I'm Not Dead

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I'm Not Dead
Studio album by Pink
Released	March 31, 2006 (Australia) April 3, 2006 (United Kingdom) April 4, 2006 (United States) March 19, 2007 (Australia – tour edition) December 4, 2007 (U.S. – platinum edition)
Genre	Pop Rock R&B Dance-pop
Length	54:07
Label	LaFace
Producer	Max Martin, billymann, MachoPsycho, Christopher Rojas, Butch Walker, Lukasz Gottwald, Josh Abraham, Pink (exec.)
Professional reviews
All Music Guide link Blogcritics link The Guardian link musicOMH.com link Okayplayer link PopMatters link Rolling Stone link The Urban Wire link
Pink chronology
Try This (2003) I'm Not Dead (2006) Pink Box (2007)
Singles from I'm Not Dead
"Stupid Girls" Released: February 2006 "Who Knew" Released: May 8, 2006 "U + Ur Hand" Released: October 31, 2006 "Nobody Knows" Released: November 20, 2006 "Dear Mr. President" Released: December 21, 2006 "Leave Me Alone (I'm Lonely)" Released: March 12, 2007 "'Cuz I Can" Released: October 4, 2007
Alternate covers
Australian Tour Edition cover
Platinum Edition cover

I'm Not Dead is the fourth album by pop singer Pink, released in North America on April 4, 2006 (see 2006 in music); it was released a day earlier in most other territories. Pink worked with producers and songwriters billymann, Josh Abraham, Max Martin, Luke Gottwald, Butch Walker and Mike Elizondo. The tracks range from the intrinsically personal to political. The album was originally titled Long Way to Happy, after the song of the same name, but Pink changed her mind because she thought I'm Not Dead made a stronger statement that this was a comeback album.

The album yielded seven singles: "Stupid Girls", "Who Knew", "U + Ur Hand", "Nobody Knows", "Leave Me Alone (I'm Lonely)", "Dear Mr. President" and "'Cuz I Can". It was most successful in Australia, where it was certified eight times platinum.

Contents 1 Description 2 Critical reception and awards 3 Chart performance 4 Promotion 4.1 Singles 4.2 Touring 4.3 Other promotion 5 Track listing 6 Charts and certifications 7 Personnel 8 Notes

[edit] Description

Pink said she titled the album I'm Not Dead because "It's about being alive and feisty and not sitting down and shutting up even though people would like you to";^[1] she said it came from "the awakening" and how "it felt good to feel again ... I turned twenty-five and I just kind of woke up and realized I have so much to learn, whereas before I thought I knew everything. That's definitely a huge part of that title."^[2]

According to Pink, she did not expect to be very emotionally involved in the making of the album because the experience of making her last, Try This (2003), was "draining", but that she was "forced to be almost emotionally involved" by her collaborators, such as Billy Mann. "I guess I was just kind of at that place where I felt like I kind of had something to add to the world", she said. "I feel like there's a hole and I know how to fill it, people aren't talking trash anymore. I was just feeling really creative and really emotionally available again, and it came out great."^[2] According to her, she wrote more than forty songs for the album on "everything I could possibly think of."^[3]

Pink was inspired to write opening track "Stupid Girls", in which she deplores the lack of good role models for young girls while encouraging them to cultivate independence, after she noticed many such girls aspire to be like female pop icons, particularly those near her Los Angeles home. "There's a certain thing the world is being fed, and my point is there should be a choice", Pink said.^[4] She stated that "Who Knew" is about "the death of friendship",^[5] as well as friends of hers who died as a result of drug overdoses.^[6] The song is about several people.^[7]

The third song, "Long Way to Happy", is based on a poem about sexual abuse Pink wrote when she was thirteen years old. "I know a lot of people that have been abused and/or molested and/or fucked over by someone close to them. And I'm no exception. And that's that song", she said.^[3] The ballad "Nobody Knows" describes feelings that one can have but not show to the outside world, and Pink has named it the most vulnerable track on the album.^[8] "Dear Mr. President" is an open letter to the president of the United States, George W. Bush;^[7] the song's format is a series of rhetorical questions for the President, specifically pertaining to how he really feels about issues such as war, homosexuality, homelessness and drug abuse.

