The Truth About Pink’s Discography.
Pink’s had quite the career hasn’t she? In the past 20 years, the American singer-songwriter-acrobatic has won three Grammy Awards, a Daytime Emmy Award and sold 57 million albums worldwide. She’s also achieved 15 top ten singles in the US – with 20 in the UK – and nine number ones in Australia.
Earlier this year, the iconic performer received the prestigious award for Outstanding Contribution to Music at the 2019 BRITs, and she made history by becoming the first international artist to receive the honour.
In celebration of the release of her eighth studio album, Hurts 2B Human (which is currently on track to be number one for the third consecutive week in the UK), we’ve ranked all of her releases so far from worst to best.
Does her R&B debut Can’t Take Me Home take the top spot? Perhaps her pop/rock follow-up, M!ssundaztood? Or her most successful album this decade, The Truth About Love?
See below…
8. Can’t Take Me Home
Standout tracks: Most Girls, Stop Falling, Split Personality
Pink’s debut album is the most far removed from her whole discography, due to its primary focus on R&B and hip-hop influenced tracks. We’ve ranked it in eighth place, but it’s not a bad album by any means. The album’s first three singles, There You Go, Most Girls and You Make Me Sick solidified Pink as the spunky star she is today, as well as unreleased tracks Split Personality, Let Me Let You Know and Hell Wit Ya. However, the album’s finest moment is Stop Falling, a stunning ballad in which she showcases her immense vocals and signature raspy tone. If you haven’t heard it, check it out on Spotify.
7. Try This
Standout tracks: Waiting For Love, God is a DJ, Catch Me While I’m Sleeping
Pink had a tough job following her critically-acclaimed sophomore album, M!ssundaztood, which became her biggest selling to date. Instead of replicating its sound, she opted for a pop-punk route with the help of rock producer Tim Armstrong and esteemed songwriter, Billy Mann. Linda Perry, who helped Pink transform her sound and image in her previous era, has spoken out in the past about her disdain for Pink’s new direction. She wanted Pink to become the next Janis Joplin and was over punk tracks such as Trouble, Last to Know and Humble Neighbourhoods. However, she did work with the star on Try Too Hard, Catch Me While I’m Sleeping and Waiting for Love, the latter of which is – in our opinion – one of her top five songs ever. We can’t help but wonder what would’ve happened if the album was pure rock, but whatevs. She still got a Grammy for Trouble, in what is often referred to as her “flop era”. Not many pop stars can achieve that tbh.
6. Beautiful Trauma
Standout tracks: Beautiful Trauma, Whatever You Want, Better Life
Pink’s seventh studio album, Beautiful Trauma, became one of her biggest successes to date, debuting on the Billboard 200 at number one with a staggering 408,000 album-equivalent units – her highest first week sales (so far). We say ‘staggering’ because we’re living in the age of streaming. No one’s buying albums anymore and she managed to achieve this 17 years into her career, like c’mon… However, even though the album was strong, it wasn’t much of a sonic evolution as we had hoped. What About Us was a gorgeous club ballad and wise choice for lead single, and Beautiful Trauma was a strong follow-up (one of her best videos too). However, the rest of the album was a bit safe. But is safe really a bad thing? If it’s not broken, don’t fix it and all that? Whatever You Want, Better Life and I Am Here were all flawless, Secrets was a massive dance bop and Where We Go was a smash waiting to happen. How come you don’t release your best songs as singles Alecia? Hmm?
5. Hurts 2B Human
Standout tracks: 90 Days, Hey Why (Miss You Sometime), Happy
With a title like Hurts 2B Human, it comes as no surprise that Pink’s latest offering is her most vulnerable to date. Eight out of 13 tracks are ballads, and while they don’t offer anything new sonically, are some of her most heartbreaking songs in her discography, lyrically. Love Me Anyway, a collaboration with American country singer Chris Stapleton, has been one of the most popular album cuts so far (reaching the top three on US iTunes) and it comes as no surprise: it’s a powerful, big-belter in which the star wonders if her lover will leave, due to her flaws and the “pieces” they’ll have to pick up in the relationship. Openly gay singer-songwriter Wrabel assists on stripped back duet 90 Days, the Just Give Me a Reason of the album, and if Pink plays her cards right, she could score another massive hit with this. The album’s most beautiful moment however arrives with Happy, a reflective, M!ssundaztood-esque track in which she ponders if she’ll ever be truly happy. However, because this is Pink, she does provide some uptempo numbers with lead single Walk Me Home (her 20th UK top ten hit), Hustle (with the help of Dan Reynolds) and (Hey Why) Miss You Sometime, the latter of which is our pick for next single.
