Alecia Beth Pink (Moore) - biography

Alecia Beth Moore (born September 8, 1979), better known by her stage name Pink (stylized as P!nk), is an American contralto singer-songwriter, musician, acrobat, dancer and actress, who rose to fame in early 2000. She released her first single "There You Go", on her first album, the R&B-oriented Can't Take Me Home, in 2000 via LaFace Records, which garnered commercial success. Her more pop rock-oriented second studio album, Missundaztood, which began a marked shift in the sound of her music, was released in 2001 and was a huge success worldwide.

Pink released her third album, Try This, in November 2003, which although less successful commercially than her previous release, still managed to sell around 3 million copies and earned her a Grammy for Best Female Rock Vocal Performance for the single Trouble. Her fourth album, called "I'm Not Dead", was released in April 2006. The album generated several hit singles, including "Stupid Girls", "U + Ur Hand" and "Who Knew". Both "U + Ur Hand" and "Who Knew" went to #1 on the pop chart. Her fifth album, Funhouse, was released in late October 2008 and was preceded by her first solo number one on the Hot 100, "So What". The album notched three other Top 20 hits: "Sober", "Please Don't Leave Me" and "Glitter in the Air". On November 15, 2010, she released her first compilation, Greatest Hits... So Far!!!. According to Billboard, Pink was rated #13 on the list of Artists Of The Decade and #1 Pop Song Artist of the Decade (2000–2009). She has also scored ten Billboard Hot 100 Top 10 US hits, including eight as a solo artist, and won two Grammy Awards, 5 MTV Music Awards and 2 Brit Awards. The People's Chart, announced through BBC Radio 1, declared Pink as the 11th Most Played Artist on UK Radio of the decade 2000 to 2009. Pink has sold over 34 million albums worldwide. Forbes Magazine in 2010 named Pink the 27th most powerful celebrity, with $44 million earned between June 2009 and June 2010.

Early life

P!nk was born September 8, 1979 in Doylestown, Pennsylvania, the daughter of Judith Moore (née Kugel), a nurse, and James Moore, Jr., a Vietnam veteran. Her father is Catholic and her mother is Jewish, and her ancestors immigrated from Ireland, Germany, and Lithuania. Pink grew up in Doylestown, where she attended Kutz Elementary School, Lenape Middle School, and 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. Pink has a brother, Jason Moore (born 1977). In high school, Moore joined her first band, Middleground, the band folded upon losing a battle of the bands competition. P!nk developed her voice early in life. Although a healthy baby at birth, she quickly developed asthma that plagued her through her early years. When she was a teenager, she wrote lyrics as an outlet for her feelings, and her mother commented, "Her initial writings were always very introspective. Some of it was very black, and very deep, almost worrisome." She began performing in Philadelphia clubs when she was 14 years old, and went through phases as a skateboarder, hip-hopper and gymnast. At 16, together with two other teenage girls, she formed the R&B group Choice. They landed a deal with L.A. Reid and worked with various producers for two years, never releasing a record, before Reid persuaded Moore to go solo. Her stage name "Pink" was coined as a tribute to the character Mr. Pink from the film Reservoir Dogs.

Music career

1995–99: Early years

In 1995, Alecia Moore joined Choice, an American contemporary R&B girl group, which also included Chrissy Conway and Sharon Flanagan. A copy of their first song, "Key to My Heart", was sent to LaFace Records in Atlanta, Georgia, where L.A. Reid overheard it and arranged for the group to fly there so he could see them perform. After this, he signed them to a record deal; because the girls were under 18, their parents had to co-sign the contract. The group relocated to Atlanta and recorded an album, and "Key to My Heart" appeared on the Kazaam soundtrack for the 1996 film of the same name. The group disbanded in 1998.

2000–01: Can't Take Me Home

Pink's debut album, Can't Take Me Home, was produced by Babyface, Terence "Tramp-Baby" Abney, She'ksphere, Dallas Austin, The Specialists, and Steve Rhythm, and released in April 2000. It was certified double platinum in the U.S, sold 5 million copies worldwide and produced two U.S. top ten singles: "There You Go" and "Most Girls" (also a number one in Australia). The album's third single, "You Make Me Sick", was a U.S. top 40 hit and UK top ten hit in early 2001 and was featured in the film Save the Last Dance. The song "Split Personality" was featured in the film The Princess Diaries. She was the opening act for 'N Sync on their American tour in the summer of 2000.

