Pink

Pink

Alecia Beth Moore (born on September 8, 1979), known professionally as Pink (sometimes stylized as P!nk), originally came into prominence in 2000 as a soulful answer to the pop princesses and boy bands of the time; however, her rock n’ roll, punk personality could not be tamed, and she broke out all on her own as a rebel with a feminist cause, often making fun of the teen-queens and celebutaunts, parading her boisterous, tom-boy personality for all the media to see.

Known for her unorthodox fashion choices and deep, rowdy sound, Pink released her first record, the R&B-influenced Can't Take Me Home, in 2000; lacking creative control on her first venture, she made sure to make up for lost time with her second, and in 2001 released M!ssundaztood which doned a more pop rock-influence, officially regaining control of her public image. M!ssundaztood was her biggest seller to date, and it produced three top ten hits in the United States. Next, in 2003, she released Try This; however, it failed to match the success of her sophmore album. After taking a break, Pink released her fourth studio album, I'm Not Dead, in 2006, which peaked at #6 on the Billboard 200.

Over the course of her vibrant career she has sold over 20 million albums, and she made sure to do it her way.

Early Life and Career

Born in Elkins Park, Pennsylvania to Vietnam veteran James Moore and registered nurse, Judy Kugel, Pink is of Jewish ancestry on her mother's side, and is Irish, German and Lithuanian on her father's. When Pink was a child, her father would play the guitar and sing Bob Dylan and Don McLean songs for her; she knew from an early age that she wanted to be a rock star. Her parents divorced when she was seven years old, and she grew up in Doylestown, Pennsylvania, where she attended Central Bucks West High School. Pink was a very active teenager, and went through phases as a skateboarder, hip-hopper and gymnast. While in high school, Pink joined her first "official" band called Middle Ground, but the band never took off. According to Pink, her biggest influences are Janis Joplin, Steven Tyler, Bad Religion, Mary J. Blige, Bob Marley, Billy Joel, Indigo Girls, Don McLean, 2Pac, and The Notorious B.I.G.

Pink developed her voice early on in her life: an asthmatic, she learned to breathe from her lower abdomen instead of her chest on doctor's advice, and started singing lessons to learn this technique. A young Pink proclaimed her love for music by running through her house singing songs, and creating her own fantasies by doing so. While growing up, the Philadelphia club scene provided her the venue to express herself by both singing and dancing. At the age of 13, Pink met a popular Philadelphia club dancer named Skratch, who she started dancing with. This led to her singing backup in his rap group, Schools of Thought.

By the time she was 14, Pink had penned her first song. Songwriting became a way for the future R&B/pop singer to express her feelings and thoughts on her Philadelphia childhood and adolescent experiences, in a therapeutic way. One of her favorite pastimes, going to clubs, became part of her start in the music industry. She would frequent Club Fever every Friday night, where she eventually was given a 5-minute spot. Although Pink was sometimes boo-ed while on stage, she used the negativity as more fuel to the fire of her ambition. Her career took a turn in the right direction after a representative came to Club Fever in search of an addition to an R&B group. Impressed by Pink's voice and style, she was signed as the new member of the short-lived group, Basic Instinct.

At age sixteen, she joined an R&B Atlanta-based trio called Choice, which included Chrissy Conway of the Christian girl group ZOEgirl. Signed with LaFace Records, Choice was just as ill-fated as Basic Instinct, but this time due to differing ambitions and mentalities of the group members. It did lead however, to Pink's relationship with LaFace, presently Pink's record label. As one of the lead singers of Choice, Pink was asked by Darryl Simmons to contribute to the songwriting of the group's song, "Just To Be Loving You." It was her contribution to the song that triggered her love for songwriting - once a childhood hobby and now part of her job.
The group signed with LaFace Records and contributed "Key to My Heart" to the soundtrack of the 1996 film Kazaam. Choice eventually disbanded before having recorded an album; Pink remained at LaFace as a solo act. Daryl Simmons took her to recordings where she sang backing vocals for Diana Ross, 98 Degrees, Kenny Lattimore, Tevin Campbell and more.

Can't Take Me Home: 2000 – 2001

Pink's debut album, Can't Take Me Home, was released in April 2000. A substantial success, the album went double platinum in the United States, and sold 4 million copies worldwide and produced two United States top ten singles: “There You Go” and “Most Girls.” “There You Go" became a Top 40 Pop chart staple, and was even named the number 2 breakup song of all-time by US magazine. The second single, "Most Girls," is seeing the same success as its predecessor, if not more, by shedding light on the money-grubbing tendencies of "most girls."

