You'll be a pop star - all you have to change is everything you are

Continuing my trip back through the 2003 album charts.

02/02/03 : M!ssundaztood - P!nk


Our fourth visit with P!nk and our second this year - like last time, I've no reason not to think this is going to be perfectly listenable, without necessarily being something I need in my life.

The singles feature early in the album with "Don't Let Me Get Me", "Just Like A Pill" and (particularly) "Get The Party Started" all being pretty decent tracks. And the rest of it is pretty decent as well - there's a enough variety across the album, she's got a decent voice and there's some positive enough messages in the lyrics for the kdis. As expected, it's not something I need in my life but we've met far worse albums this year. And doesn't she look so young on the cover!

We're at #7 in the charts this week on her 53rd week of a 71 week, with it peaking at #2 in her 50th week in the middle of 25 week run in the top ten, so she was unlucky not to make it to the top. The top five this week were a teen friendly Justin Timberlake, Busted, Avril Lavigne, Christina Aguilera counterbalanced by a Bee Gees best-of and the highest new entry were Inme (#15) who I don't remember in the slightest.

Wikipedia has a massive amount on the album (433 milliPeppers) and it tells us it's her second album - her debut did well, but she was frustrated by the lack of creative control and reached out to Linda Perry and others who inspired her, playing a much greater role in the songwriting. Her record label were so happy with the result that they didn't want to put the album out at all, but P!nk argued her case and I think we can say it worked out OK for her. The critics were pleasantly surprised by the whole thing, declaring it much better than her debut (which is apparently Destiny's Child style R&B, so I'm intrigued by that) although I'm not sure I quite agree with Rolling Stone describing it as "a teen-pop In Utero". Commercially, it did pretty well globally making the top ten in a load of countries, getting to #1 in Ireland and #6 in the US. It sold 12 million copies worldwide and was #2 in the UK year-end list tor '02 so it obviously hung around well.

"Customers also listened to" Kelly Clarkson, Avril Lavigne, Christina Aguilera and Train - in the words of Sesame Street, one of these things is not like the others. I've a lot of time for P!nk because she's put in the hard yards over the years and, from what I've read, it sounds like things really started for her here - it's not a bad album at all.

26/01/03 - Not bad at all
09/02/03 - Not a good album

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