I'm Not Dead is the fourth studio album by American singer-songwriter Pink. It was released on March 31, 2006, by LaFace Records and Zomba Group. Following the commercial underperformance of her third studio album Try This (2003), Pink parted ways with Arista Records and began experimenting with new sounds and collaborating with new producers, and stated she named the album after having an epiphany about adult responsibilities and the realities of everyday life. Pink served as the executive producer of the project and contributions to the album's production came from several producers including Billy Mann, Butch Walker, Dr. Luke and Max Martin.
Commercially, I'm Not Dead peaked at number six on the Billboard 200 chart in the United States, and reached number one in several territories including Australia, Austria, Germany, New Zealand, and Switzerland. I'm Not Dead has since been certified double platinum in the United States and certified gold in Finland, Denmark, and Sweden. The album received positive reviews from music critics, many of whom complimented the risks Pink took on the record as well as her experimentation with rock music.
"Stupid Girls" was released as the lead single from I'm Not Dead ahead of the album's release, which generated controversy for its lyrical content and music video, for which Pink received the MTV Video Music Award for Best Pop Video and a nomination for the Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance. Five additional singles were released from the album, with "Who Knew" and "U + Ur Hand" reaching the top 10 of the Billboard Hot 100 chart in the United States. Pink promoted the album through radio and television interviews, media appearances, and the I'm Not Dead Tour.
Background Following the release of her third studio album Try This (2003), which underperformed commercially and would later become her lowest-selling record, Pink parted ways with Arista Records, the label that released Try This and her second studio album Missundaztood (2001). In 2006, she stated that she was unhappy with the way the label wanted her to produce music after the success of Missundaztood, saying: "I was kind of rebelling against the label on that one. I was going: 'You want a record? Fine, I'll write 10 songs in a week for your fuckin' record and you can press it up and put it out.'" She described the promotional campaign for Try This as "an awful time", stating she walked out of several interviews crying and she felt they were "putting a quarter in the slot to watch the monkey dance."Boyd, Brian. "Pink Panther". The Irish Times. November 2006. Pink described the decision to name her fourth studio album I'm Not Dead in several interviews, telling CBS News that "it's about being alive and feisty and not sitting down and shutting up even though people would like you to.""Pink: Singing With Dad Was 'Awesome'". CBS News. July 12, 2006. Retrieved March 30, 2007. In other interviews, she stated that the title came from an "awakening", telling The Independent that she was influenced by her father having a heart attack and turning 25, saying she "started caring less about [her] drama and more about the world around [her]." Pink also described the album's title as being inspired by an epiphany where she "just kind of woke up and realized" she had a lot to learn about adult responsibilities and the realities of everyday life.Kalow, Natalie. "P!nk 'I'm not dead' Interview" . GenerationQ. Retrieved May 31, 2007. Whereas she described the recording process for Try This as draining, she stated that she was "forced to be almost emotionally involved" by her collaborators on I'm Not Dead, saying: "I guess I was just kind of at that place where I felt like I kind of had something to add to the world. I feel like there's a hole and I know how to fill it, people aren't talking trash anymore. I was just feeling really creative and really emotionally available again, and it came out great." According to Pink, she wrote more than forty songs for the album on "everything [she] could possibly think of."
Musical styles and themes Primarily a pop and pop rock album, I'm Not Dead also includes acoustic, folk rock, hard rock, power pop, folk pop, new wave, dance, soul and hip-hop elements.
Pink was inspired to write opening track "Stupid Girls", in which she deplores the lack of good role models for young girls while encouraging them to cultivate independence, after she noticed many such girls aspire to be like female pop icons, particularly those near her Los Angeles home. "There's a certain thing the world is being fed, and my point is there should be a choice", Pink said.Vineyard, Jennifer. . MTV News. January 18, 2006. Retrieved October 22, 2006. She stated that "Who Knew" is about "the death of friendship",Vineyard, Jennifer. "Pink: Not Dead, Not Stupid" . MTV News. February 17, 2006. Retrieved September 22, 2006. as well as friends of hers who died as a result of drug overdoses.Ellen, Barbara. "Philly girl". The Observer. June 4, 2006. Retrieved March 23, 2007. The song is about several people.Vineyard, Jennifer. "Pink Pens An Open Letter To President Bush On New Album" MTV News. January 3, 2006. Retrieved March 30, 2007. The third song, "Long Way to Happy", is based on a poem about sexual abuse Pink wrote when she was thirteen years old. "I know a lot of people that have been abused and/or molested and/or fucked over by someone close to them. And I'm no exception. And that's that song", she said. The ballad "Nobody Knows" describes feelings that one can have but not show to the outside world, and Pink has named it the most vulnerable track on the album. "Dear Mr. President" is an open letter to then president of the United States, George W. Bush; the song's format is a series of rhetorical questions for the President, specifically pertaining to how he really feels about issues such as war, homosexuality, homelessness and drug abuse.
