Alecia Beth Moore (IPA pronunciation: [ə'li:ʃə 'mɔ:(ɹ)][1]) (born on September 8, 1979),
known professionally as Pink (often stylized as P!nk), is an American
singer-songwriter who gained prominence in 2000.
Pink released her first record, the R&B-based Can't Take Me Home, in 2000 via LaFace Records. Her
pop rock-based second studio album, M!ssundaztood, was released in 2001 and is her biggest seller to date. 2003's Try This, her third album, failed to match the success of M!ssundaztood. After taking a break, Pink
released her fourth studio album, I'm Not Dead (2006), which has been successful
worldwide. Pink has sold over twenty-five million albums[2]
(see Pink discography).
Childhood and discovery
Alecia Beth Moore was born in Doylestown, Pennsylvania to Vietnam veteran James Moore and nurse Judy Kugel.
She is of Jewish ancestry on her mother's side, and is Irish, German and Lithuanian
on her father's.[3][4] Moore has identified herself as Jewish.[5] She grew up in Doylestown, Pennsylvania, where she attended Central Bucks West High School. Her father played guitar and sang songs for her, and from
an early age she aspired to be a rock star. When in high school, Moore joined her first band
in high school called Middleground, which never gained popularity beyond local status. According to Moore, 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..[6]
Moore developed her voice early in life.[7] She began
performing in Philadelphia clubs when she was fourteen years old. At age sixteen, she joined the R&B Atlanta-based trio
Choice, which included Chrissy Conway of the
Christian girl group ZOEgirl. The group signed with LaFace
Records and contributed "Key to My Heart" to the soundtrack of the 1996 film Kazaam. Choice eventually disbanded after recording an unreleased album; Moore remained at LaFace as a solo
act under the stage name Pink. Daryl Simmons took her to recordings where she sang backing
vocals for artists such as Diana Ross, 98 Degrees,
Kenny Lattimore and Tevin Campbell. Pink's debut
single, the dance track "Gonna Make Ya
Move (Don't Stop)", was released in the UK in 1998 by Activ Records and appeared on the UK top 200.
Musical career
2000–2001: Can't Take Me Home
-
Pink's debut album, Can't Take Me Home, was co-produced by her,
Babyface and Steve Rhythm and
released in April 2000. A substantial success, it went double platinum in the U.S., sold four million copies worldwide and
produced two U.S. top ten singles: "There You Go" and "Most
Girls" (which reached number one in Australia). The album's third single, "You Make Me
Sick", became a smaller U.S. top forty hit and UK top ten hit in early 2001 and was featured in the film "Save the Last Dance". Pink later acknowledged, with 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,[8] which
included bright pink hair.
In 2001 she collaborated with Christina Aguilera, rapper Lil' Kim and Mýa on a cover of 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 including the U.S. (where it became
the most successful airplay-only single in history[9]), the
UK and Australia. The success of the single was helped by its music video, which was popular on music channels[10] and featured the four singers dressed in sexually suggestive burlesque
outfits.[citation needed] The song won a
Grammy Award — Pink's first — for "Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals", and the video won the
MTV Video Music Award for "Video of the Year".[11]
2001–2002: M!ssundaztood
-
Tired of being marketed as another cookie-cutter pop act and eager to become a more serious songwriter and musician,[8] Pink took her sound in a
new direction and sought more creative control during the recording of her second album. She recruited former 4 Non Blondes vocalist Linda Perry, and together they wrote most of
the tracks on M!ssundaztood, which was released via Arista Records in November 2001, and the title of which was a reference to Pink's belief that people had
a wrong image of her.[citation needed] Perry co-produced the album with Dallas
Austin and Scott Storch. According to VH1
Driven, Antonio "LA" Reid of LaFace Records
wasn't initially content with the new music Pink was making.
Its lead single, "Get the Party Started" (written and produced by Perry), went
top five in the U.S. and many other countries, and number one in Australia. 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 UK number-one hit. The
singles were substantial hits on Adult Top 40 radio and the United World Chart, and "Family Portrait" became a theme song for many children whose parents were
divorced (according to MTV Diary).
M!ssundaztood was certified gold or platinum status in more than twenty countries,[12] with worldwide sales of twelve million.[13] It was the second-best-selling album in the UK during
2002, and Pink was the best-selling female artist globally.[14] As of 2007, it is the best-selling album of her career.
In 2002, after opening for 'N Sync on their American tour, Pink started a headlining
American, European and Australian tour, the Party Tour; later, she became a supporting act
for Lenny Kravitz's American tour. The 2002 Faith Hill
album Cry features a song co-written by Pink and Perry called "If You're
Gonna Fly". At the 2002 MTV Video Music Awards, "Get the Party Started" won in the categories of "Best Female Video" and "Best Dance Video". M!ssundaztood and "Get the Party Started" earned
nominations at the 2003 Grammy Awards for "Best Pop Vocal Album" and "Best Female Pop Vocal Performance", respectively.
