This interview appeared in the March 2023 issue of GAY TIMES.

Cover photo courtesy of P!nk
Interior Photos Ebru Yildiz
Cover Design Jack Rowe

P!nk used to be a “candy raver”. “I used to dress up as a bumblebee and do lots of drugs and dance all night,” she laughs/cackles. “That was when I was a little less… responsible.” The Grammy winner and self-described “Tinker Bell” of the music industry (because of the flying, not the perishing from lack of attention) tells GAY TIMES that she spent her formative teenage years in Philadelphia clubs, where she adopted her stage name and was introduced to EDM, dance and house music. So while the club-ready stylings of her lauded new single 'Trustfall' feels like uncharted territory for P!nk, sonically, it’s actually an homage to her candy raver roots. “That music is in me,” she says, “it’s always been in me.” Co-produced by Fred Again and Snow Patrol’s Johnny McDaid, the synth-laden electro anthem is an exhilarating call-to-action about leaving one’s fear behind and placing faith in the unknown. It’s in contention for the most infectious chorus of the year. “I wanted to feel that freedom [of my past] and… yeah, it makes me feel free,” she explains. “That’s how life feels to me right now, it requires a lot of trust just to get out of bed in the morning. We need that feeling, where we can close our eyes and let go because there’s just so fucking much. It’s all so heavy.” 

Quick recap: P!nk, birth name Alecia Moore, made her fluorescent-haired debut in the industry in 2000 with the R&B-infused Can’t Take Me Home. In her first-ever music video for 'There You Go', her signature spunk was on full display as she catapulted a motorcycle through her “pitiful” fuckboy’s window. Since taking ownership of her career with her iconic rockier sophomore album M!ssundaztood (2001), home of classics such as 'Get the Party Started', 'Don’t Let Me Get Me' and 'Just Like a Pill' (as well as career highlight 'Eventually)', P!nk has skyrocketed her body around stadiums (and skyscrapers) across the world to become one of the most commercially successful and influential artists in history; selling over 60 million album equivalents worldwide and grossing more than $800 million in tour revenue. She’s also been credited with blazing a trail for – as Glamour Magazine put it – “tough chick music”. Following her last bout on the road with the Beautiful Trauma Tour – which historically became the second highest-grossing tour of all time by a female artist, just FYI – P!nk has spent the past three years concocting her “best album” yet: Trustfall.