Hurts 2B Human album review

Pink rocks it with new release.

Last April one of my favourite female pop musicians, Pink, released her eighth studio album, Hurts 2B Human. In the course of roughly the last six months, this album has achieved great success evidenced by its debut at number one on the Billboard 200. After listening to this entire album dozens of times, I can honestly say that this recent success is not unjustified as this album is incredible from beginning to end.
In 2000, Pink emerged as a female pop-rock artist with the release of her first album, Can’t Take Me Home. However, her music career actually started years earlier. By the age of 14, she was writing her own songs and performing in clubs throughout Philadelphia with the stage name Pink based on the character Mr. Pink from the film Reservoir Dogs. At 16, She teamed up with Sharon Flanagan and Chrissy Conway and together the three formed Choice, a female R&B group. Despite being offered a record deal, this group never released an album. In 1998, the group ultimately dissolved and Pink made the choice to go solo after music producer L.A. Reid of LA Face Records offered her a contract. Two years later she released Can’t Take Me Home, which included hits like “There You Go,” “Most Girls” and “You Make Me Sick,” which were all relatively successful. However, it wasn’t until the release of her second album in 2001, Missundaztood, which included her most well-known hits, like “Don’t Let Me Get You,” “Family Portrait” and “Just Like a Pill,” when Pink’s unique style and talent as a songwriter became established. Since then, Pink has become an immensely successful musician with many of her songs reaching the top of various charts and being featured in multiple film soundtracks. Additionally, she was also honoured with    . Today, Pink’s music is widely acknowledged and appreciated for its edge, meaning, passion and attitude, all of which are clearly and genuinely reflected within her most recent album.
From beginning to end, Hurts 2B Human excellently demonstrates not only Pink’s unique style and sound, but also her talent and creativity. The best characteristic about Pink’s music is that her songs always have a significant message or meaning behind them, which is clearly evident in this album’s collection. All 13 songs centre around specific topics such as heartbreak, different stages of a relationship learning how to love and be happy with yourself as well as the experience and new responsibility of being a mother.
Hurts 2B Human opens with “Hustle,” a short and sassy upbeat track containing a powerful message. With lyrics like “don’t fuck with me, and don’t hustle me,” this song clearly demonstrates Pink’s attitude, indicating that she is not someone who will be messed with in any way. While “Hustle” reflects Pink’s own personality and experience early on in her music career, it is also an inspirational anthem that encourages everyone to be true to themselves and not change or conform to meet anyone else’s expectations.  Although the tempo slightly calms down in the next couple of tracks, their meaning is still evident.
“Miss You Sometime” is a reflection on an ended relationship. Even though an ex may have caused you to “almost l[ose your] mind” and “fucked up [your] life, it can still be difficult to completely forget them and ultimately move on with your life because of the emotions and memories which still exist. Another track on the album which embodies a great deal of meaning is “Happy.” With lyrics like “I’ve always hated my body and it feels like my body has always hated me” and “maybe I’m just scared to be happy,” the song presents the idea that it can be hard to love and be happy with yourself and your life. Near the end of the album is a song circle game, which references the concept of the circle light as well as a reflection of motherhood. In this song, Pink comments on how her life has come full circle with her being a parent since now she has responsibility for her two children Willow and Jameson. As a child, she looked up to her “daddy” for protection for the monsters in her closet, but now like she says in her song, “I’ve got a little girl of my own and she looks at me . . . and there’s monsters in her closet and I start looking for my dad to come I make them go away, (but) I know it’s my job now (and) I know . . . I better work it out.”
In addition to its meaning, this album is also great because of its creativity evident through both Pink’s collaboration with various artists in multiple genres, as well as her unique song writing. On this album, there are two great collaborations, which stand out. The first is the album’s self-titled track performance by Pink and Khalid. This song highlights the reality that “it hurts to be human” and that life is easier if you have someone you can count on, who has “your back.” The second is “Love Me Anyway” in which Pink is joined by Chris Stapleton, a talented singer songwriter of the country genre. One wouldn’t think that country would work well with Pink’s unique pop rock sound but, surprisingly, the two actually blend well. Together, Pink and Stapleton create a song that is evidently more country sounding then Pink’s previous music, but embodies the same meaning, as it centres on someone’s concern over whether their partner/significant other could still love them through all the hard times and despite all their flaws.
A similar theme is also creatively expressing in the song “My Attic.” While an attic is usually a space where people store their junk or unwanted stuff side, in this song the attic is used as a metaphor for the collection of all Pink’s flaws and true feelings, that she hides from most, but wants her lover to know. This is evident by the song lyrics which state, “my attic is full of crazy cluttered space, full of bones, all of my secrets and hopeless young emotions that just won’t grow up. I keep hiding the keys, hoping one day you’ll find them cause I wanna let you see inside my closet.”
Overall, this album clearly demonstrates that it really does hurt to be human. These 13 songs inspire, motivate, encourage, and invoke feeling and relatability, while at the same time showcasing Pink’s unique voice, sound and attitude. Pink is a musician who I am extremely impressed by because of her song writing skills and her ability to work with artists from different genres and still provide great sounding music. Additionally, she is someone who I have a great deal of respect and appreciation towards. Early on, Pink refused to be a cookie cutter pop star and no matter how many albums she produced, she never conforms, but rather always stays true to herself and her own unique style. Hurts 2B Human is a great album, which I highly recommend. If Pink’s music remains this good, I have no doubt that her music career will continue for many more years to come.