P!nk

Can’t Take Me Home introduced Alecia Moore in 2000 with a polished R&B setting and singles including “There You Go” and “Most Girls”. The follow-up, M!ssundaztood, made a sharp change. Working with Linda Perry among others, P!nk moved towards a mix of rock, pop and more personal writing. “Get the Party Started” brought the immediate lift, while “Don’t Let Me Get Me”, “Just Like a Pill” and “Family Portrait” made the record harder to reduce to one mood.

Try This in 2003 pushed further into a scratchier band sound. I’m Not Dead in 2006 brought together outspoken songs, bitter humour and direct pop writing, with “Who Knew” and “U + Ur Hand” among the strongest singles. The changes did not erase the rhythmic confidence of the debut; they gave it more room.

Funhouse, released in 2008, is a good place to hear the full range. “So What” turns defiance into a chant, while “Sober” and “Please Don’t Leave Me” are less certain about what comes after the bravado. The Truth About Love later carried that balance into “Try” and “Just Give Me a Reason”, the duet with Nate Ruess.

P!nk’s reputation as a live performer includes elaborate aerial work, but the records do not need the spectacle to make sense. Her phrasing often sounds closer to speech than to an exercise in vocal perfection. The humour keeps the harder songs from becoming self-important, and the roughness gives the ballads something to catch on. It is a durable way of making mainstream pop feel personal.