Two Grammy Awards, 31 million album sales, and 15 Australian top 10 singles. Marriage, separation and reconciliation in the public eye, tattooed skin always on show and a name stylised with an exclamation mark. You’d be forgiven for expecting P!nk (born Alecia Moore in 1979 in Pennsylvania) to be a haughty pop princess with the style and grace of a rusted freight train. But this sassy lass fits no mould.
Music began for P!nk as an outlet as she suffered childhood asthma. She joined bands as a teen, but soon found her own voice, singing life stories in the first person to which the world could relate or at least smile. She writes reality, humour, ironic wit and frank honesty into each catchy pop tune. In Stupid Girls she emulated Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera and Lindsay Lohan with wigs and fake breasts. In So What? she ponders “losing” her boyfriend (and then spending her money and not paying his rent). But in Family Portrait, she sings about family breakdown and youth desperation. Although she’s part of the fierce pop machine, P!nk exudes the liberation of a woman actually doing it on her own terms, rather than just preaching about it.
From leather-clad hard-arse belting out U & Ur Hand to any male who’s ever screwed her over, to a picture of femininity crooning a cover of Bob Marley’s Redemption Song, she possesses depths so many pop artists lack: in vocal ability, lyrical content, personality and performance skills. There’s little criticism heard about P!nk’s live shows – it’s hard to condemn when she suspends her leotard-clad body from a trapeze while singing solidly, and somersaulting above the crowd.
With musical inspiration as varied as Bette Midler, Janis Joplin, Bob Dylan, Madonna, Whitney Houston, Billy Joel and 2Pac, it’s no wonder P!nk exudes self-assuredness: she conforms to no single stereotype.
In a commercial figure, it’s refreshing to have such a strong, conscientious and honest role model for today’s youth, whose development is often shaped by
a legendarily shallow industry.
Footnote:
During P!nk’s lengthy 2009 tour in Australia (58 gigs nationally) she donated $250,000 to the Red Cross Bushfire Appeal, proving her tattooed hearts aren’t just skin-deep.
P!nk’s Funhouse Tour Live in Australia DVD is available now via Sony.
