Pink

Although she was initially viewed as yet another face in the late-'90s crowd of teen pop acts, Pink quickly
showed signs of becoming one of the rare artists to transcend and outgrow the label. Born Alecia Moore
on September 8, 1979, in Doylestown, PA (near Philadelphia), Pink received her nickname as a child (it had
nothing to do with her later shade of hair dye). She grew up in a musical family and by age 13 was a regular
on the Philadelphia club scene, first as a dancer, then as a backing vocalist for the local hip-hop group
Schools of Thought. At 14, she began writing her own songs; the same year, a local DJ at Club Fever began
allowing her on-stage to sing a song every Friday. 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 Babyface's LaFace label on the strength of their demo; however, they too disbanded due to
differences over musical direction. During Choice's 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, Can't 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 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.