Pink

At 5'3 with blue eyes, flamingo pink hair and an extreme personality to match Pink (also written as P!nk) was born on September 8th 1979 under the normal name of Alecia Beth Moore. An R&B artist from the notorious LaFace Record label (home to Toni Braxton and TLC). Her influences include Mary J. Blige, Whitney Houston, Madonna, Eminem and her father. Although, as an adolescent her style jumped from one extreme to another, for example; skateboarder to rave child to hip-hopper.

This probably explains her self-confidence and rebellious nature, she has seen a lot and done a lot and this is reflected in her music.
“I decided at 15 that I didn't want to be one of those artists that gets up and sings love songs they don't mean,” Pink explains in regards to her debut album. “I decided that I was going to be me to the fullest extent, that my songs were going to reflect relationships I've had, things I've been through, and even the stuff I'm embarrassed about.”
Music was a major part of her childhood, her father left an indelible print on her through his guitar lessons, educating her in the likes of Dylan and McLean. Other inspirations included Janis Joplin, Shirley Murdock and Donna Hathaway, so much so that by 14 Pink had laid down her first song. However, it was in the clubs that she began to shine. It was at her regular Friday night five minute slot that a rep from MCA spotted and asked Pink to audition for Basic Instinct, although the group didn't come to much Pink wasn't disappointed as she confessed that she didn't 'see myself as belonging to any group.'
This was only a temporary setback as almost immediately she was signed to another female group known as Choice whose demo led to them being signed to LaFace. The group disbanded due to differing choices in music styles but Pink's place with LaFace solidified thanks to her rediscovery of her writing talent while with Choice in Atlanta. Hooking up with Daryl Simmons to write the bridge for 'Just to be Loving You' confirmed her abilities. This was the beginning of Pink's career in her eyes. However, the emergence of her powerful soprano voice whilst recording 'Just to be Loving You' no doubt contributed to her notoriety within LaFace.
Pink's songs are written to compliment and display her vocal range and her love of the pop side of R&B. L.A. Reid signed Pink as a solo artist when she approached him with her songs. Each song was greeted with the same response, 'yeah, I like that one, yeah that's a single'. Reid's obvious admiration and appreciation of Pink's talents led to her collaborating with various well known writing partners such as She'kspeare, Babyface and 112.
'There U Go', the debut single which displays the wide range of her voice, (which is also visible in her favourite track of the album 'Split Personality') is impossible to resist, becoming a top ten hit in early 2000. In the accompanying video, Pink rebukes her PlayStation obsessed-boyfriend while wearing a disapproving expression and a series of sexy outfits, alternating with a fondness for driving motorcycles through his windows. Obviously supplying the tough-chick role model which the female population is in desperate need of, having been subjected to the likes of Mariah Carey and Britney Spears for far too long. The rest of her debut album, 'Can't Take Me Home' isn't nearly so good. However, it has found acclaim among the public, reaching the Top 40 of the US's album charts.

As she set about working on her follow-up album, Pink took part in the remake of Patti LaBelle's “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 Pink's sound (as did guest appearances by Steven Tyler and Richie Sambora). M!ssundaztood attracted positive critical notices as well, and its second single, “Don't 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 album's tracks. Try This' lead single, “Trouble,” cracked into the upper regions of Billboard's 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 2001's X-Games- on January 7, 2006, in Costa Rica.
Pink's fourth studio album, I'm Not Dead was released on April 4, 2006. The album charted top 10 in sixteen countries (#1 in Australia.) In the U.S. it debuted at #6 (with first week sales of 126,000 copies sold), and has been certificated Gold, but only spent twenty-three weeks on the Billboard Top 20 Albums Chart. In total it has been certificated in 12 countries with being the most successful in the U.K. (2x platinum) and Australia (5x platinum). The album was the fifth highest selling album in 2006 selling over 3.5 million copies worldwide.
The first single, “Stupid Girls,” became her first hit in America since “Family Portrait” four years earlier, peaking at #13 in the Billboard Hot 100 Singles Chart. (Outside of the U.S. the song reached the top 10 in 15 countries and #1 in Finland, Venezuela and in the United World Chart making it her third #1 hit in that chart.) “Stupid Girls” later won Pink Best Pop Video at the MTV Video Music Awards, and has been nominated for a Grammy for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance.
The second single, “Who Knew,” failed to crack Billboard's Hot 100, but became a hit in Europe and Australia where it peaked at #5 and #2 respectively, and was certified Gold. The third single “U + Ur Hand,” released in August, received limited radio play in America. Airplay however, slowly increased and the song later entered the Hot 100 Singles Chart the week of January 4, 2007 at #94. Its music video, meanwhile, has garnered sizable rotation on MTV's TRL. Outside the U.S., the single peaked in the top 10 in ten countries. The fourth single is “Nobody Knows” and has only charted in the U.K., peaking at #27. It has yet to be released anywhere else.
A pink colored PSP was launched in August 2006 promoting the artist and Sony's Playstation Portable. The pink PSP will be released in Europe on October 2006 and include a Pink-themed Universal Media Disc (UMD), featuring music promos, interviews, and an exclusive track. As of September 2006, no plans have been made regarding the hand held console release in North America. Also 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 has also contributed a cover of Rufus's “Tell Me Something Good” to the soundtrack of the film Happy Feet.
Through 2006 and 2007, Pink has been (and will continue to) touring around the world. She started in June in America and ended her tour in Milan in December. Due the success of her album and singles in Australia she will be touring in May 2006 in Australia. The sales of the tickets were sold out so fast that Pink was forced to add more dates twice. It has now a total 26 shows in Australia, which makes it one of the most successful tours there. In 2007, she also will be opening up for Justin Timberlake on the American leg of his FutureSex/LoveShow Tour. A December 2006 concert date in Wembley Arena on her I'm Not Dead Tour UK tour was hosted by London club G-A-Y, and it holds the record as the UK's biggest indoor gay and lesbian event. Also the DVD for the I'm Not Dead Tour was shot there and was shown by MSN live on the internet on December 19. The DVD is expected in March 2007.
One of the tracks on the album is called “Dear Mr. President,” which is an open letter to the American President George W. Bush and is a comment on the president's policies. The song entered the chart in Belgium in late December 2006 on #3. The next week it went to the top of the chart, reaching #1. Now the rumors are that it will be released around the globe as a fifth single, but in 2006 Pink recorded a song in Switzerland with Scottish, former Eurythmics, singer Annie Lennox and it has been said that it will be a single in 2007.


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 2006 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.” Pink was once on the short list of people to play Janis Joplin in an upcoming biopic titled The 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.