2003–2004: Try This
-
In mid-2003 Pink contributed the song "Feel Good Time" to the soundtrack of the film
Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle, in which she had a
cameo appearance as a motorcross race ramp
owner/promoter. "Feel Good Time" was co-written by singer Beck, produced by electronic music artist William Orbit and based on the song
"Fresh Garbage" by 60s band Spirit. It became Pink's first single to miss the top forty on
Billboard's Hot 100 chart,
although it was a hit in Europe and Australia. During the same period, a song Pink co-wrote with Damon
Elliott was released on Mýa's album Moodring.
"Feel Good Time" was included on non-U.S. editions of Pink's third album, Try This,
which was released on November 11 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 U.S., Canada, UK and Australia, sales were considerably lower than those of
M!ssundaztood; it went platinum in the U.S. and sold over three million copies worldwide, a commercial flop compared to
M!ssundaztood.[15] The singles "Trouble" and "God Is a DJ" did not reach the U.S.
top forty but went top ten in other countries, and "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 on the Try This Tour through Europe and Australia,
where the album was better received.
2006–present: I'm Not Dead
-
Pink took a break to write the songs for her fourth album, I'm Not Dead, which
she said she titled as such because "It's about being alive and feisty and not sitting down and shutting up even though people
would like you to."[16] Pink worked with producers
Max Martin, billymann, Christopher Rojas, Butch Walker, Lukasz Gottwald and Josh Abraham on the album. It was released in April
2006 through LaFace Records and reached the top ten in the U.S., the top five in the UK
and number one in Australia and Germany. It was a substantial success throughout the world, particularly in Australia,[17] but it was Pink's lowest seller in the U.S. until the
success of the single "[[U + Ur Hand]]" in early 2007. I'm Not Dead is Pink's second biggest seller worldwide, with sales
of 5.6 million to date.
Lead single "Stupid Girls" gave Pink her biggest U.S. hit since 2002 and earned a Grammy
Award nomination for "Best Female Pop Vocal Performance". Its controversial video, in which she parodies celebrities such as
Lindsay Lohan and Paris Hilton,[18] won the MTV Video Music Award for "Best Pop Video". Subsequent singles "Who
Knew" and "U + Ur Hand" were substantial hits in Australia and Europe, and they later became top ten singles in the U.S.
in 2007. The non-U.S. singles were "Nobody Knows", a minor hit in the UK,
Australia and Germany; "Dear Mr. President", an open letter to American President
George W. Bush and a top five hit in Germany, Australia and other European countries; and
"Leave Me Alone (I'm Lonely)", which reached the UK top forty and the top
five in Australia. On September 23, 2007 "I'm Not Dead" broke the record for the longest album to consecutively remain in the Australian top ten
albums chart, lasting 77 weeks.[19] Due to the massive
success of the album, "Cuz I Can" is going to be released as a seventh single in
Australia.
Pink toured around the world during 2006 and 2007 on her I'm Not Dead Tour, for
which ticket sales in Australia were particularly high, with Pink performing seven sell-out shows in Sydney alone. Pink sold
approximately 307,000 tickets in Australia, giving her the record for the biggest concert attendance for an arena tour by a
female artist. She performed thirty-five shows in Australia alone, breaking a record previously held by Kylie Minogue.[20] One of the
shows on the tour was taped and released as a DVD in 2007, Pink: Live from
Wembley Arena. In 2007 she opened for Justin Timberlake on the American leg
of his FutureSex/LoveShow Tour.
Pink performing on the I'm Not Dead summer tour (2007)
Whilst in Australia Pink attended the 2007 Mtv Australia Video Music Awards, performing her smash hit "U+Ur Hand" along with
an amazing sky show. She also won two mtv awards "Best Female Artist" & "Download Of The Year".
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, and lent her name to PlayStation to promote the PSP, a special pink edition of
which was released.[21] She co-wrote the 2006
India.Arie song "I Am Not My Hair", and a remix
featuring Pink was featured in the Lifetime television film Why I Wore Lipstick to My Mastectomy. She wrote a song ("I
Will") for Natalia's third album, Everything & More. "Outside of You", another song co-written by Pink, was
recorded by dance-pop singer Hilary Duff and released on her 2007 album Dignity.
