Biography
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P!nk is most often recognized by her unique,
unorthodox fashion sense and soulful sound. Named #12 in
the UK Music Hall of Fame of the 21st century, her vocal
skills have often been compared to that of the late
Janis Joplin, whom Pink cites as one of her idols. She
is the daughter of James and Judy Moore, and is of Irish
and German descent on her father's side, and of
Lithuanian Jewish descent on her mother's. James played
guitar and sang songs for the young Alecia, who vowed
from the earliest that she would become a rock star
someday.
P!nk has explained the origin of the stage name "Pink"
in three different versions, one explicit. The lighter
version claims that she had her pants pulled down by a
boy at a YMCA summer camp when she was a teenager, and
her face turned bright pink out of embarrassment. The
explicit version claims that a friend told her that her
pubic region was bright pink. She has also said that in
the movie Reservoir dogs there is a character named Mr.
Pink. She said all of her friends said she acted just
like him so she wanted to call herself that. But her
friends said "Mr. Pink is a man" so they shortened it to
Pink.
On January 7, 2006, she married motorcycle racer Carey
Hart in a ceremony on a beach in Costa Rica.
Pink began her career as an R&B artist, signed to the
predominately urban label LaFace Records. She has since
complained that because she chose to relinquish creative
control to her record label, she did not like the type
of music she made at this time, or her image, which
included bright pink hair. Her debut album, Can't Take
Me Home was released on April 4, 2000. A substantial
success, it went double platinum, and spun off two top
top 10 singles: "There You Go" and "Most Girls." The
album's third single, "You Make Me Sick" was released
towards the end of 2000, and also became a smaller pop
hit in early 2001 (hit number 33 in February of 2001),
thanks in part to its being featured in the movie Save
The Last Dance.
In spring of 2001, Pink teamed up with rapper Lil' Kim,
R&B singer Mya, and pop music singer Christina Aguilera
on a remake of Labelle's 1975 hit "Lady Marmalade". The
track was produced by hip-hop producers Rockwilder and
Missy Elliott and was featured in Baz Luhrman's Moulin
Rouge!. The song's music video featured the four singers
dressed in underwear and heavy makeup, portraying
turn-of-the-20th century courtesans. The video was
immensely popular on music centered television channels
and adult top 40 radio. The song went to #1 on the
Billboard Hot 100 and won a Grammy Award—Pink's
first—for Best Pop Collaboration With Vocals. The song
also topped the charts in Australia with the soundtrack
being the best selling album of 2001 in that country.
Tired of being marketed as a another cookie-cutter pop
act, and eager to become a more serious songwriter and
musician, Pink took her sound in a new direction and
sought more creative control during the recording of her
sophomore album. She recruited former 4 Non Blondes
vocalist, Linda Perry, and together Pink and Perry
co-wrote and co-produced most of the tracks on
Missundaztood, released on November 20, 2001.
Its lead off single, the Perry written and produced "Get
The Party Started" went top five in the US, while
topping the charts in many countries. It was narrowly
denied the #1 spot in the UK due to the release of
Enrique Iglesias's "Hero". The album's other singles,
"Don't Let Me Get Me", "Just Like a Pill", and "Family
Portrait" were also radio and chart successes. The
Dallas Austin produced "Just Like a Pill" finally gained
Pink her first solo UK #1 in September 2002 and as a
result album sales of M!ssundaztood increased
dramatically. Uptempo dance remixes of these more
rock-oriented songs allowed them to become crossover
hits on U.S. rhythmic radio and in the clubs, and the
less R&B, more alternative rock sound of M!ssundazstood
enabled all four singles to become modest hits at adult
top 40 radio also. The album's tracks "18 Wheeler" and
"Eventually" (the first song Pink wrote with Perry) were
rumored as fifth singles; however, following sales that
exceeded all expectations Pink took a short hiatus.
M!ssundaztood was the second best-selling album in the
UK during 2002, and worldwide Pink was the best-selling
female artist globally. The album has sold over 5
million copies in the U.S. to date.
In the summer of 2003, Pink released a single from
Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle, "Feel Good Time". The
track, produced by electronic music artist William
Orbit, peaked in the 60's on Billboard magazine's Hot
100 Singles chart. She also had a small cameo in the
movie as a dirt bike race promoter.
P!nk's third album Try This was released on November 11,
2003. Eight of the thirteen tracks were co-written with
Tim Armstrong of punk band Rancid. Try This reached the
Top 10 on album charts in the U.S., Canada, UK and
Australia in 2003. Though its singles "Trouble" and "God
Is A DJ" didn't do as well in her home country as her
previous singles, "Trouble" earned Pink her second
Grammy award in 2003. However, the singles were largely
successful in Europe, especially Britain, and Australia,
prompting her to release a third non-U.S. single, "Last
To Know". Due to the album's popularity, Pink toured
extensively throughout Europe, but made no plans for a
U.S. tour.
Pink's fourth album, I'm Not Dead will be released in
April 2006. The first single, " Stupid Girls," has
already been released to radio, and is currently
available on iTunes. P!nk made videos for "You and Your
Hand" and "Stupid Girls" but decided to release the
latter first. The CD is going to be released 31 March in
some parts of Europe (those which release albums on
Fridays, as opposed to Mondays) 3 April in the rest of
the world except for the U.S., and the following day in
the U.S.
A DVD containing concert footage of Pink's Try This
European Tour is also planned to be released the same
day as her new album. The horror movie "Catacombs" will
be out this year as well but there's no date yet.