys in 2009. Funhouse was heavenly influenced by P!nk's separation from husband Carey Hart, making this one of her more genuinely emotional albums, and a lot of really great songs came out of this time in her life. I had a little bit of a harder time picking my top 3 here, but landed on three really solid choices in the end.

Track 1: So What (written by M. Martin, A. Moore, K. Schuster)

This song is still an absolute banger. It earned P!nk a Grammy nomination in 2009 for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance and is just a lot of fun to scream sing really loud to get yourself excited.

I guess I just lost my husband, I don’t know where he went/So I’ma drink my money, I’m not gonna pay his rent/I got a brand new attitude and I’m gonna wear it tonight/I wanna get in trouble, I wanna start a fight/Na na na na na na na, I wanna start a fight/Na na na na na na na, I wanna start a fight/So so what, I’m still a rockstar, I got my rock moves and I don’t need you/And guess what, I’m having more fun, and now that we’re done, I’m gonna show you/Tonight, I’m alright, I’m just fine, and you’re a tool so/So what, I am a rock star, I got my rock moves, and I don’t want you tonight

Track 5: Please Don't Leave Me (written by M. Martin, A. Moore)

This is my favorite P!nk music video by a mile - seriously, go watch it, it' so fun. It's one of those videos that doesn't in any way match the initial tone of the song but it ends up working so incredibly well.

I don’t know if I could yell any louder/How many times have I kicked you outta here/Or said something insulting/I can be so mean when I wanna be/I am capable of really anything/I can cut you into pieces/When my heart is broken/Please don’t leave me/Please don’t leave me/I always say how I don’t need you but it’s always gonna come right back to this/Please don’t leave me

Track 7: Funhouse (written by J. Harry, A. Moore, T. Kanal)

This album's title track is bubbly and fun on the outside with sad, gloomy lyrics talking more about P!nk's marital separation. Still 100% a bop though, especially 13 years later knowing they worked things out.

I dance around this empty house, tear us down, throw you out/Screaming down the halls, spinning all around and now we fall/Pictures framing up the past, your taunting smirk behind the glass/This museum full of ash, once a tickle now a rash/This used to be a funhouse/But now, it’s full of evil clowns/It’s time to start the countdown/I’m gonna burn it down, down, down/I’m gonna burn it down

The Truth About Love (2012)

P!nk's sixth album, back to pop, was released September 18th, 2012 by RCA. With a run time of 50:49, it produced 6 singles: Blow Me (One Last Kiss) (7/3/12), Try (9/6/12), Just Give Me A Reason (2/26/13), True Love (6/28/13), Walk of Shame (9/25/13), and Are We All We Are (9/25/13). The album has been certified 3x Platinum by the RIAA for selling over 3 million copies in the US and was nominated for three Grammys: one in 2013 and two in 2014. This album focuses more on long-term relationships than any of her previous albums had, and the sound continues to get more mature as well. A lot of good music happens here, but nevertheless here are my top 3.

Track 4: Just Give Me a Reason ft. Nate Ruess (written by J. Bhasker, N. Ruess, A. Moore)

Oh my heart, this song is still so good. Nominated for two Grammys in 2014, it's a refreshing change of pace for P!nk, hearing her wanting to solve a relationship problem instead of burning it to the ground, and she and Fun's Nate Ruess compliment each others vocals beautifully.

Right from the start you were a thief, you stole my heart and I, your willing victim/I let you see the parts of me that weren’t all that pretty, and with every touch you fixed them/Now you’ve been talking in your sleep, oh, oh, things you never say to me, oh, oh/Tell me that you’ve had enough of our love, our love/Just give me a reason, just a little bit’s enough/Just a second, we’re not broken just bent and we can learn to love again/It’s in the stars, it’s been written in the scars on our hearts/We’re not broken just bent and we can learn to love again

Track 5: True Love ft. Lily Allen (written by G. Kurstin, L. Allen, A. Moore)

This admittedly aggressive bop of a love song really nails down the feeling of being driven semi-insane by someone but loving them through it anyway, which makes a lot of sense since P!nk has said it's directly related to how she feels about her husband. It's funny and it's fun and has a catchy chorus that made it perfect for pop radio.

Sometimes, I hate every single stupid word you say/Sometimes, I wanna slap you in your whole face/There’s no one quite like you, you push all my buttons down/I know life would suck without you/At the same time I wanna hug you, I wanna wrap my hands around your neck/You’re an asshole, but I love you and you make me so mad I ask myself/Why I’m still here or where could I go, you’re the only love I’ve ever known/But I hate you, I really hate you so much, I think it must be/True love, true love/It must be true love, nothing else can break my heart like/True love, true love/It must be true love, no one else can break my heart like you

Track 6: How Come You're Not Here (written by G. Kurstin, A. Moore)

I loved the beat and the melody on this one. It's a nice, easy listen while still keeping up the fun energy of the rest of the album.

Where have you been, where have you gone, and have I done something wrong/You’re the Tooth Fairy, you’re like Santa Claus, you’re like white noise when I want my favorite song/Just come on back and come on home, it ain’t super smart to leave me alone/Light a flare, pick up the phone, I’m like a stoner, babe, without my bong/Are you hiding in the closet, are you underneath the bed/Did you go for a long walk off a short pier, how come you’re not here/Should I worry you’ve been bitten or somebody got you high/Quick, come back or I might just die, how come you’re not here

Beautiful Trauma (2017)

P!nk's seventh album, still pop, was released October 13th, 2017 by RCA. With a run time of 51:08, it produced 4 singles: What About Us (8/10/17), Beautiful Trauma (11/21/17), Whatever You Want (6/4/18), and Secrets (8/2/18). The album has been certified Platinum by the RIAA for selling over 1 million copies in the US and was nominated for two Grammys in 2018. This album includes my favorite P!nk song on it so I am a little biased, but as a whole the entire track list is really, really good. Picking my top 3 on this one was a lot easier than I thought it would be, and here they are.