According to Pink, the sixth and title track, "I'm Not Dead", is her first "subtle" and "poetic" self-written song: "Usually it's very much more cartoon-y and blunt, the way I write songs. I don't really know diplomacy or subtlety." The song was inspired by how Pink and producer Billy Mann felt about the end of their working relationship: "We were scared to move on from each other, after seeing how much that little bit of time together changed us, and how scary change is." In "'Cuz I Can", Pink says she plays by her own rules boasts about her "bling", a contrast to the anti-consumerist content of "Stupid Girls". Referring to the song, she called herself "a walking contradiction" and "a hypocrite sometimes.""How Pink Got Her Groove Back" . MTV News. April 17, 2006. Retrieved March 30, 2007. This theme is echoed in "Leave Me Alone (I'm Lonely)", which deals with contradictory feelings about a relationship; Pink said "That's how I live my life. I'm a walking conflict." She called the song "a funny take on 'I love you' ... I get really cramped ... But, every girl needs her space". "U + Ur Hand", the ninth track, is a kiss-off song addressed to a man who is trying to seduce Pink; it became a fan favorite before the release of the album, when it was leaked to the internet. Pink said of song such as "Runaway" that "It's been especially hard for [my parents] hearing me write about things they never knew about ... My mom's like, 'Were you really that angry? Was I really that in denial? Was I really that bad a parent?' 'No, Mom - you were great. You didn't try to run me over with your car. I made it up.' But by writing all of it down and sharing it with the world, I've broken with most of it."McCormack, Neil. "Colour me pink with rage". The Telegraph. March 30, 2006. Retrieved March 30, 2007. "The One That Got Away" is, as Pink puts it, "the classic 'Is this the one? Or is the grass really greener?'"Vineyard, Jennifer. "Pink: Not Dead, Not Stupid" . MTV News. February 20, 2006. Retrieved March 30, 2007. Pink described track thirteen, "Conversations with My 13 Year Old Self", as a "huge therapy session" that addresses her "pissed-off, complicated" younger self. She said of writing the song, "I needed a hug, and I get it ... now. If I tried to hug my 13-year-old self, she'd try to kick my ass, and then she'd collapse and cry." "Fingers" is about her videotaping herself masturbating. She said she probably didn't need to add to the number of songs about masturbation, but she couldn't help herself.Adams, Cameron. "Pink's true colours". The Courier-Mail. January 25, 2007. Retrieved March 30, 2007. The final song on the album, the hidden track "I Have Seen the Rain," was written by and features Pink's father, James T. Moore. He wrote it when he was a soldier in the Vietnam War, but according to Pink "it's still relevant today. It's a soldier's cry." She had always wanted to record it with him and learnt to harmonize with it. She said of its recording, "He was so nervous, it was the most adorable experience for a father and daughter to share."
Promotion Singles
Before "Stupid Girls" was chosen as the album's lead single, videos were shot for it and "U + Ur Hand", which became the third single.
Released in February – March 2006, "Stupid Girls" reached number 13 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100—becoming Pink's biggest hit since 2002—and the top five in the UK and Australia. It was the subject of considerable discussion, with Pink attending The Oprah Winfrey Show to discuss what she called the "stupid girl epidemic"; in the song, she deplores the lack of good role models for girls while encouraging them to cultivate independence. The song was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance (see Grammy Awards of 2007). Its music video, directed by Dave Meyers, received an MTV Video Music Award for Best Pop Video.
"Who Knew" was released as the second single in May 2006 and initially failed to chart on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100, but it later debuted on the chart in March 2007 after it was used in promotion for the ABC television show October Road."Chart Beat Chat - Suddenly In The Pink". Billboard. March 30, 2007. Retrieved April 3, 2007. It was re-released in the U.S. in June 2007, and had peaked at number nine by mid September. It reached the top ten in other countries, including Australia and the UK.
The third single, "U + Ur Hand", initially took three months to chart on the Hot 100, but it went on to peak at number nine in April 2007. It reached the top 20 across most of Europe and Australia through August – September 2006.
The fourth single, "Nobody Knows", was released outside the U.S. in November and reached the top 40 in the UK and Australia.
The song "Dear Mr. President" attracted publicity, and there was belief among fans that it would be released as a single, but Pink said she would not release "Dear Mr. President" as a single because she did not want people to think it was a publicity stunt.Haddon, Cole. "Simple Girl" . Broward-Palm Beach New Times. July 20, 2006. In Belgium, an acoustic version of the song was released as a download single in late 2006, and it reached number one on the Ultratop chart. In the UK, "Dear Mr. President" was released as a download-only single with "Leave Me Alone (I'm Lonely)". It reached the UK top 40, also charting in the top five in Australia, where it became the fifth top five hit from I'm Not Dead.
I'm Not Dead Tour