Pink Funhouse CD

Pink's insistently hooky, attitude-filled pop-rock has kept the singer a fixture on the radio and on singles charts since the early 2000s. The artist's fifth effort, FUNHOUSE, doesn't tamper with the formula: Pink's powerhouse vocals and in-your-face approach, backed by stadium-sized production, are in full effect on all 12 tracks. Even though the album deals primarily with aftermath of her divorce and includes serious moments of self-confrontation like "Sober," fans needn't worry that Pink has lost any of her chutzpah.

If anything, there's an increased sense of confidence and newfound liberation on tracks like the chest-thumping "So What" and the mischievous, bouncing "Bad Influence." In softer moments, like the ballad "I Don't Believe You" and the soulful "One Wrong Foot," Pink channels her personal experience into expressions that carry no less strength or muscle. But FUNHOUSE is a pop album first and foremost, and its catchy choruses, rollicking beats, and memorable vocal performances won't disappoint.

Arrangers: Stevie Blacke; Uli Janson; Henrik Janson.

Personnel: P!nk (vocals, background vocals); Shellback (guitar, acoustic guitar, omnichord, keyboards, bass guitar, drums, percussion); Pete Wallace (guitar, piano, harmonium, bass guitar, programming); Max Martin (guitar, bass guitar); Eg White (guitars, Hammond b-3 organ, drums, percussion); Jimmy Harry (guitars, keyboards); Peter Parente (guitars); Billy Mann (electric guitar, keyboards, background vocals); Stevie Blacke, Stockholm Session Strings, Uli Janson, Henrik Janson (strings); Butch Walker (keyboards, percussion, background vocals); Roger Manning (keyboards); Niklas Olovson, Tony Kanal (bass guitar); Josh Kane, Joey Waronker, John Yarling, Darren Dodd (drums); Robin Mortensen Lynch, Daniel Chase (programming); Kinnda Hamid (background vocals).

Audio Mixers: Al Clay; Mark "Spike" Stent; Serban Ghenea; Tom Lord-Alge.

Rolling Stone (p.126) - 3 stars out of 5 -- "With songwriter Max Martin chipping in, the rock diva finds ways to make emotional rawness go pop on FUNHOUSE..."
Spin (p.110) - 4 stars out of 5 -- "She's hot-blooded throughout, and it suits both her pipes and a female pop genre that rarely embraces this much tangible pain."
Entertainment Weekly (p.60) - "Pink's true gift is as a musical androgynist -- blurring the line between rocker and pop star..." -- Grade: B+
Billboard (p.29) - "On her confident fifth album, the multiplatinum hitmaker attacks her recent divorce in all styles: as a punk-rock kiss-off, a country-rock anthem and a bleeding-heart plea..."
Blender (Magazine) (p.79) - 3 stars out of 5 -- "She's been working with many of her cowriters for years and they know how to wrap her husky, overheated rasp around a range of styles....The bigger the gamble, the stronger she feels."