heather E . Schwartz

p!nk pop powerhouse

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HeatHer E. SchwartzLerner Publications Minneapolis

Copyright © 2022 by Lerner Publishing Group, Inc.

All rights reserved. International copyright secured. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means—electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise—without the prior written permission of Lerner Publishing Group, Inc., except for the inclusion of brief quotations in an acknowledged review.

Lerner Publications CompanyAn imprint of Lerner Publishing Group, Inc.241 First Avenue NorthMinneapolis, MN 55401 USA

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Editor: Brianna Kaiser

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Schwartz, Heather E., author.Title: P!nk : pop powerhouse / Heather E. Schwartz.Other titles: PinkDescription: Minneapolis : Lerner, 2022. | Series: Boss lady bios (alternator books®) |

Includes bibliographical references and index. | Audience: Ages 8–12 | Audience: Grades 4–6 | Summary: “Pop powerhouse P!nk has taken the music world by storm, producing hit singles and receiving numerous awards. This title tells about her journey to success and how she uses that success to help others” —Provided by publisher.

Identifiers: LCCN 2020026122 (print) | LCCN 2020026123 (ebook) | ISBN 9781728404530 (library binding) | ISBN 9781728417677 (ebook)

Subjects: LCSH: P!nk, 1979– —Juvenile literature. | Singers—United States—Biography—Juvenile literature.

Classification: LCC ML3930.P467 S3 2022 (print) | LCC ML3930.P467 (ebook) | DDC 782.42164092 [B]—dc23

LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020026122LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020026123

Manufactured in the United States of America1-48511-49025-3/1/2021

Table of Contents STRONG ROLE MODEL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4CHAPTER 1 WILD CHILD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6CHAPTER 2 ON HER OWN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10CHAPTER 3 ROCK STAR LIFE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16CHAPTER 4 MORE THAN MUSIC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22

TIMELINE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28GLOSSARY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29SOURCE NOTES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30LEARN MORE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31INDEX . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32

strONG RoLe MODEL

P!NK STOOD IN FRONT OF A LARGE CROWD AT THE

2017 MTV VIDEO MUSIC AWARDS. She had just received

the Video Vanguard Award for her impact and contribution to

music . She began her acceptance speech with a story about her

daughter to share an important message .

She described how her six-year-old daughter had recently

called herself ugly . P!nk was horrified . She told her daughter

P!nk gives her acceptance speech for the Video Vanguard Award in 2017.

4

that people sometimes call her ugly too . But she wasn’t

changing and her daughter didn’t need to either .

P!nk told the audience, “And I said to her, ‘Do you see

me growing my hair?’ She said, ‘No, mama .’ I said, ‘Do

you see me changing my body?’ ‘No, mama .’ ‘Do you see

me changing the way I present myself to the world?’ ‘No,

mama .’ ‘Do you see me selling out arenas all over the

world?’ ‘Yes, mama .’ ”

The audience erupted in cheers before P!nk continued .

“We don’t change,” she said . “And we help other people to

change so they can see more kinds of beauty .”

P!nk ended her speech

by thanking all the artists

in the audience for being

true to themselves and

inspiring others . She

had grown a lot since

her start as a singer and

performer, and she had

become a role model to

millions of fans .

P!nk and her daughter, Willow, pose at the 2017 MTV Video Music Awards.

55

CHaPTer 1

WILD CHILD

BEFORE P!NK WAS P!NK, SHE WAS ALECIA

BETH MOORE . Alecia was born on September 8, 1979,

in Doylestown, Pennsylvania . She has an older brother,

Jason . Her parents are Jim Moore and Judith Moore .

Doylestown is in southeast Pennsylvania.

6

Alecia started gymnastics when she was four . She

dreamed of going to the Olympics when she was older,

but her coach dropped her from the team when she

was twelve . Alecia was upset and was also hurting from

her parents’ divorce . She started to take advantage of

her parents living apart . She would tell one parent she

was at the other parent’s house for the night . Instead,

she’d go to clubs with her friends . “I was never allowed

to go over to any of my friends’ houses when I was little,

because I was a bad influence,” she later said . “None of

their parents liked me and my own parents were scared

to death of me—and for me .”

P!nk’s love for gymnastics shows in the acrobatic work of her performances.

7

When Alecia was a teenager, she sang at a club in

Philadelphia every Friday night . The club wasn’t the

only place Alecia let her voice ring out . She also sang

in a gospel choir, and she joined a punk band when she

was fourteen . She started writing her own songs too .

She went on to sing with the R&B groups Basic Instinct

and Choice .

While Alecia was

getting ahead in

music, the rest of

her life was out

of control . She

was partying and

taking drugs .

She even started

selling drugs .

P!nk sang with multiple bands

before starting her solo career.

8

When Alecia was fifteen, she nearly overdosed . She

decided to stop taking drugs, but the road to recovery

wasn’t without bumps . Alecia fought with her mother,

got kicked out of her mother’s house, and dropped out

of high school .

She went to work at fast-food restaurants like Pizza

Hut, McDonald’s, and Wendy’s, but those jobs didn’t fuel

her dreams . So she kept singing . She continued working

with Choice and their record label, LaFace Records .

P!nk once worked at fast-food restaurants, including McDonalds.

9

P!nk always loved to sing. She faced challenges in her early

years, dealing with her parents’ divorce and dropping out of high

school. But she never gave up on music. She poured her feelings

into her songwriting and joined bands. Slowly, she turned her life

around. After starting her solo career, P!nk wrote her first album

and sold millions of copies—and that was only the beginning

of her success. She went on to write more albums, produce hit

singles, and win Grammy Awards. Follow P!nk’s journey from local

singer to pop superstar and learn about her family, how she uses

her success to help others, and more.

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p!nk pop Powerhouse

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