One of the giants of the 2000s pop scene, P!nk (“What About Us”), announced on Feb. 17 that she will be going on tour this year, after dropping her new album “TRUSTFALL” the same day. It will cover 14 cities across North America starting on Oct. 12 at the Golden 1 Center in Sacramento, California according to billboard.com. P!nk is a very talented vocalist and will be bringing some high-power stars with her, such as Grouplove (“This Is This”) and KidCutUp, a prominent face in the DJ world.

But even with all this going for her, who honestly has thought about P!nk more recently than 10 years ago? She is a much more mature artist than other stars from the early aughts who have had serious falls from grace. Think of Drake Bell, who was accused of “disseminating harmful matter to juveniles and attempted child endangerment” according to USAToday in 2021. Or Jamie Lynn Spears who failed to support her superstar sister throughout her conservatorship. Nobody wants to hear new music or concert dates from either of them. P!nk’s image has stood the test of time better than most.

P!ink does not have a section labeled “legal issues” or “controversies” under her Wikipedia page. She is known for being charitable and has supported numerous organizations such as UNICEF and Greenpeace. She has been an outspoken animal rights activist since at least 2008 and has also advocated for LGBTQ rights for most if not all of her career. 

When it comes to numbers, P!nk can still sell albums and records with the best of them. She has sold millions upon millions worldwide but again, who do you know of that is an active P!nk stan? She and the other pop girls from back in the day have not lost their singing gifts by any means, people just stopped caring sometime after 2012. Katy Perry (“Smile”) went from being on top of the industry to being a ‘remember when she was good?’ type of artist.

P!nk has arguably met the same fate. She has not done anything wrong formula-wise, she still can rock some cool outfits, but who is paying attention? Some might say it has to do with age and that youth is still the ultimate asset in the mainstream music industry. There may be more than a little truth to that, but what matters more are the current trends in sound. Think of the way Meghan Trainor’s (“Made You Look”) recent work has been received, her 50s-inspired doo-wop did not land with everyone. A decade later, “All About That Bass” is one of the songs you immediately skip when it comes on the radio and you berate yourself for daring to stray from the familiarity and comfort of music streaming.

While P!nk can boast more chart hits than others, it will be interesting to see how this tour performs and who decides to show up for this new era.

Photo by Vishnu Nairi via  Pexels