PINK TURNS 40!
To celebrate the pop star’s 40th birthday, here are her fiercest moments to date!
The star’s iconic moments
It was the Noughties, a time when pop princesses such as Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera reigned supreme, but before we knew it, Pink – real name Alecia Moore – came along with her ‘no-bulls--t’, outspoken attitude. Since her 2000 debut with the album Can’t Take Me Home, Pink has sold more than 42 million albums and 75 million singles internationally, thanks to her mammoth vocals and meaningful lyrics inspiring legions of fans the world over. Now, as she hits a milestone age, WHO takes a look at some of her biggest moments.
HITTING BACK AT ‘STUPID GIRL’ IDEOLOGIES
A huge hit for Pink was 2006’s ‘Stupid Girls’, which focused on the role women were forced to play in the music industry and in society as a whole. Lyrics such as, “What happened to the dream of a girl president?/ She’s dancing in the video next to 50 Cent” and “I’m so glad that I’ll never fit in/ That will never be me/ Outcasts and girls with ambition/ That’s what I wanna see,” saw Pink assert herself as a credible pop star with a serious message. While both th e song and video – which features Pink playing various ‘Stupid Girl’ personas and mocking celebrities such as Paris Hilton and Jessica Simpson – have been criticised for their judgemental approach to feminism, the song is still an important landmark of individuality and self-empowerment in the genre.
HER STANCE ON POLITICAL ISSUES
In 2006, Pink put on her political hat and released ‘Dear Mr President’, a song that hit home with fans across the world, and which remains an anthem for the LGBTQI community. An open letter to then-President of the United States, George W. Bush, the song is critical of the Bush administration’s position on the Iraq War, No Child Left Behind Act, gay marriage and the gay rights movement in general.
In an interview at the time with MTV, Pink said: “I hope the president is proud of the fact that we live in a country where we can do things like that, where we can have dissent, talk, communicate and share our opinions.”
SHUTTING DOWN BODY-SHAMERS
Pink has always been open about the realities of motherhood. This includes hitting back at the criticism she’s received about her postpregnancy weight after the 2016 birth of her second child, Jameson. The ‘What About Us’ singer most recently took to Twitter to share a photograph of her body, saying: “I know I’m not at my goal or anywhere near it after Baby 2
but dammit I don’t feel obese. The only thing I’m feeling is myself. Stay off that scale ladies!”
The three-time Grammy Award winner, who has a huge Australian fan base and often tours Australia for months on end, has assured her fans there is no reason to worry about her.
“I am perfectly fine, perfectly happy, and my healthy, voluptuous and crazy strong body is having some much-deserved time off. Thanks for your concern,” Pink said.
PROVING SHE’S #PARENTGOALS
Taking home the Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award at the 2017 MTV Video Music Awards was a career highlight for the singer and her acceptance speech left a huge and lasting impression.
In her speech, Pink shared a touching story about the importance of loving yourself just the way you are, recounting that her daughter, Willow, had once said to her she was the ugliest girl she knew.
Pink was understandably shocked and asked her daughter why she felt that way. Willow revealed it was because she “looked like a boy with long hair’’.
Pink responded by making a PowerPoint presentation for her daughter of popular androgynous rock stars such as Prince, Annie Lennox and Janis Joplin.
She concluded by telling Willow that she herself had been judged for looking masculine and having too many opinions but affirmed she didn’t change who she was for the haters.
“We take the gravel and the shell, and we make a pearl,” she said, “and we help other people to change so they can see more kinds of beauty.”