The album's third single, "You Make Me Sick," was released towards the end of 2000 and became a smaller top-forty hit in early 2001, and was featured in the film Save the Last Dance. Pink later acknowledged, in regard to Can't Take Me Home, that she chose to relinquish creative control to her record label and that she did not like the music she made at this time or her image, which included bright pink hair, and a pop-princess image.

In the same year she collaborated with pop singer Christina Aguilera, rapper Lil' Kim and R&B/pop singer Mýa on a cover of Patty Labelle's 1975 single "Lady Marmalade" recorded for the soundtrack of the film Moulin Rouge. Produced by hip-hop producers Rockwilder and Missy Elliott, the song topped the charts in countries such as the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia and won a Grammy Award for Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals.

M!ssundaztood: 2001 – 2002

Tired of being marketed as another cookie-cutter pop act and eager to become a more serious songwriter and musician, Pink wanted to break away from her Hollywood record producer’s image, and took her sound in a new direction, seeking more creative control during the recording of her second album. She recruited former 4 Non Blondes vocalist Linda Perry, and together they co-wrote and co-produced most of the tracks on M!ssundaztood, which was released via Arista Records in November 2001.

The album’s lead single "Get the Party Started," written and produced by Perry, went top five in the United States and many other countries. The album's other singles — "Don't Let Me Get Me," the Dallas Austin-produced "Just like a Pill," and "Family Portrait" — were also radio and chart successes, with "Just like a Pill" becoming Pink's first solo United Kingdom number-one hit in September 2002. This song also features on the Playstation game, Singstar: Party. The success of the singles, which were substantial hits on Adult Top 40 radio, pushed the album to gold and platinum status in more than twenty countries, with worldwide sales of twelve million. The tracks "18 Wheeler" and "Eventually" were rumored as fifth singles, but after sales that exceeded all expectations, Pink took a short hiatus. M!ssundaztood was the second-best-selling album in the United Kingdom during 2002, and Pink was the best-selling female artist globally.

In 2002, Pink and Perry co-wrote a song for Faith Hill's album Cry called "If You're Gonna Fly." That same year, she also started an American and European tour called The Party Tour.

Try This: 2002 – 2003

In mid-2003, Pink contributed the song "Feel Good Time" to the soundtrack of the film Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle with Cameron Diaz, Drew Barrymore and Lucy Lui, in which she had a cameo appearance as a motocross race ramp owner/promoter. "Feel Good Time," written by singer Beck, was produced by electronic music artist William Orbit and based on the song "Fresh Garbage" by the 1960s band Spirit, and it peaked outside the top forty on Billboard's Hot 100 chart.

"Feel Good Time" was included on non-United States editions of Pink's third album Try This, which was released in November 2003. Eight of the thirteen tracks were co-written with Tim Armstrong of punk band Rancid, and Linda Perry was featured on the album as a writer and musician. Though Try This reached the top ten on album charts in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom and Australia, sales were considerably lower than those of M!ssundaztood; it sold only 709,000 copies in the United States, and 3.5 million worldwide. The singles "Trouble" and "God Is a DJ" did not reach the Unites States top-forty but went top ten in other countries; "Last to Know" was released as a single outside North America. "Trouble" earned Pink her second Grammy Award (for Best Female Rock Vocal Performance) at the 2004 Grammy Awards, and "Feel Good Time" was nominated in the category of Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals.

Pink toured extensively through Europe for Try This, where the album was better received.

I'm Not Dead: 2006 – Present

Pink's fourth album, I'm Not Dead, was released in April 2006 through LaFace Records. Lead single "Stupid Girls" gave Pink her biggest United States hit since "Just like a Pill" and earned the MTV Video Music Award for Best Pop Video, also receiving a Grammy Award nomination for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance. Pink worked with producers Max Martin, billymann, MachoPsycho, Christopher Rojas, Butch Walker, Lukasz Gottwald, and Josh Abraham on the album, which charted inside the top ten in sixteen countries. The video for “Stupid Girls” poked fun the celebrity tabloid darlings, Nicole Richie, Lindsay Lohan, Jessica Simpson and others, and touched on the topic of beauty and riches and dumb-blonds being more valued in American pop-culture than young women with intelligence.