In 2001, she was a part of "Lady Marmalade" alongside singer Christina Aguilera, rapper Lil' Kim, and singer Mýa 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 New Zealand, the UK, Australia and the U.S., where it became the most successful airplay-only single in history. The success of the single was helped by its music video, which was popular on music channels and won the MTV Video Music Award for Video of the Year. The song won a Grammy Award – Pink's first – for Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals, and provided a boost for the four performers' careers.In a VH1 interview, Pink stated she had to fight with Christina Aguilera's manager to sing the high parts in the song.

2001-02: M!ssundaztood

Tired of being marketed as another cookie cutter pop act and eager to be seen as a more serious songwriter and musician, and to perform the type of music she wanted to, Pink took her sound in a new direction and sought more creative control during the recording of her second album, M!ssundaztood. She recruited Linda Perry, former singer of 4 Non Blondes (one of Pink's favorites in her teenage years), who said Pink opened up to her: "In the beginning I just said: "What do you feel?", and she (Pink) would just sit behind the piano and sing." Pink moved into Perry's Los Angeles home where the pair spent several months writing songs for the album. Perry co-wrote and co-produced the album with Dallas Austin and Scott Storch, and according to VH1 Driven, Antonio "LA" Reid of LaFace Records wasn't initially content with the new music Pink was making. The album, named Missundaztood because of Pink's belief that people had a wrong image of her, was released in November 2001.

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. At the 2002 MTV Video Music Awards, the music video won in the categories of Best Female Video and Best Dance Video. 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. "Missundaztood" was certified gold or platinum status in more than 20 countries, with worldwide sales of 15 million. It was the second best-selling album in the UK during 2002. "Missundaztood" and "Get the Party Started" earned nominations at the 2003 Grammy Awards for Best Pop Vocal Album and Best Female Pop Vocal Performance, respectively. Faith Hill's 2002 album, Cry, features a song co-written by Pink and Perry. In 2002, Pink started a headlining American, European and Australian tour, the Party Tour; later, she became a supporting act for Lenny Kravitz's American tour.

2003–05: 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 motocross 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 the band Spirit. It became Pink's first single to miss the top 40 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 the band Rancid; 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, the UK and Australia, sales were considerably lower than those of Missundaztood; it went platinum in the U.S. and sold over 5 million copies worldwide, a commercial flop compared to its predecessor. The singles "Trouble" and "God Is a DJ" did not reach the U.S. top 40 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. She toured extensively on the Try This Tour through Europe and Australia, where the album was better received. In 2005, she collaborated with her good friend Lisa Marie Presley on the track "Shine" on Presley's sophomore album Now What.

2006–07: 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." Pink worked with producers Max Martin, Billy Mann, Christopher Rojas, Butch Walker, Lukasz Gottwald, and Josh Abraham on the album. The album's release in April 2006 through LaFace Records was a substantial success throughout the world, particularly in Australia. The album reached the top ten in the U.S., the top five in the UK, number one in Germany, and sat at number one in Australia for two non-consecutive weeks, though it was Pink's lowest seller in the U.S. until the success of the single "U + Ur Hand" in early 2007. The album ranked 96th in the USA during 2007.

Lead single "Stupid Girls" was Pink's biggest U.S. hit since 2002 and earned a Grammy Award nomination for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance. Its music video, in which she parodies celebrities such as Lindsay Lohan, Jessica Simpson, Mary-Kate Olsen, and Paris Hilton, 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 the U.S. President George W. Bush (featuring the Indigo Girls) and a number 1 hit in Belgium, a top five hit in Germany, Australia and other countries; "Leave Me Alone (I'm Lonely)", a UK top 40 and Australian top five entry; and "'Cuz I Can". The album has sold over 1.3 million copies in the U.S., over 700,000 in Australia, and 6 million worldwide. Proving very popular in Australia, with 6 top five singles, and a record-breaking 62 weeks in the top 10; so far the album has gone 10 times platinum. In June 2008, the I'm Not Dead album returned to the top 50 of the Australian ARIA charts and remained there until November 2009. In June 2009 the album returned once again to the Australian top ten album charts in its 142nd week in the national top fifty. It re-entered at No. 10 on the back of her mammoth Funhouse Tour, and as of 2010, has spent 162 weeks in the top 50 of the Australian ARIA albums chart.

