Pink

Alecia Beth Moore (born September 8, 1979), better known by her stage name P!nk (also written as Pink), is an American singer-songwriter who first gained prominence in early January of 2000. She 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 P!nk cites as one of her idols.

P!nk was born in Doylestown, Pennsylvania, to James and Judy Moore; she is of Irish and German descent on her father's side, and of Lithuanian Karaite heritage on her mother's. P!nk herself does not adhere to any organized religion. Her father played guitar and sang songs for young Alecia, who aspired from an early age to be a rock star one day. She has explained the origin of the stage name "Pink" or "P!nk" in three different versions. 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 all of her friends said she acted just like Mr. Pink, a character in the film Reservoir Dogs so she wanted to call herself that.

On January 7, 2006, she married motorcycle racer Carey Hart in a ceremony on a beach in Costa Rica. After 2 years of marriage however, they split up, and Pink filed for divorce but announced that they were still best friends.

P!nk 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 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 (#33 in February of 2001), thanks in part to being featured in the movie Save The Last Dance.

In spring of 2001, P!nk 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 - P!nk'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 another cookie-cutter pop act, and eager to become a more serious songwriter and musician, P!nk 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 co-wrote and co-produced most of the tracks on Missundaztood, released on November 20, 2001.

Its lead-off single Get the Party Started, written and produced by Linda Perry, went top five in the U.S., while topping the charts in many countries. It was narrowly denied the #1 spot in the UK due to the posthumous release of George Harrison's My Sweet Lord. The album's other singles, Don't Let Me Get Me, Just Like a Pill, and Family Portrait were also radio and chart successes. Just Like a Pill, produced by Dallas Austin, finally gained P!nk 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 helped all four singles to become modest hits at adult top 40 radio also. The album's tracks 18 Wheeler and Eventually (the first song P!nk wrote with Perry) were rumored as fifth singles; however, following sales that exceeded all expectations, P!nk took a short hiatus.

In the summer of 2003, P!nk 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 P!nk 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, P!nk toured extensively throughout Europe, but made no plans for a U.S. tour.

P!nk's fourth album, I'm Not Dead was released in April 2006. The CD had started causing controversy before it was even released. The song Dear Mr. President is an open letter to President George W. Bush. The CD was released 31 March in some parts of Europe (those which release albums on Fridays, as opposed to Mondays) 3 April and 4 April in the U.S. and Canada. Oddly enough, this album was released exactly 6 years to the day of P!nk's first album Can't Take Me Home.

A DVD containing concert footage of P!nk's Try This European Tour was released in May 2006, and Pink's I'm Not Dead tour DVD was released in March 2007. As of 2008, I'm Not Dead has had seven singles released, although 'Leave Me Alone (I'm Lonely) and Cuz I Can were released as download only.

Despite popular belief that Dear Mr. President would be released as a single, during a promotional visit to Australia, Pink appeared on TV show Rove Live and said that the track would never become a single, although it DID become a single in 2007 in Europe, Australia, Canada and the UK. Pink stated that it was not released in the U.S because the song is too important tp be percieved as a publicity stunt. On Febuary 20th, 2008, Pink posted a message on her webpage that she had begun working on her fifth album.

Pink is a vegetarian, and is a prominent campaigner for PETA. She has contributed her voice towards many things for the group, such as a protest against KFC, she has sent a letter to Prince William criticizing him for fox hunting, and one to the Queen for the use of real fur (bearskin) on the footguards.