Pink
By All Music Guide
By All Music Guide
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 Babyfaces LaFace label on the strength of their demo; however, they too disbanded due to differences over musical direction. During Choices 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, Cant 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 LaBelles 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 Pinks sound (as did guest appearances by Steven Tyler and Richie Sambora). M!ssundaztood attracted positive critical notices as well, and its second single, Dont 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 albums tracks. Try This lead single, Trouble, cracked into the upper regions of Billboards 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 2001s X-Games -- on January 7, 2006, in Costa Rica. Her next album, Im Not Dead, appeared that April; its first single, Stupid Girls, quickly became a hit, and the album reached the Top Ten.