In support of the album, Pink embarked on the world I'm Not Dead Tour, for which ticket sales in Australia were particularly high; she sold approximately 307,000 tickets in Australia, giving her the record for the biggest concert attendance for an arena tour by a female artist. One of the London shows on the tour was taped and released as a DVD, Pink: Live from Wembley Arena where she sang Linda Perry's Whats Up?. 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.

Pink collaborated with several other artists in 2006 and 2007, when she opened for Justin Timberlake on the American leg of his FutureSex/LoveShow Tour. She sang on the Indigo Girls album Despite Our Differences. She was featured on India.Arie's song "I Am Not My Hair" from 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 she co-wrote, 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 website. In December 2007, a special edition Pink Box, which comprises her second to fourth albums and the DVD Live in Europe, was released in Australia. It reached the top twenty on the albums chart and was certified Gold, selling over 35,000 units.

2008–2010: Funhouse

On August 7, 2008, Pink's single "So What" was leaked online, and radio stations across Australia were quick to give it massive airplay. Within less than 6 hours from the leak, "So What" was voted #1 on Nova 100 Melbourne and shot to #1 on the Today Network's national radio Hot30 Countdown. It also shot straight to number 1 on the official Australian and British iTunes single downloads charts. On August 22, Pink announced a new track titled "Crystal Ball". On September 18, 2008, "So What" became the first solo number one of her career on the Billboard Hot 100.

Pink was the guest of honour at the 2008 ARIA Music Awards held in Sydney, Australia, in October 2008, where she sang "So What". On November 3, 2008, "Funhouse" debuted at number one on the ARIA charts, certified two times platinum and selling over 86,000 units in its first week. Pink's "Funhouse" tour sold out all concerts in Australia, and she performed a total of 58 shows around the country between May and August 2009, performing for more than 600,000 Australian fans. The Funhouse Tour started in France on February 24 and continued through Europe until mid-May, with supporting act Raygun. Pink then performed a series of shows in Australia.

On November 23, 2008, Pink performed her second single from Funhouse, "Sober" at the American Music Awards. The third single was "Please Don't Leave Me", with a video directed by Dave Meyers. The fourth single was "Funhouse", although "Bad Influence" was released in Australia prior to "Funhouse"'s release as a promotional single for the tour. In May 2009, Pink released a four-CD set of her albums Can't Take Me Home / Missundaztood / Try This / I'm Not Dead, excluding her current album Funhouse. The album peaked at number 7 in the UK Album Chart. In 2009, Pink performed in The People Speak a documentary feature film that uses dramatic and musical performances of the letters, diaries, and speeches of everyday Americans, based on historian Howard Zinn's "A People's History of the United States”.

On September 13, 2009, Pink performed "Sober" while doing a trapeze act at the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards, where she was nominated for Best Female Video. On January 31, 2010, Pink did another trapeze act in the form of Aerial silks at the 2010 Grammy Awards, this time performing the song "Glitter in the Air". She received a standing ovation. The music of Pink was the theme of the October 4, 2009 episode of Australian Idol. Pink was a featured soloist in the remake of the 1985 charity single, We Are the World. It was then announced that Pink would collaborate with Herbie Hancock for his album, The Imagine Project, in which she sang a new recording of Peter Gabriel's "Don't Give Up" with John Legend. Pink was featured on a track titled "Won't Back Down" for Eminem's 2010 album Recovery. Eminem explained that he included Pink because he "felt like she would smash this record".

On July 15, 2010, Pink fell during one of her aerial tricks during a concert in Nurnberg, Germany, where she fell out of a harness which was supposed to carry her across the crowd. She was rushed off stage and taken to a local hospital but was not seriously injured. Pink moved a total of 3 million concert tickets on her 2009-2010 worldwide tour, according to a statement on behalf of U.K. tour promoter Marshall Arts. Pink stated that after her Funhouse Summer Carnival Tour she would like to get back in the studio for a follow-up to Funhouse but it will take a while to record as she has "nothing really to say".