Subsequent singles "Who Knew" and "U + Ur Hand" were substantial hits across the world, but only "U + Ur Hand" charted on the United States Hot 100. The fourth single, "Nobody Knows," was only released in Europe and Australasia. Another track, "Dear Mr. President," is an open letter to American President George W. Bush. The song topped the singles chart in Belgium and will be released in the United Kingdom as a double A-side with "Leave Me Alone (I'm Lonely)."

Pink has toured around the world during 2006 and 2007 on her I'm Not Dead Tour, for which ticket sales in Australia were particularly high. Her concert on December 4, 2006 in Wembley Arena on the United Kingdom leg of the tour was hosted by London club G-A-Y, and it holds the record as the United Kingdom’s biggest indoor gay and lesbian event. A DVD that was recorded at the December 4, 2006 show is expected on April 20, 2007. In 2007 she opened for Justin Timberlake on the American leg of his FutureSex/LoveShow Tour.

In 2006, Pink recorded a song in Switzerland with Scottish singer Annie Lennox, slated to be released a single in 2007. Also in 2006, Pink was chosen to sing the theme song for NBC Sunday Night Football, "Waiting All Day for Sunday Night," which is a take on "I Hate Myself for Lovin' You" by Joan Jett. She contributed a cover of Rufus's "Tell Me Something Good" to the soundtrack of the film Happy Feet.

Acting Career

Pink appeared as herself in the films Ski to the Max (2000) and Rollerball (2002). After her cameo performance in Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle, Pink looked for another film script and settled on the horror film Catacombs, which was shot in early 2006 and co-stars Shannyn Sossamon. She has said of her filming experience in Catacombs, "It's pretty intense…It's not only a sort of slasher type, scary movie; it's also psychological and shows how mean and cruel siblings can be to one another. I liked that part of it.”

Pink was also once on the short list of people to play Janis Joplin in an upcoming biopic titled The Gospel According to Janis, but she chose not to saying it would be disrespectful to Joplin because the film makers didn't want to say she died of a heroin overdose. The role eventually went to Zooey Deschanel.

Personal Life

Pink is known for extreme fashion choices, and funky style. She dyes her hair frequently, but she is a natural blond. On “The Ellen DeGeneres Show” she revealed to DeGeneres that there are real diamonds attached to her teeth. According to her, her dog's name is "Fucker," which she revealed in a live broadcast for MuchMusic in 2003, forcing broadcasters to censor the name in subsequent showings. She later said on “Friday Night With Jonathan Ross” that her father adopted this dog and changed its name.

Pink married motocross racer Carey Hart in Costa Rica on January 7, 2006. She proposed to him by holding up a sign for him to see during one of his races. Before she began her relationship with Hart, she was rumored to have dated Mötley Crüe drummer Tommy Lee (who many other stars have dated over the years, including Pamela Anderson, Heather Locklear, and Carmen Elekra)

Pink kissed actress Kristanna Loken at the 2003 World Music Awards in Monte Carlo and said she had a girlfriend at age thirteen, though she does not identify herself as gay (however, many internet gossip sites claim otherwise). She has said that most of her friends are gay and that she's "had her moments." However, she has worked with the gay rights group Human Rights Campaign.

She has talked openly about her extreme lifestyle, from her marriage, to her partying: "I was extreme... from skateboarder to hip-hopper to rave child to lead singer of a rock band -- I did it all, and all at the same time."

In December 2006, rumors were swirling around claiming that Pink and Hart were having trouble in their marriage: A source said, "Pink and Carey's marriage is in trouble. They're both crazy busy with their separate careers, and it's beginning to take a toll on their relationship. They're hardly ever together." However, these rumors were never substantiated.

Charity Work and Activism

Pink is also a prominent campaigner for PETA, contributing her voice towards causes such as Kentucky Fried Chicken's alleged poor treatment of chicken before slaughter. She sent a letter to Prince William, criticizing the Royal Family's guards' usage of bearskin for their headwear.

In November 2006, Pink mentioned in the News of the World that she is disgusted with fellow singer Beyoncé for wearing animal fur. Pink has most recently taken on the Australian wool industry over its practice of mulesing, lending her face and fame to the PETA. In January 2007, Pink conceded that she had been misled by PETA over the issue of mulesing in the Australian wool industry, and that she had not done enough research of her own before lending her name to the campaign.