Track 1: Beautiful Trauma (written by J. Antonoff, A. Moore)

Here it is, the song that dethroned U + Ur Hand as my favorite P!nk track. This song must have been destined to be one of my favorites since it was released as a single on my birthday because why would it be simply a coincidence? Her vocals here are amazing, and I just love the entire package from start to finish.

We were on fire, I slashed your tires, it’s like we burn so bright we burn out/I made you chase me, I wasn’t that friendly, oh my love, my drug, we’re fucked up, oh/‘Cause I’ve been on the road so long, they can’t find me, you’re waking up to remember I’m pretty/And when the chemicals leave my body, yeah, they’re gonna find me in a hotel lobby/‘Cause mmm, tough times, they keep coming, all night laughing and fucking/Some days like I’m barely breathing, after we were high and the love dope died/It was you, the pill I keep taking, the nightmare I wake in/There’s nothing, no nothing, nothing but you/My perfect rock bottom, my beautiful trauma/My love, my love, my drug, oh/My love, my love, my love, my drug, oh/My love, my love, my love, my drug, oh/My love, my love, my love, my drug, oh/My love, my love, my drug, we’re fucked up

Track 2: Revenge ft. Eminem (written by A. Moore, M. Mathers, K. Schuster, K. Sandberg)

I never thought about it before really, but P!nk and Eminem make musical sense together with me. This felt like a classic early P!nk song mixed perfectly with a more modern one of her tracks and I really enjoyed it.

Like Leo in The Revenant, Abel in that Bible bit/Revenge is sweet, isn’t it, really, really hope for it/I know that it won’t fix a thing, song like this that I could sing for you/All the feels you make me do, a nightmare fucking coming true/Wish I was a lawyer, I would sue you, sue you, take your dog, take your house/Take your shoes, take your heart, now here comes that singing part/I’m daydreaming, let me count the ways/How I’ll get you, oh how I’ll make you pay/Babe, I’m hurting, and now you’ll feel the same/That’s my plan, that’s my plan, that’s my plan, mhm/We could do revenge, revenge, revenge, revenge together, together, together/We could take revenge, revenge, revenge, revenge is sweet/We could do revenge, revenge, revenge, revenge together, together, together/We could take revenge, revenge, revenge, revenge is sweet

Track 4: What About Us (written by J. McDaid, A. Moore, S. Mac)

I never thought about this song being a political protest song until I was doing research this week and it has totally changed the way I listen to it. P!nk wrote this 2018 Grammy nominated track for the people who feel underrepresented and ignored as a whole, and it works just as perfectly for that as it does as the love song that I previously thought it was.

We are search lights, we can see in the dark/We are rockets pointed up at the stars/We are billions of beautiful hearts/And you sold us down the river too far/What about us, what about all the times you said you had the answers/What about us, what about all the broken happy ever afters/What about us, what about all the plans that ended in disaster/What about love, what about trust, what about us

Hurts 2B Human (2019)

P!nk's eighth and most recent pop album was released April 26th, 2019 by RCA. With a run time of 47:03, it produced 4 singles: Walk Me Home (2/20/19), Can We Pretend (5/17/19), Hurts 2B Human (8/30/19), and Love Me Anyway (9/17/19). I never in a million years would've thought P!nk would make an album that sounds like borderline EDM/dance music, but she did and it worked for me. That being said, here's my top 3.

Track 2: (Hey Why) I Miss You Sometime (written by A. Moore, M. Martin, K. Schuster)

I love the beat and the sound effects on this track. It's very cool, it's very modern, and at the same time it's still very P!nk.

Big time like oh, I need your love, like oh, I need your love/Baby boy, I’m falling in your love, we dominate this love/Big time Jack Daniels type of love, Titanic with your love/Waking up in Florida kind of love, we dominate this love big time like/Give it a minute, I know it’s shit but I love it/We’re high, we’re way above it, I need you out my head now/Give it a minute, we’ll soon be gone, we’ll forget it/We’re high, so high above it, I need you in my life now/Hey, why you fucked up my life/So hey, why do I miss you sometimes/Thousand nights I’ve said goodbye, almost lost my mind/So hey, why do I miss you sometimes

Track 3: Walk Me Home (written by A. Moore, N. Ruess, S. Harris)

This is the most recent "Wait, this is a P!nk song?" moment for me. Again, they play with some cool vocal effects here and it adds another cool layer on top of an already good song.

There’s something in the way you roll your eyes/Takes me back to a better time/When I saw everything is good/But now you’re the only thing that’s good/Tryna stand up on my own two feet/This conversation ain’t coming easily/And darling, I know it’s getting late/So what do you say we leave this place/Walk me home in the dead of night/I can’t be alone with all that’s on my mind/So say you’ll stay with me tonight/‘Cause there I so much wrong going on outside

Track 11: Love Me Anyway ft. Chris Stapleton (written by A. Moore, A. Shamblin, T. Douglas)

I'm a big sucker for Chris Stapleton and I wish that P!nk played around with more country sounding songs every once in a while because her voice can totally handle it. She can sing just about anything she puts her mind to, and she blends with Stapleton's signature sound beautifully.

Even if you see my scars, even if I break your heart/If we’re a million miles apart, do you think you’d walk away/If I get lots in all the notes, even if I lose my voice/Flirt with all the other boys, what would you say/Could you/Could you/Could you love me anyway

Whether you've been a P!nk fan for two decades or two minutes, I hope you got some great new music to listen to. Happy listening, and see y'all next week!