4. The Truth About Love
Standout tracks: Slut Like You, Try, Blow Me (One Last Kiss)
Four years after Funhouse, Pink returned to the music industry with the critically-acclaimed electropop-rock anthem, Blow Me (One Last Kiss), which topped the charts in Australia and reached the top ten in the UK, US, Germany, Canada and New Zealand. The Truth About Love shortly followed and became her most praised album so far, ultimately spawning a further three singles in Try, True Love and Just Give Me a Reason, the latter of which became her fourth number one in the United States. The album boasted an eclectic mix of pop, rock, R&B, ska and dance, and touched upon topics such as feminism and female sexuality. Like most of Pink’s projects, the best tracks were the ones that didn’t receive the single treatment, such as Are We All We Are, Slut Like You (the number one that got away) and Timebomb (which was only a bonus song, for some ridiculous reason).
3. Funhouse
Standout tracks: Bad Influence, Mean, It’s All Your Fault
After eight years in the music industry, Pink finally earned her first solo number one single with the power-pop break-up anthem So What, taken from her fifth studio album Funhouse. Originally titled Heartbreak is a Motherfucker, Pink opted to change the name because of her record label and because – in her words – “love is supposed to be fun, but it can sometimes be really scary”. The album focused on her separation from motocross racer, Carey Hart (they’ve since reconciled), and is without-a-doubt one of her most vulnerable offerings so far (after Hurts 2B Human). Please Don’t Leave Me, I Don’t Believe You, Crystal Ball, Mean and It’s All Your Fault are some of her most tender moments yet, but because it’s Pink, she still provided us with bops such as Bad Influence, This Is How It Goes Down and Boring. If you’re going through a heartbreak, this album is the one.
2. M!ssundaztood
Standout tracks: Just Like a Pill, Eventually, Get the Party Started
If you ask most people in their 20s (women and gays) what their favourite Pink album is, M!ssundaztood is likely to pop up. It was the album of 2002. Released two years after her R&B-influenced debut, the album saw Pink return to the music industry with the help of 4 Non Blondes frontwoman Linda Perry, who assisted the singer with transforming her image from a hip-hop diva into a pop-rock star. Its lead single, Get the Party Started, became her highest charting song (at the time) and is still, to this day, the ultimate party anthem. Subsequent singles Don’t Let Me Get Me, Family Portrait and Just Like a Pill (her first solo UK number one) are fan-favourites and karaoke staples, as well as non-singles such as Eventually, Numb, Dear Diary and 18 Wheeler. We still listen to it to this day, and if Pink hadn’t brought Linda out of retirement, then we wouldn’t have had Christina Aguilera’s Stripped. Fact. Oh, and a fun fact – it’s Pink’s highest-selling album with over 13 million copies sold worldwide.
1. I’m Not Dead
Standout tracks: Who Knew, U + Ur Hand, Cuz I Can
Following the commercial underperformance of her third studio album Try This, Pink made a triumphant return to pop with the feminist anthem, Stupid Girls. Granted, the video hasn’t aged well, but at the time it was commended for condemning sexism and promoting intelligence in women. Subsequent singles from I’m Not Dead such as Who Knew and U + Ur Hand – which saw Pink collaborate with Swedish hit-maker Max Martin – are two of her most iconic bangers to date, while Dear Mr. President saw the artist at her most political. It’s our number one album because it features Pink’s signature powerpop-rock anthems alongside the soaring emotional ballads, andd no shade to the other albums on this list, but it felt like she had something to say.
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