Pink opens up about motherhood, losing her father and her incredible career! | Hits Radio

I lost my record deal halfway through the process. I was homeless. We were trying to get a publishing deal so we could eat. Didn't write that song. I haven't even started unpacking that suitcase. I am very excited today to be joined by this powerhouse of a woman, artist, performer, Pink. First of all, you are gorgeous, you look incredible, and your eyeliner game is strong. Wow, thank you. That was done at 6am, so I appreciate that. No, I'm honoured to be able to talk to you because a lot of your music has soundtracked my life, oddly enough. I'm sorry. No, no. In a brilliant way. Are you okay? No, I'm still good. I'm still surviving. Still thriving, actually. I'll reveal a little bit of that through this chat, but I want to go right to the beginning. I want to know, what was your childhood like? What were you like? So, I would say I was just a little s***, but actually I ran into my fifth grade teacher and she took me aside a couple of years ago and she goes, you have this narrative about yourself that isn't totally true. It was such a gift. She was like, you were the sweetest kid. You would walk anybody home that was bullied. You would carry people's backpacks. You were the first person to school and the last one to leave. You were the sweetest. And I was like, why are you telling me this? This is not part of my story. And it was just so moving to hear that, that I was actually a really nice person. But I don't know. I was wild. I didn't like rules. You were a bit of a rebel from an early age. Yeah. I got kicked out of Sunday school. That was fun. Sunday school? Who gets kicked out of Sunday school? What did you do to get kicked out of there? I asked too many questions. You're like, why? Like, but Jesus was a Jew, right? Like, why can't we... Were we not talking about this? We're still not talking about this. Okay. I don't know. I didn't get that middle name that they give you when you get confirmed. Confirmation name. I wanted a name. I guess that's why I called myself... Maybe that's where pink came from. Where did it come from? There's too many... There's too many rumors about where that name came from. They're all true. What's the true story? It's about vaginas, reservoir dogs. It's all true. What is the real story? All of them. At the YMCA, this kid pulled my pants down and I didn't have any underwear on because we had been swimming, for context, and I didn't wear underwear. I wore a bathing suit to camp. And I blushed, and then people started calling me pink. And then reservoir dogs, Mr. Pink, which I have tattooed right here. And then my friend had never seen a white girl's vagina before, and he was like, it's pink. And I was like, it is. And you're like, this is my name. He's like my best friend. So it wasn't... It didn't get weird after that, but... And there was your holy confirmation name. That was my holy vaginal confirmation name. Amazing. Am I going to hell for that? Probably. One of the earliest songs of yours that soundtracked my life was Family Portrait. Oh, I'm sorry. Yeah. It was very emotional. Because at the age of 13, my parents split up. So at every family gathering, they would get me to sing Family Portrait. God, that's dark. At dinner, they'd be like, sing the pink song, everybody. Sing the pink song. And I'd have to stand up and sing it. Wow. Yeah. Bizarre. I know. Is that like a coping mechanism? Yeah. It got me through that time. I was like, pink knows what I'm going through. I played that for my parents before it came out. And because I just wanted them to know what was coming. That whole album, really. I should have played a couple more songs, probably. But yeah, it was really, really hard to get through that first week. Yeah. I bet. I kind of felt the worst for my stepmom because there's a line and it says, I don't want a stepbrother anyway. Yes. And I was like, but I love him. Are you okay? It was just in the moment. I love John. Yeah. It was rough. Yeah. And that period of my life. Why is divorce so hard? It's horrible. It definitely makes you who you are though. Why can't it just be easier? It's never going to be easy. I just want my kids. No, but that's what I was going to say. How has that kind of made you who you are now going through that experience? I mean, our experiences are what we are made of. So I mean, now the world we live in, we need to be resilient. We need our girls to be fiery. We need to be resilient. I was just talking about this. There's that fine line of preserving your kids' naivete and childhood and also preparing them for this world that we live in. But then, not to be dark, sorry, but we are talking about divorce and family portrait. But when your eight-year-old