Background:

"I'm about to make people forget about Madonna." Pink.

Punk rocker Pink (or "P!nk"), whose real name is Alecia Moore, broke the music scene in 2000 when she released her debut R&B album Can't Take Me Home, which featured the top ten hit "There You Go." She followed it up with Rock/Pop albums M!ssundaztood (2001), which spawned the hit songs "Don't Let Me Get Me" and "Get This Party Started," and Try This (2003), which earned her a Grammy for the song “Trouble.” She also teamed with singers Mya, Lil Kim and Christina Aguilera for a remake of the disco classic "Lady Marmalade" and won a Grammy for the collaboration. More recently, Pink released her latest album, I’m Not Dead (2006), which spawned singles “Stupid Girls” and “Who Knew.” She was also named #12 in the UK Music Hall of Fame of the 21st century.

Pink, who got her stage name from her rosy complexion and the Steve Buscemi character "Mr. Pink" from Reservoir Dogs (1992), has branched out in acting. She appeared in Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle (2003) and will star in the upcoming horror movie, Catacombs (2006).

On a more personal note, the 5' 4" tall with blue eyes, whose trade mark is pink color that sometimes appears on her hair, briefly dated Motley Crue drummer Tommy Lee before marrying motor racer Carey Hart. A strict vegan lifestyle follower, Pink is a big supporter of the animal-rights organization PETA and was voted as one of Choice USA's "Top 30 Under 30" activists for reproductive freedom in 2004.


Can't Take Me Home

Childhood and Family:

"My dad raised me with some good advice: 'Always tell the truth. Always shoot from the hip. You might not have many friends, but you'll never have enemies, because people will always know where you're coming from.'" Pink.

Alecia Beth Moore, who would later be famous as Pink, was born on September 8, 1979, in Doylestown, Pennsylvania. Her parents, James (a Vietnam veteran) and Judy Moore, divorced when she was very young. Of Irish and German descent on her father's side, and of Lithuanian Karaite heritage on her mother's, Pink has a brother called Jason Moore and is the second cousin of singer/actress Mandy Moore.

"Heroin is a horrible thing. I've seen first hand what it can do to people and it's not pretty. I was never that much into it to need treatment. But you name it, I took it. I buried three friends from heroin overdoses. I just stopped one day on Thanksgiving 1995 and never touched them again." Pink.

Pink, who attended Central Bucks West High in Philadelphia and Moore College of Art and Design for a year before dropping out, once confessed that she took heroin when she was a teenager but later turned her back on the opiate. The big fan of Oprah, Angelina Jolie, and Reese Witherspoon also revealed that her brother stole her lesbian lover when she was 13.

At the 2001 X Games in Las Vegas, Pink met and fell in love with motocross racer Carey Hart. Four years later, Pink proposed to Hart by writing on a pit board “Will You Marry Me?,” and they became engaged on June 26, 2005. The couple later exchanged wedding vows in a ceremony on a beach on January 7, 2006 in Costa Rica.


I’m Not Dead

Career:

"My dad always played guitar and taught me songs by Dylan and McLean. But his love of music left an indelible mark on Pink. Ever since I can remember, I think before I could talk, I sang." Pink.

Being raised in a musical family, Pink was aspired to be a singer. At age 13, she entered the music scene by performing regularly on the Philadelphia club scene. She started as a dancer, then as a backing vocalist for the local rap group Schools of Thought. 14-year-old Pink then began to write her own songs and performed them on stage.

"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. 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." Pink.

One night, Pink was discovered by an executive for MCA, who asked her to audition for an R&B group called Basic Instinct. She briefly joined the group before subsequently signing up with a female R&B trio called Choice, which signed to L.A. Reid and Babyface's LaFace label. While working with the studio, producer Daryl Simmons asked Pink to write a bridge section for the song "Just to Be Loving You." Pink’s songwriting muse impressed L.A. Reid, who immediately gave her a solo contract with LaFace.

