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By Hayden Wright
P!nk’s seventh studio album Beautiful Trauma is out today and it contains all the hallmarks of her greatest music: gutsy vocals, confessional themes and catchy melodies everyone can enjoy. Though P!nk (to her credit) doesn’t deviate much from her previous successes, she dabbles in folktronica and conveys some fresh, unexamined wisdom through her lyrics.
Related: P!nk Slays Medley, Earns Career Honor at VMAs
“I named the album Beautiful Trauma, because life is f—ing traumatic,” she told The Guardian. “There’s natural disasters at every turn and there’s kids starving and there’s Trump and there’s all kinds of stuff going on, but there’s beautiful people in the world that are having a blast and being good to each other and helping others. ”
Beautiful Trauma gives fans the P!nk they know and love with more maturity and gravitas to tackle the ups and downs of marriage, career and the state of the world. As always, her combination of candor and vulnerability produce a relatable, unpretentious feeling of empowerment. That brightness shines through even the darkest songs on Beautiful Trauma.
Here are the five best songs on P!nk’s new album:
“Beautiful Trauma”
The album’s title track might be its strongest. On “Beautiful Trauma,” P!nk sings tenderly over tinkling piano, which gives way to a fierce beat and singalong chorus. She shares her “perfect rock bottom” and struggles to keep a relationship alive in the face of challenges. It’s an epic, dramatic track with stylistic range and plenty of heart.
“I Am Here”
On “I Am Here,” a choir backs P!nk up as she takes listeners to church. The midtempo track contemplates her mortality and imagines “where people go when they go.”
“What About Us”
If “Beautiful Trauma” is peak P!nk then the album’s lead single (a Billboard Hot 100 hit) follows a similar recipe: Soaring vocals and a soft electronic keyboard, power notes and wistful sentiments. In the hands of a less gifted star, the chorus might sound cloying and sentimental but P!nk imbues it with a grit and honesty that defines her best work.
“Secrets”
P!nk tries her hand at folktronica on “Secrets,” which layers acoustic guitar over a bouncy, disco beat. Lyrically, the singer examines the things we hide from one another and subtle EDM elements take the song to an unexpected place.
“But We Lost It”
On the album’s first slow song, P!nk describes losing her way in a relationship: “I’m still the girl that you chased all around the world / I haven’t changed, I’ve just replaced all the chains with pearls.” Her tumultuous marriage to motocross star Carey Hart has informed her perspective on love and P!nk has never hesitated to “go there” with her doubts and fears in song.
