 Although she was initially viewed as
yet another face in the late-'90s crowd of teen pop acts,
Pink quickly showed signs of becoming one of the rare
artists to transcend and outgrow
the label. Born
Alecia Moore on September 8, 1979, in Doylestown, PA
(near Philadelphia),
Pink received her nickname as a child (it had nothing to
do with her later shade of hair dye). She grew up in a
musical family and by age 13 was a regular on the
Philadelphia club scene, first as a dancer, then as a
backing vocalist for the local hip-hop group Schools of
Thought. At 14, she began writing her own songs; the same
year, a local DJ at Club Fever began allowing her on-stage
to sing a song every Friday.
Pink was spotted one night by an executive for MCA, who
asked her to audition for an R&B group called Basic
Instinct; although she got the gig, the group imploded not
long after. She was quickly recruited for a female R&B trio
called Choice, which signed to
L.A. Reid and
Babyface's LaFace label on the strength of their demo;
however, they too disbanded due to differences over musical
direction. During Choice's brief studio time, producer
Daryl Simmons asked
Pink to write a bridge section for the song "Just to Be
Loving You"; impressed with the results,
Pink rediscovered her songwriting muse and an equally
impressed
L.A. Reid soon gave her a solo deal with LaFace.
Pink recorded her solo debut, Can't Take Me Home, with a
variety of songwriting partners and dance-pop and R&B
producers. Released in 2000, the album was a double-platinum
hit; it spun off three Top Ten singles in "There U Go,"
"Most Girls," and "You Make Me Sick." She toured that summer
as the opening act for
*N Sync, but soon found herself tired of being
pigeonholed as strictly a teen act despite her sassy,
forthright persona. As she set about working on her
follow-up album,
Pink took part in the remake of
Patti LaBelle's "Lady Marmalade" featured on the Moulin
Rouge soundtrack, which also featured powerhouse divas
Christina Aguilera,
Mya, and
Lil' Kim. The song was a massive hit, topping the charts
in both the U.S. and U.K.
Toward the end of the year,
Pink released her next single, "Get the Party Started";
it became her biggest, most inescapable hit to date,
climbing into the Top Five. Her accompanying sophomore
album, M!ssundaztood, quickly went double platinum; it
boasted a more personal voice and a more eclectic sound,
plus heavy contributions from ex-4
Non Blondes singer
Linda Perry, who helped bring some more rock muscle to
Pink's sound (as did guest appearances by
Steven Tyler and
Richie Sambora). M!ssundaztood attracted positive
critical notices as well, and its second single, "Don't Let
Me Get Me," became another fast-rising Top Ten hit.
Pink next issued Try This in November 2003. The album
was a bit more rock-oriented, due in part to the songwriting
collaboration of
Rancid frontman
Tim Armstrong on eight of the album's tracks. Try This'
lead single, "Trouble," cracked into the upper regions of
Billboard's Top 40, and earned
Pink a Grammy for Best Female Rock Vocal Performance. On
the home front,
Pink wed motocross racer Carey Hart -- whom she had
initially met at 2001's X-Games -- on January 7, 2006, in
Costa Rica. Her next album, I'm Not Dead, appeared that
April; its first single, "Stupid Girls," quickly became a
hit, and the album reached the Top Ten. ~ Steve Huey, All
Music Guide
|