Under the predominately urban label, Pink began to create her image, which included bright pink hair. She eventually launched her debut album, Can't Take Me Home, on April 4, 2000. The album spawned Top Ten singles "There You Go" and "Most Girls," as well as the minor hit "You Make Me Sick." Can’t Take Me Home peaked at #26 on the Billboard 200 and was a double-platinum hit.

While working on her second album, Pink participated in the remake of Patti LaBelle's 1975 hit "Lady Marmalade" featured on the Baz Luhrman's Moulin Rouge soundtrack, which also featured such divas as Christina Aguilera, Mya and Lil' Kim. The song, produced by hip-hop producers Rockwilder and Missy Elliott, was a huge hit and topped the charts in both the U.S. and U.K. It climbed to #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 and won a Grammy Award for Best Pop Collaboration With Vocals.

With a new direction in her sound, Pink released her sophomore album, M!ssundaztood, on November 20, 2001. She co-wrote and co-produced most of the tracks along with former 4 Non Blondes vocalist Linda Perry. The album featured up-beat dance remixes of more rock-oriented songs. It produced the smash hit singles like "Get the Party Started" (went top five in the U.S.), "Don't Let Me Get Me," "Just Like a Pill" (gained Pink her first solo UK #1 in September 2002) and "Family Portrait." M!ssundaztood was a massive album worldwide, placing the second-best-selling album in the UK during 2002. To date, the album has sold over 5 million copies in the U.S. alone.

In the summer of 2003, Pink released a single, "Feel Good Time," from the McG-directed movie adapted from the popular TV series, Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle. The track, produced by electronic music artist William Orbit, managed to go top 3 in the UK but only climbed as high as #60 in the US. In the movie, Pink also had a small cameo as a dirt bike race promoter, alongside stars Cameron Diaz, Drew Barrymore and Lucy Liu.

Try This, Pink’s third album, hit the music stores on November 11, 2003. It consists of 13 tracks, eight of which Pink co-wrote with Tim Armstrong of punk band Rancid. Singles from the album include the tracks "Trouble," which went to top 10 in the UK and Australia but only 68 on the Billboard Hot 100, and "God is a DJ," which reached top 20 in the UK. "Trouble" later gave Pink her second Grammy award in 2003. And because her singles were largely successful in Europe, Pink prompted to release a third non-U.S. single, "Last to Know" (made #21 in the UK charts), and toured extensively throughout Europe.

More recently, on April 4, 2006, Pink released her fourth album, I'm Not Dead. The album, originally titled Long Way to Happy, was leaked to file sharing networks on March 25, most likely from a promotional CD. It’s first single "Stupid Girls" reaching the top 15 in the USA Billboard chart, and the top ten in the UK and Australia. It also gained a lot of discussion because the music video, which condemned the lack of good role models for girls, has parodied such Hollywood celebrities as Paris Hilton, Lindsay Lohan, Mary-Kate Olsen, Jessica Simpson, Hilary Duff and Nicole Richie.

The second single, "Who Knew," was released on May 29, 2006, and "U + Ur Hand" is expected to be the third single. Additionally, Pink has written a controversial song in the album, "Dear Mr. President," an open letter to President George W. Bush which Pink stated will never release it as a single.

In May 2006, Pink’s DVD containing concert footage of her Try This European Tour was released. As for her film work, Pink will soon complete her upcoming movie, writers-directors Tomm Coker and David Elliot's horror Catacombs. The film focuses on a woman who lost in a 200-mile labyrinth of limestone tunnels under the city of Paris.

"I've always loved to prove people wrong. I want to be able to cross color lines, because in music, there really is no barrier." Pink.


Awards:

• Grammy: Best Female Rock Vocal Performance, ''Trouble,'' 2004
• Brit Awards: Best International Female Solo Artists, 2003
• Grammy: Best Pop Collaboration With Vocals, "Lady Marmalade", shared award with Christina Aguilera, Lil' Kim and Mya, 2001