comes home and says, I did an active shooter drill today and you're like, for the first time in my life, I don't know what to say. How was that for you, honey? Yeah. Whoa. And yeah, life's weird and it just gets weirder. It does get weirder. And you've been in this game for over two decades now. I know. Isn't that weird? We're here. Just as immature as when I started. But I love that. I love that. I wanted to know, like we're here in the trustful era, but thinking back to Can't Take Me Home Times to now. I can't hear that name without hearing the song. You're like, it's in. It's in. How has it changed, like the whole experience of creating an album from the Can't Take Me Home Times to now? Oh, so much. I mean, when you're a new, brand new artist, you're completely underestimated and not understood at all. And no one even knows that you can write songs at that point. So it's just a different experience. And it's a beautiful, I had such a good time. I signed when I was 16. I didn't have my first album come out until I was 20 years old. I gained so much knowledge and experience in that time. And I loved being at LaFace Records because it was such an awesome time in Atlanta, too. And I had a fake ID. There's the rebel side. So much fun. I heard a girl at this club called Atlanta Live go, I'm too cute to fight, I'll run. And that is to this day, my favorite line I have ever heard. Man, I would love to have seen. These are the memories when you talk about Can't Take Me Home. These are my memories. I absolutely love that album as well. That was like... It was so fun, too, because I lost my record deal halfway through the process. Two years in, Choice, my group, lost our record deal, and I was homeless. So I met these guys in the Bronx, which is New York, and I went there and just was laying on their floor basically writing songs with them. We were trying to get a publishing deal so we could eat. And I did. I got myself a publishing deal. This guy came in the studio and he was like, how much would you sign your publishing for? And I remembered Missy Elliott famously saying, I'm keeping my publishing. And I saw all the diamonds she was wearing and I was like, I'm keeping my publishing, too. And this guy came in the studio, Brian Jackson, and he said, how much would it take to change your mind? I said, by the way, I'm living on the floor in an apartment in the Bronx at this moment. And I go, one million dollars. And I should ask for more. But yeah, it was great. It was a weird time. But it was fun. We need to talk about Transform. Okay. Firstly, the video is incredible. You're like flying through the air off the side of a cliff. You know that you can use a green screen, right? You don't have to actually. It's not as fun. What is it about the danger that attracts you? I didn't actually like that one. That was a little much for me. But I looked down, I was like, oh, man, well, be a cool story. Well, I don't want to go falling off a ladder. No. I don't know. I like to fly. I just like it. And you're not even scared one bit? No, I am. All the time. So what is it that makes you want to challenge yourself? I don't believe in fearlessness. I think that's horseshit. I believe in living alongside the fear and just doing it anyway. For the stories, for the song? For the fun, for the experience. So what is the message behind Trustful? Oh, Lord. Two things, I guess. One is that I feel like life, getting out of bed in the morning requires a lot of trust from us as human beings right now. Dropping your kids off at school, participating in elections, having a vagina. And it feels like sometimes you're just falling backwards and you don't know where the floor is. And also, it's also about just shedding it all and shutting down the brain and getting out of your head and getting back into your body. And that's what dancing is for me. And so that's why basically I'm 43 years old and I still dress like a candy raver. I love it all. Because to me, it's all about escape and dance and music and that song that you have that you can put on and just not worry for three minutes and 45 seconds. Just escape whatever is plaguing your reality. Or you have the song where if you can't feel anything, you're so numb that you're like, I got to get back to my feelings. And you put that song on and you're like, oh, yeah. And the connection brings you back. Yeah. I want to tap more into this like rebel stage of your life because I'm intrigued. All right. What was your first ever job? Oh, I solicited newspapers door to door. Oh, did you? No one would answer their door for me, so I would just write fake orders. Oh my gosh, see, right from the beginning. So you're just like, yeah, that was collected, that was delivered. This person wants Sunday only. This person