In a year that’s been marked by economy-altering concert tours from major pop stars like Taylor Swift and Beyoncé, one performer has flown a bit under the radar while also flying high to pull off stunts her peers could only dream of. And that artist is Pink.
The three-time Grammy winner and notorious open book sat down with Cecelia Vega of 60 Minutes for Sunday’s episode to talk about things like her childhood, her past struggles with addiction and her foray into the world of winemaking. She also broke down why she doesn’t care that her tour hasn’t gotten the same kind of attention as some of her peers’ have this year, and just how in the heck she can sing and be an acrobat at the same time while performing.
Pink’s era
In support of her album Trustfall, Pink launched her eighth-ever concert tour in London back in June called the Summer Carnival, which is slated to wrap up in March of 2024 in Australia. CBS reported that the tour has sold $350 million in tickets around the world so far this year, but when asked why she doesn’t think she wins the popularity contest with her peers, Pink doesn’t seem to care either way.
“We’ve sold three million tickets in the last six months, but you don’t really hear about it unless you went,” she said. “So, at the end of the day, do I really give a s**t who talks about me? As long as the mom and the daughter, or the dad who’s in the Pink t-shirt as well as his daughter and her three friends had a fantastic time. Or the gay couple that came together and felt super safe at my show because no one heckled them. That’s what really matters.”
Unfortunately for Pink, a few bumps in the road have derailed her current tour just a bit, after she was forced to cancel two shows in Tacoma, WA, for a “family medical issue,” and then had to cancel at least two more in Vancouver this past weekend for a “respiratory infection.”
Pink in the sky
Along with countless hit songs from over 20 years in the music industry, Pink’s tour is highlighted by the fact that she also performs high-flying stunts while singing and flipping over 100 feet in the air.
The 44-year-old singer, who is also asthmatic, said she taps into her gymnastics classes from childhood to help her with the stunts, while also working with aerialist coach Dreya Weber. Since Pink doesn’t do any lip-syncing during her set, she trains to be able to sing while being upside down or right side up and everything in between. To further demonstrate, Pink had Weber stand her stomach for the 60 Minutes cameras while Pink flawlessly belted out a few lines from a song.
“I’m not just a singer. I’m a gymnast. I can do all kinds of things. I’m physical,” Pink said. “This body, like, the muscles that scare people are — it’s my power, right? It’s like, I don’t eat well to look good, I eat well to go far, fast and hard.”
Pink’s future
If the notion of a performer singing and doing acrobatic stunts high above an audience sounds like an act built for Las Vegas, well, Pink is also thinking along those lines when it comes to her next chapter.
“I would like to have the best show that Vegas has ever seen,” she said. “And I think that I can. For a performer like me to have a stage that doesn’t have to travel, oh my God, you can do so much.”
To dig a little deeper into what the future holds, Pink said that the “hard edge” she’s had in life and the work she has put in as a result of it has given her a lot to lean on going forward.
“I never got a record deal because I was cute; I got a record deal because I was fiery,” she said. “I had a lot to say, and I had a voice. So I’m relieved I don’t have to fall back on sort of conventional beauty. And that doesn’t have to be my thing. And I don’t have to keep that up, either, as I age. I don’t have to be that. I can be all of this.”
60 Minutes airs Sundays on CBS, check your local listings.
