Growing up was hard for Alecia Moore. Her parents divorced when she was just three years old, and due to her rebellious nature, she never had any friends. At the age of 13, Moore would find solace in singing, and not long after, as a dancer and as a songwriter. One lucky night, an executive from MCA took notice of how much talent she had and he asked her to audition for Basic Instinct, an R&B group that at the time was only just forming. Unable to find traction, the band would disband after two years, and Moore would have to find other work. She would briefly find work with another R&B band called Choice, but they too would disband.
Her talent would not go unnoticed, for with the support of LaFace Records, she struck gold and would go out on her own. But she only did this after changing her name from Alecia Moore to Pink, a name everyone in today’s generation knows her by. In 2000, Pink would release her first solo album “Can’t Take Me Home.” Surprisingly, the record was a hit, going double platinum, but Pink was far from satisfied. She worried about being lumped in with already established singers who not only shared her sound, but dominated the market. So, Pink decided to change her sound to be deeper and edgier. The sound was apparent if you’ve ever listened to the Moulin Rouge soundtrack. Pink is featured alongside Christina Aguilera, Lil’ Kim, and Mya singing Lady Marmalade.
Due to her newfound stardom because of the Moulin Rouge soundtrack, she would continue to record and release albums. She would have a total of six studio albums by 2012, but she then decided that it was time for a break. She would spend 5 years working on her marriage, spending time with her child, having another one as well as working on smaller projects. You may have heard of Sia’s song “Waterfalls,” but did you know that Pink collaborated with her on that? Have any of you heard Pink’s single, “Just Like Fire,” which was featured on the Alice Through the Looking Glass soundtrack, for she recorded the song also during this five year hiatus.
While I’m sure we have all enjoyed these songs, I’m sure that most of us were thrilled to hear that the release of her single “What About Us” would be featured on her 7th studio album, called “Beautiful Trauma.” A name that in my opinion perfectly fits the overall message that she tries to convey throughout her entire album. The message of her album, I believe is that however exhausting the ups and downs of life can be must one be resilient especially in times of love and in the political age that we live in.
The 13 piano ballad, pop and EDM infused songs that comprise this album not only pay tribute to this message, but the personal and political planes are woven together so that it isn’t as easy to identify whether the tracks are either being very personal or if they’re more of a statement piece. That’s why this album is not only interesting, well arranged, great at conveying the message, but it’s why it’s different than her last six albums that she has recorded.
To get a better understanding of what I’m talking about I decided to explain more in depth what I mean. I broke down the album for your track by track.
1. “Beautiful Trauma”
When you first hit play and listen to Pink’s song “Beautiful Trauma,” you’ll hear the sweet, mellow sounds of a piano, but not for long. Upbeat pop infused with the sounds of EDM soon take over and then so does her voice. She sings about what it was like to dabble in drugs as how the drugs made it her feel.
You will see how she has now set the stage for what the album will be about. It will be about the hardships she has faced in both childhood, adulthood and now growing up with a failed government. The drugs were just one of many traumas.
2. “Revenge”
What a combination Pink and Eminem expressing in song about how they plan to get revenge, maybe on the current political situation or an important situation at least.
3. “What About Us”
What “About Us” is a personal favorite of mine. I loved it when it was first released as a single back in August, and I enjoy listening to it even more. Amidst the upbeat pop song arises Pink singing about how the government has failed us and refused to communicate with the rest of the world about the important things that matter. I think, as I think Pink would that by the government failing to communicate with us, that this can be very traumatic, for we should be prepared for anything big that might happen, like a nuclear war perhaps.
4. “Whatever You Want”
In this song she’s talking about how her love is enough for her and that she will do whatever it takes to keep him.
5. “But We Lost It”
She is talking about the love she lost and how she now wants to take her new relationship slow, so nothing ruins it.
6. “Barbies”
This song is about how she wishes she could go back and just play with barbies in her room because kids don’t worry as much as adults do.
7. “Where We Go”
Pink sings in this song about how unfortunately we must keep fighting while these traumatic events occur for they will seem to keep happening until a solution can be found.
8. “For Now”
Another love song only this time she is talking about how tired of fighting she is and how all she wants to do is make this work, for she doesn’t want to lose him.
9. “Secrets.”
This pop-infused song is also infused with Pink showing audiences how she is not afraid of fighting our current government who has failed us by lying and keeping big secrets that could come back to haunt us.
10. “Better Life”
The way this song begins reminds me of another song of hers: “Raise your Glass.” Only with this song, she is talking about the mistakes that she made that may have caused her marriage to be a bit rocky for a while. She wanted nothing more than to be a good wife, but the traumatic thing was she was worried that they would end, and he might leave her for good.
11. “I Am Here”
Ever hear a fast-paced song or for that matter Pink sing rapidly? I can’t think of one until now. In this song, Pink seems to be singing about how despite all the trauma that she may face, she is stronger than ever and ready to face whatever she has to overcome.
12. “Wild Hearts Can’t Be Broken”
Another favorite of mine, for this emotional piano and string ballad, is about how she and others must continue to fight to make our country a better one, as the government has seemingly refused to communicate anything to us, causing us all to worry. I for one would say this is traumatic.
13. “You Get My Love”
What a way to end the album, with an emotional piano ballad about the hardship and trauma she faced when she and a love split. Quite the change from the start of the album. In the song, she wants him to know that she wants their love to work and she also wants him to know that she is sorry for the mistakes she made.
I hope that you’ll enjoy listening.