wants, they look like a 24 hour daily kind of subscription. I love that. Just beating the system. Then McDonald's, drive through girl. I had the Janet Jackson microphone. And then my parents split up and I had to move to Wendy's. They tried to put me on fries. I made four dollars and twenty three cents, though, and I went back for that paycheck. Wow. Me a pack of cigarettes. How did you move from like the greasy stage of life? Yeah, exactly what is going on. How did you move from the grease then to the lights of the stage? How did you get your break? I manifested it. I left Wendy's after an hour and a half. I said, I need to go on break. And I called and I said, I'm sorry, I can't come back. I got a record deal on my break because it was the only thing I could think of. And I was so mad. And and then I got a record deal six months later. I was singing in clubs in downtown Philadelphia because I had been a candy raver. I got a gig singing hip hop Fridays at Club Fever. Oh, wow. Yeah. And then that's where you got discovered. Yeah, that was the pebble that started rolling down the hill for all of it to just start happening. And here we are. You are this incredible performer. You're flying through arenas. I know. I mean, watching you fly over Wembley, I remember I was just like, whoa, this is taking my breath away. Oh, thanks. You've got gymnastics in your background. Yep. What made you want to add all of this to your performance? Did you? Bad day. What? Non team like attitude. I was like, I'm sorry. Was I not on that beam by myself? Were you up there on my beam with me? I didn't see you. So was it a callback to those days? I was kind of sh**y. I had sh**y moments. Has anything ever gone terribly wrong, though? Because you do quite dangerous stunts. I got caught for that breaking and entering. But that was not my fault. Um, no. On tour? No. I thought you broke and entered into an arena. No. Oh, God. How fun would that be? Yeah. Um, no. Now I don't have to. They let me in. They dedicate a whole night to me. I've crashed many times on stunts and things. I try not to. Oh, my God. I don't bounce as much as I used to. Has there ever been a really, really dangerous moment? Like in the middle of a live show. Yeah. And it's like. Yeah. There's been close calls. It's what I'm doing is, is very dangerous. And there's no mat beneath me. There's no safety net. There's no invisible wires. I can't believe we can get insurance. I was going to say your insurance is crazy. Yeah, go for it. I'm like, are you sure? And you, when they come, you have to show them that there's like an, a B and a C way out of it, which say it breaks and the winch stops and there's no more computer. Then you have to manually, in heels, thank you very much, with a microphone in your hand that could drop at any point. I should probably stop saying things like this. Maybe they're not thinking like this. And you have to one-handed take your harness out, which is impossible because you're weight bearing on it. So you have to kind of push yourself up, wrap yourself in the silk so you don't fall. Take your harness off, climb over to an emergency silk that they've now dropped down to the ceiling and shimmy yourself down to the stage all while they can hear you breathing and cursing. Yeah. It's dumb what I do, but it's a bad idea. But I think I can see that you love the thrill. As you're talking about it, you're like, I can't believe I get to do this. Is that what you love the most about going on tour? No, I like singing. I like singing and I like my tour family. I like my crew. I have the best, bar none, fight me on it. I have the best crew in the world. Yeah. I remember seeing actually clips from your documentary and you're there with all your family, your husband's on the road with you, your kids are on the road with you. It's the most amazing little bubble that you've created for yourself. So grateful. I'm never not grateful. See, I say that never not a lot. Never not. Yeah. The double negative. I bet people's eyes are like. I know. They're like, why did you have to do that? Because I'm annoying. Now, I mentioned your family bubble that you have in your life. Your wonderful husband, Kerry. I mean, what do you think is the most important key to having that long term relationship? You're like, I don't know. Long term relationships are hard. It doesn't matter what they are. It is. It's an interesting thought that we think it's possible to evolve and grow at the same time as the person walking with you in the same way. I think it's a it's a tall order. And sometimes some days it's easier than others. And we're very, very realistic about things. And you know, my mom and I's relationship has been just real long term relationships of any kind. It's work. It's constant, constant