Top of the Pops Interview

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June 10, 2002 by Jessica Cardoso

Observation: We don’t have exact date so chose 10/June/2002 because was the date when Just Like a Pill was released. *Based in third question about the single*.

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TOTP: Welcome to TOTP P!nk. First of all, is there anything you’d like to say to your fans about the web chat…
P!nk: Yeah, I am super, super, super, super sorry. Rehearsal ran late and I was…er…super jetlagged! [laughs] But I’m here now…

TOTP: And that’s what matters. So, let’s crack on with the first question.

Nicola: You’ve always been a great inspiration to me, so who’s your inspiration?
P!nk: I have lots of different artists that inspire me. Janis Joplin’s one, Madonna’s another. My God there’s so many! There’s this underground band called Tilt, they’re a punk rock band led by a girl. I like them a lot. Oh, and Mary J Blige.

Tara: What is your most recent single, ‘Like A Pill’, all about?
P!nk: It’s all about addiction and how it’s obviously not good for you, whatever type. Dependency is not good.

Leo: Did you really get hit on your head in the video for the track?
P!nk: Twice, in fact! Once with an elbow and once with a fist. It was accidental, they didn’t mean to, but they were fighting super hardcore behind me and fists were bound to get thrown.

Jeff: Are you looking forward to your first UK tour?
P!nk: Absolutely, it’s sold out. I’m very excited about it. I’ve always wanted to come over here to perform, it’s just that I’ve had to do the promotion first. Now, I’m ready though.

Jake: You’ve not yet had the chance to experience much of this country, what’s your favourite thing about the UK, so far?
P!nk: Apart from chinese food…I like the nightclubs, I like the fashion. I don’t remember the names of the clubs, nor where they are. [laughs] I love the park that my hotel is next to as well, but I don’t know where that is either.

Maria: You are an amazing lyricist, but how does it feel when the press criticise you? How do you deal with it?
P!nk: Most of the time, I just laugh. Sometimes it does hurt my feelings, but you know, people are always gonna have something to say. I just think those people have problems that they need to deal with. They have their own issues. It’s jealousy or they’re frustrated with their position or something like that.

TOTP: You come across as being a bit of an old soul, has that helped you musically?
P!nk: Definitely! My dad raised me on a lot of different kinds of music. I like much older music and I’ve always been, and felt, a lot older than I am. Yeah, it’s helped, it’s helped me get through life and be able to express my feelings.

Sara: What’s the most embarrassing thing to have happened to you – and did you go ‘pink’?
P!nk: The most embarrassing thing… ah, yes, I did turn bright pink. It was at a video shoot in the morning. We were on the third day and were tired as hell. Someone from the record company said, “what can we do to make you feel better”? So, I just said, “send a naked man”. And then later during the club scene, when there were about two hundred extras around, they brought in a stripper. He was all over me and chased me around, I was soooooo embarrassed. It was horrible, a horrible experience! I was mortified, I played it off, but I was mortified. It’ll make me a lot more careful about what I ask for next time.

America: Is it true that when you heard about Jon Bongiovi getting married that you locked yourself in a room and didn’t want to come out?
P!nk: Yes, that is true. They announced it on the radio. I was on my way home from singing lessons and when I heard it I just started crying. I ran home and locked myself in my room and just started pulling down all his posters and throwing out his CDs. I was so upset. I’m just not getting over it. He sent me his pants, because I’d talked about it in a VH1 interview. So he sent me his pants, with a note that said, ‘now you can finally get into my pants!’ [laughs] I wanted to kill him.

TOTP: Do you still have them?
P!nk: No. [laughs] My boyfriend wouldn’t let me keep them! He didn’t like that note at all.

Laura: Is it true that you an Eminem were an item?
P!nk: No, that is absolutely not true!
TOTP: Aww…another press rumour dashed.

Tiny: What’s the best freebie you’ve ever been given?
P!nk: After a long trip to Australia, we were starving. MacDonalds was just closing, but they opened up again for us and gave us free food. I was so happy, because I used to work at a MacDonalds and I could never get free food. I used to steal it actually and go and hide in the broom cupboard to eat it.

TOTP: Did you ever make employee of the month?
P!nk: Hell no! They wouldn’t even let me near the register. I was a ‘drive-thru’ girl and would hang out the window smoking a cigarette.

Paul: Why did you change your style of music?
P!nk: I didn’t. Well, I guess to the world I changed it, but I’ve always enjoyed different types of music. I just wanted to represent another side. I don’t plan, I just do what’s natural. The first album took two years to make, this one took four months. So, it felt right at home for me.

Neil: Will you ever embrace R&B or hip-hop music again?
P!nk: Yeah of course, I love those styles of music. I don’t know that I’d necessarily make another entirely R&B album again, as I did the first time. Who knows what’s in my future? I have no idea?

Julie: What is the best, and the worst, thing about being a singer?
P!nk: The best thing is being able to do what you want for a living and not having to punch somebody else’s clock. The worst thing is having to punch somebody else’s clock. [laughs] No, seriously, the worst thing is just being homesick and tired a lot. And missing your loved ones.

Michael: Do you get much time with your family?
P!nk: Yeah, at Christmas…[laughs]…it’s the only holiday I always get.

Tony: What’s the funniest prank that you’ve ever pulled on someone or that someone else has pulled on you?
P!nk: I was at a hotel once and you know how they put the morning room service things on the door… Well, I got the bright idea to go around and switch them all. The next morning I watched everybody getting the wrong stuff. But they’d got me on camera. I ended up getting a $3,000 bill on my room. It wasn’t very funny in the long run, but it was funny when I did it!

Kieran: What do you think of the Pop Idol or Popstar types programmes? Have you ever entered any talent competitions
P!nk: Well, the only thing I ever wanted to do was Star Search. I had already decided that if I didn’t get on to Star Search by the time I was nine, I wasn’t going to do anything else. But, I never made it [laughs]. But generally, I don’t like those shows. I don’t watch them. I think they’re cool because it makes everyone excited, but I also think it makes a joke of music. I think it sort of trivialises real creative people. I don’t watch them.

TOTP: I guess it’s topical since Hear’say have just split after graduating from one of those show just two years ago.
P!nk: I’ve never even heard of them!