Defying Gravity and the Music Biz

TRUSTFALL is out now; the Summer Carnival tour begins June 7.

- JUSTIN CURTO

P!NK ADMITS SHE's old-fashioned. The pop star has achieved longevity by focusing on touring, a rare strategy in an industry where Beyoncé and Lady Gaga spend years off the road. (She logged 156 shows on her 2018-19 Beautiful Trauma tour, the second-highest-grossing run ever by a woman.) But more than being a performer-ahead of all the daredevil stunts and breathless takes with her longtime band-she sees herself as a songwriter. "I am a pop fan," she says. Pop is "whatever's popular, but, to me, popular for a reason, 'cause it's a well-crafted song." That's exactly why she has endured. Yes, P!nk, born Alecia Moore, has made a name off her Cirque du Soleil-level acrobatics and won a Video Vanguard Award for her big-concept visuals. She has also soundtracked the past 20-plus years with hits like "Get the Party Started," "Lady Marmalade," "So What," "Raise Your Glass," and "Just Give Me a Reason," earning four No. 1's. After signing to the R&B-oriented LaFace Records and making her debut, 2000's Can't Take Me Home, in that mold, P!nk set herself apart from peers like Xtina and Britney with rowdy and passionate songs, beginning on her smash 2001 followup, Missundaztood. Her new and ninth album, Trustfall, runs the gamut of P!nk modes: "It's like, Okay, here's tissues. Okay, here's dance shoes." Here, the artist revisits her prolific, provocative career.

Hardest Stunt