work. But I always say that my mom's relationship taught me that love is a lifetime of coming back to the table. I never think something isn't redeemable or retrievable. And that's the stubborn pit bull in me. But I really do. I think that's why just give me a reason we're not broken, just bent. We're just like, we're just a little limp right now. Yeah. So just don't talk to me for a couple of days. Yeah. I mean, I've been in my relationship for 13 years and I always think looking at your relationship from what I see on the outside anyway, I can see that your husband is like a real rock and he's, you know, sacrificed a lot to build you up and support you in your career. And how important is he to what you do? I think he is important. Well, honestly, he's followed me around the world for this whole time. I met him right before Get the Party Started came out and I was 21 years old. I've been with him longer than I haven't. And he is my friend and he's my partner and we have a family together. And that's sometimes, unfortunately, the only glue. But it's enough because we love our family. He is a rock. I'm like the murky waters where the sharks are swimming and there could be a crocodile down there. We're not sure. And he's just the rock right here. So it's good for my kids when they want to come. Come on in. The water's fine. Yeah. Or they just need to swim back to that rock. They have that. And that's so important. I love that. And I read that you actually proposed to him. I did. How did you do that? In a race. I sabotaged him. No. I just had a couple of vodka Red Bulls, which was, why did we drink those? Yeah, Toreen, it's really not good for you. It really isn't. But I'm going to get sued by Red Bull. I had said no a couple times. I knew he was never going to ask me again and I was like, we should just, what's the worst that can happen? We should just give this a go. And I just held out a board and said, will you marry me? He has this kind of like Tourette's thing that he does and when he's racing, he says he's shaking the mud off of his goggles, but that's not true. And he went by the first time and he was just like, and I was like, for real, really? And then I held it out farther and I wrote serious and he came back off the track and he was like, are you serious? I was like, I hope so. I just ruined your race. And then I was like, but I'm not marrying a loser. So go get your ass back out on that track. And then he popped a tire half a lap later and came back and gave me a ride to the pits. Oh, that is amazing. I love that story. I love that. But obviously, before you came to this magical time in your life, we've all kissed a few frogs before we found the right one. Can you remember your first kiss? I think about kissing someone, a stranger now and I'm like, there's so many germs inside your mouth. That's what I think about. What was your first kiss story like? Because I love a first kiss story. Friday the 13th in a graveyard. He shoved his very large tongue down my throat and I got on my bicycle and cried all the way home. I'm never doing that again. That was slimy and disgusting. In a graveyard. How did you even end up in that scenario? We were weirdos. We were weird. It was the only place kids could be without getting arrested. Actually, we probably would have been arrested. Our town was hard. They wanted kids to not exist. There was nowhere for us to be. So you had to go in graveyards to have your first kiss on Friday the 13th. Wow. Weird, right? Yeah, it's kind of weird. I love your relationship with your daughter, Willow. I think it's so beautiful. I love that you sung with her. I saw you held up her first plaque. I'm like, how cool is this? Did you always know that you wanted to be a mom? Was that like a... No, no, no, no, no, no, no. No? No, and I was terrified of having a daughter because of my mom and I's relationship. I was like, I'm not going to screw up a human. I mean, they say that our children are our greatest teachers. Cliches are cliches for a reason, and she really is. She makes me stop and think, and I never used to do that. She's just a wonderful, wonderful, delicious little human. She's just an odd little bird, and I'm so, so into her. How much of you do you see in her? A lot. Does it freak you out? No, it's kind of awesome. You're like, yeah. She's allergic to injustice, and she could be a little lawyer. I always say, I'm like, you're going to pass the bar exam next week, aren't you? It's not the point that you're right. She's always right. I'm like, also, how do you know that? You're like a little encyclopedia. She's like, what's an encyclopedia? I'm like, ah, ah, something you don't know. What was that moment like? Because I haven't had kids yet, but I love hearing this from