Pink recorded a song with Annie Lennox and twenty-two other female acts for Lennox's
fourth solo studio album, Songs of Mass Destruction. Titled "Sing", it
was written as an anthem for HIV AIDS, according to Lennox's official
site.[22] The album was released on October 1, 2007.[citation needed]
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 2007 and co-stars Shannyn
Sossamon. "It's pretty intense", Pink said. "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."[23] Pink was once on the short list of people to play Janis Joplin in an upcoming biopic titled 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. "All I can say at this point is that if Janis
wants the film to be made, it will be made", Pink said in 2006.[24]
Sony has expressed interest in making a second sequel to Charlie's
Angels, as has star and producer Drew Barrymore, who is reportedly considering
Pink for a role in the film. Pink said, "I hope that I get to play my role as a bad girl."[25]
Personal life
Pink dyes her hair frequently (usually colors such as pink, red and black), but she is a natural blonde. She has both her nipples pierced, one nipple piercing was in front of her mother and is featured on one of
her DVDs. On The Ellen DeGeneres Show she revealed that there are real
diamonds attached to her teeth. According to her, her dog's name is "Fucquerer" (pronounced
"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 puppy and changed its
name to Fred, saying "He's a much happier dog." Elvis, one of Pink's other dogs, drowned in Pink's backyard pool in January
2007.[26]
Pink married motocross racer Carey Hart in
Costa Rica on January 7, 2006 at sunset. She proposed to him in 2005 by holding up a sign for him to see
during one of his races in Mammoth Lakes California.[27]
Before she began her relationship with Hart, she was rumored to have dated Mötley Crüe
drummer Tommy Lee & Rancid guitarist Lars Frederiksen.[citation needed]
Pink, who follows a strict vegetarian lifestyle, is a prominent campaigner for
PETA, contributing her voice towards causes such as
KFC's alleged poor treatment of chickens. She sent a letter to
Prince William criticizing him for fox
hunting and one to Queen Elizabeth II protesting about the use
of real fur in the bearskins of the Foot Guards and the
Honourable Artillery Company. In November 2006 Pink mentioned in the
News of the World that she was disgusted with fellow singer Beyoncé for wearing fur. Pink, in conjunction with PETA, recently
criticized the Australian wool industry over its use of mulesing.
In January 2007 Pink stated that she had been misled by PETA about mulesing and that she had not done enough research before
lending her name to the campaign.
Her campaigning led to a headlining concert in Cardiff, Wales on August 21 2007 which is PAW (Party for Animals Worldwide). This highlighted her involvement with animal cruelty
problems.[28]
Tours
Headlining
As supporting act
1 Support with Janet Jackson was cancelled because of the 9/11
attacks.
Awards and nominations
-
Grammy Awards
Source: Grammy official site
References
- ^ See inogolo.com: Pronunciation of Alicia Moore. Inogolo
- ^ P!nk's Biography P!nk's biography. Retrieved February 2007
- ^ P!nk is back Sunday Herald. Retrieved May, 2006.
- ^ Pink's Q Magazine Transcript Q Magazine. Retrieved March, 2004.
- ^ Nate Bloom Pink Should Think Interfaith Family.
- ^ Official MySpace page MSN. Retrieved March, 2006.
- ^ Official Homepage Jensen. Interview in the Dutch program Jensen. RTL. Retrieved March 2006
- ^ a b Teresa Wiltz [1] The Washington Post.
Retrieved June 2, 2002.
- ^ http://movies.about.com/library/weekly/aa061801a.htm
- ^ Rebecca Murray Music From "Moulin Rouge" Makes
History Interscope Geffen A&M Records. Retrieved August 10, 2007.
- ^ MTV Celebrates the Best in Music Video prnewswire. Retrieved September 6, 2001.
- ^ Entertainment Editors JUST WHITNEY…
Wins Career-High 1st Week Sales and Top 10 Album Chart Debut, as Arista Nets 2 of Year's Top 10 Soundscan Albums !!
BusinessWire. Retrieved December 19, 2002.
- ^ Entertainment Editors P!NK -
Looking for 'Trouble?' - TRY THIS! New Album, Try This, in Stores November 11th BusinessWire. Retrieved
September 22, 2003.
- ^ Year End of 2002 chart Mediatraffic. Retrieved August 6, 2007.
- ^ Pink on E! True Hollywood
Story.
- ^ Julie Chen"Pink: Singing With
Dad Was 'Awesome'". CBS News. July 12 2006. Retrieved March 30 2007.
- ^ P!nk At #1 With Album, Aussie Airplay + Single Sony BMG Australia. Retrieved June
3 2007.
- ^ Gardner, Elysa. "Pink's video pokes fun at
'Stupid Girls'". USA Today. February 14
2006.
- ^ Aria "Album Chart" .
ARIA. September 21, 2007.
- ^ Jonathon Moran Pink proves a hot
ticket Sunday Telegraph June 10, 2007. Retrieved
June 24, 2007.
- ^ Official mini-site for the Pink PSP Sony Entertainment. Retrieved November
12, 2006,
- ^ Sing - Who are the 23? Annie Lennox official website. Retrieved August 5,
2007.
- ^ http://www.starsareblind.com/category/pink/
- ^ Brian Boyd Pink
Pather Irish Times. Retrieved November, 2006.
- ^ Clint Morris Charlies Angels 3
rumblings Moviehole.net. Retrieved August 5, 2007
- ^ WTF! Pink's Dog
Drowned Pop on the Pop. Retrieved January 18, 2007.
- ^ Pink Reportedly Marries Motocross Racer. Retrieved on January
8, 2006.
- ^ [2] Theage.com. Retrieved January 17, 2007.
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