2010–present: Greatest Hits... So Far!!!

In early September 2010 MTV Brazil stated that P!nk will be releasing a greatest hits album by the end of 2010. A few days later it was reported by director Colione, who earlier worked with P!nk on her outselling Funhouse Carnival Tour advert, that he was shooting a new video with P!nk. On 15 September, P!nk was seen on a photoshoot in LA and according to the photographer it is for her greatest hits album Later that month a SONY representative confirmed that P!nk will be releasing a greatest hits album in November 2010 and is expected to release a new studio album in early 2011. This has been confirmed on P!nk's official site and the title given as "Greatest Hits... So Far!!!". The album will contain 18 tracks spanning her entire career including the new single "Raise Your Glass" plus one other new song. The video for "Raise Your Glass" was directed by Dave Meyers in early October. According to hmv.com, a UK music retailer, Greatest Hits... So Far! is available for pre-order. It states the release date as November 16, 2010. There is a standard edition as well as a CD/DVD deluxe edition. The DVD will include many of her hits as well as some live video. On September 28, 2010, P!nk wrote on her twitter, "the studio has been amazing!!! i'm really happy with the new songs. f*ckin FUN!!!! new video shooting next week. better stop eating cupcakes", possibly referring to a new album. The first single from her Greatest Hits is titled "Raise Your Glass", and is due to be released to radio the week beginning the 4th of October. 'Raise Your Glass' was released 6pm EST on P!nks website, www.pinkspage.com, along with the single cover, and album cover. On October 7, due to high demand, "Raise Your Glass" was released for digital download in the US. On November 2, P!nk released the video for "Raise Your Glass" via her official website: PinksPage.com. On November 3, P!nk released single "F**kin' Perfect" also through her website which is due to be released with her upcoming Greatest Hits... So Far!!! album.

Personal life

Pink met professional motocross racer Carey Hart at the 2001 X Games in Philadelphia. Hart had previously been screened in Pink's early music video clip "Just Like a Pill".In 2005, Pink proposed to Hart during a Mammoth Lakes, California motocross race by holding up a "Will you marry me?" sign on his pit board. On the other side was written "I'm Serious!". They married in Costa Rica on January 7, 2006.

After months of speculation, Pink announced on February 19, 2008, that she and Hart had separated. The video for her 2008 hit "So What", in which Hart appears, deals with her separation and pending divorce. During their separation, in August 2008, Pink was supportive of her estranged husband when Hart's brother died due to injuries sustained in a motocross competition. In March 2009, Hart said he and Pink were "dating". He also said the couple was attempting to work things out, stating, "Sometimes you have to take a couple of steps back to move forward". In April 2009, Pink said the couple had gone to marriage counseling and were never divorced. On February 5, 2010, Pink confirmed she and her husband were back together. She said the separation taught her not to try to change him and that she also had to work on herself in order to save her marriage. In late 2010, it was guessed at that Pink and her husband Carey Hart are expecting their first.

Sponsorships

PETA

Contrary to popular belief Pink is not a vegetarian. She eats fish (including stating that she "loves" sushi in an interview with Chris Moyles) and calls herself a pescetarian.

Pink is a prominent campaigner for PETA, contributing her voice toward causes such as protesting against KFC. She sent a letter to Prince William criticizing him for fox hunting, and one to Queen Elizabeth II protesting the use of real fur in the bearskins of the Foot Guards and the Honourable Artillery Company. In conjunction with PETA, she criticized the Australian wool industry over its use of mulesing. In January 2007, she 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, UK, on August 21, 2007 called PAW (Party for Animals Worldwide).

Charity work

Pink is involved with many charities including "Phoenix vert", Human Rights Campaign, ONE Campaign, Prince's Trust, New York Restoration Project, Run for the Cure Foundation, Save the Children, Take Back the Night, UNICEF and World Society for the Protection of Animals. As of May 2008 Pink has been officially recognized as an advocate for the RSPCA in Australia. On February 16, 2009, Pink announced she was donating $250,000 to the Red Cross Bushfire Appeal to aid the victims of the bushfires that swept through the Australian state of Victoria earlier that month (a total of 173 people died in the fires, with around 500 injured, and 4000 homes lost). Pink stated that she wanted to make "a tangible expression of support".