parents. What was the moment like when you first held... Terrifying. I was like, please don't give this to me. I can't. This isn't too much. I'm not ready. Yeah. I'm like, you're going to let me leave with this thing? What do I do with it? What do... How do I keep it alive? It was terrifying. Terrifying. And still, it's scary now? Yes. Yeah. It's terrifying. You're just watching your heart go walk around in the world, and you're like, ah, are you okay? She had COVID recently for the first time. It stopped. She had to be in her room alone. And on day three, I walked in and I was like, are you slipping backwards into a deep, dark sadness? Are you okay in here? And she was like, are you kidding me? This is the most anyone's ever left me alone. Thank you for coming. Wow. I was like, I miss you. I miss you. I'll just be right outside your door. Do you want to FaceTime? She's like, mom, please. Yeah. Day eight, though, she was like, okay, this sucks. I'm ready. Now, before you came in today, I was re-watching When I Get There. Don't do that. No, it really, really hit a nerve, because for me, I lost my dad in 2020. So just a year before you experienced it. Isn't it weird? It's like you go into this club of, as soon as you lose a parent, people come out of the shadows and go, me too, me too. And then you're like, ah, you know the pain. Yeah. And I was listening to it. And the first thing I thought was, one, how did you even get to the point where you could write that? I didn't write that song. I wouldn't. I haven't even started unpacking that suitcase. I would never have been able to write that song. When you're so close to it, you can't really. It's why I've never really written a love song to my children, totally, because I can't find the words. I can't find the words. And so that song was a gift for me. That's what I think music is. It's a bridge to your feelings when you can't find the words for yourself. That footage, though, of the video, I hadn't seen a lot of that footage. They tried to show it to me before I had to do an interview. I was like, what are you doing? Why are you showing this to me right now? But I'm OK right now. But you're singing the song like, how did you even get through that day? I had to sing it yesterday for a piano room, and the first take didn't go well. You know, we survive. We walk through the world and we shove our feelings way down deep inside and never talk about them again until that one second when something, a smell or a memory or something jostles it all up and you're like, I actually am not OK. Yeah. And do you think you'll ever get to that point where you can write that song? Yeah. Knowing me, I'm not speechless for long. I won't be able to hold it down for too long. But I love it, though. And even that small gift that you've given us already is like, just for the for the club that we're all in. It's a little something that we can. I know I played it for my best friend and she was like, I'm never talking to you again. Sorry. What keeps bringing you back? Because after two decades in this in this business, it's tough. Like it hasn't been a smooth road, but you're still here. You're still killing it. What is your why? What is the reason that keeps bringing you back? I love it. It's my life. I get to tour with my babies. We get to see the world and meet people that are beautiful. And it reinvigorates it reinstates my faith that there's beautiful people in the world, no matter what Twitter feels like. And I love performing and I love my crew. And I just I it's group therapy concerts. They just are. And I love I love it. I love writing a song. I love walking into a room and there's nothing. And you don't even know if you can sing anymore or if you have anything to say. And then you walk out of the room and you're like, I just did that. Creation. That's magic. It's magic. I love it. And I'm grateful. I still get to do stuff like this. And you still held on to that like rebellious side in the sense that you still challenge yourself regularly. Yeah. What's the next challenge? What's the challenge for you? Well, my daughter just learned the Morse code. Actually. Yeah. She's so weird. I don't know. What do I want to do? I learned how to make sourdough. I'm pretty good at that. Amazing. I can knit. I don't know. What's next? I don't know. Do you feel like you've done all that you wanted to do? I mean, yeah, but I just keep making stuff up. I just keep making more stuff up. And also, I don't know. It's just I like going in. I like being in the world with good people. I love that. And I have been so honored today. And it's been such a thrill. And I can't wait to see you challenge yourself even more. Thanks. I can't wait to see you throw yourself over a cliff again. Yes. Do it again. Thank you.