According to Pink, the sixth and title track, "I'm Not Dead", is her first "subtle" and "poetic" self-written song: "Usually it's very much more cartoon-y and blunt, the way I write songs. I don't really know diplomacy or subtlety."^[3] The song was inspired by how Pink and producer billymann felt about the end of their working relationship: "We were scared to move on from each other, after seeing how much that little bit of time together changed us, and how scary change is."^[7] In "'Cuz I Can", Pink says she plays by her own rules boasts about her "bling", a contrast to the anti-consumerist content of "Stupid Girls". Referring to the song, she called herself "a walking contradiction" and "a hypocrite sometimes."^[9] This theme is echoed in "Leave Me Alone (I'm Lonely)", which deals with contradictory feelings about a relationship; Pink said "That's how I live my life. I'm a walking conflict."^[7] She called the song "a funny take on 'I love you' ... I get really cramped ... But, every girl needs her space".^[2]

"U + Ur Hand", the ninth track, is a kiss-off song addressed to a man who is trying to seduce Pink; it became a fan favorite before the release of the album, when it was leaked to the internet.^[9] Pink said of song such as "Runaway" that "It's been especially hard for [my parents] hearing me write about things they never knew about ... My mom's like, 'Were you really that angry? Was I really that in denial? Was I really that bad a parent?' 'No, Mom - you were great. You didn't try to run me over with your car. I made it up.' But by writing all of it down and sharing it with the world, I've broken with most of it."^[10] "The One That Got Away" is, as Pink puts it, "the classic 'Is this the one? Or is the grass really greener?'"^[5]

Pink described track thirteen, "Conversations with My 13 Year Old Self", as a "huge therapy session"^[5] that addresses her "pissed-off, complicated" younger self.^[3] She said of writing the song, "I needed a hug, and I get it ... now. If I tried to hug my 13-year-old self, she'd try to kick my ass, and then she'd collapse and cry."^[5] "Fingers" is about her videotaping herself masturbating.^[3] She said she probably didn't need to add to the number of songs about masturbation, but she couldn't help herself.^[11] The final song on the album, the hidden track "I Have Seen the Rain" was written by and features Pink's father, James T. Moore. He wrote it when he was a soldier in the Vietnam War, but according to Pink "it's still relevant today. It's a soldier's cry." She had always wanted to record it with him and learnt to harmonize with it. She said of its recording, "He was so nervous, it was the most adorable experience for a father and daughter to share."^[5]

[edit] Critical reception and awards

See also: List of Pink awards

Please help improve this section by expanding it. Further information might be found on the talk page or at requests for expansion.

The album had a positive critical reception, receiving a 70/100 score on Metacritic.^[12]

Pink received the 2006 Glamour Magazine award for International Solo Artist of the Year, and in 2007, she won the MTV Australia Video Music Award for Best Female Artist and the Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Award (in Australia) for Favourite International. The same year, the album won in the Best International Album category at the Rockbjörnen Awards.

[edit] Chart performance

The album sold 126,000 copies in its first week in the U.S. and debuted at number six, a higher debut position than those of Pink's last two albums, M!ssundaztood (2001) and Try This (2003); however, first-week sales for I'm Not Dead were lower.^[13] I'm Not Dead was initially Pink's lowest seller in the U.S., and exited the Billboard 200 after twenty-three weeks.^{[citation needed]} It reappeared at number 198 in late December 2006.^{[citation needed]} As of December 2007, it had sold 1.15 million copies.^[14]

I'm Not Dead debuted at number three in the United Kingdom,^{[citation needed]} and was the ninth best-selling album of 2006 in the UK, with over 848,000 copies sold;^[15] it was certified three times platinum by the BPI in January 2007 for shipments to stores of 900,000 copies.^{[citation needed]} By May 20, 2007, the album had surpassed sales of one million.^{[citation needed]} It spent eighty-four weeks in the top seventy-five, which it left on the chart dated November 12, 2007.^{[citation needed]} It sold more than 1.125 million copies.^{[citation needed]}

In Australia, after twenty-six weeks of release, I'm Not Dead ascended to number one to become Pink's first number-one album;^[16] it returned to number one in its sixty-first week on the Australian ARIA chart.^[17] The album spent a record sixty-two consecutive weeks in the top ten,^[16] and as of August 2007, it was certified eight times platinum by ARIA for shipments of 560,000 copies.^[18] Pink's most successful album in Australia,^[16] it was the second best selling album of both 2006 and 2007, and the number-one selling album by an American or a female artist in each year.^[19][20] According to australian-chart.com, I'm Not Dead is ranked first in the best of all time list with 3,821 points.^[16]

In Canada, the album debuted at number two with 13,000 copies sold in its first week,^[21] and the CRIA certified it platinum for shipments of more than 100,000 copies.^{[citation needed]} In New Zealand, the album reached number one in its thirty-seventh week on the chart. It reached the top ten in eighteen countries^{[citation needed]} number one in Germany,^{[citation needed]} and was certified gold, platinum or multi-platinum in more than seventeen countries.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Promotion

[edit] Singles

Before "Stupid Girls" was chosen as the album's lead single, videos were shot for it and "U + Ur Hand", which became the third single. Released in February – March 2006, "Stupid Girls" reached number thirteen on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 — becoming Pink's biggest hit since 2002—and the top five in the UK and Australia. It was the subject of considerable discussion, with Pink attending The Oprah Winfrey Show to discuss what she called the "stupid girl epidemic"; in the song, she deplores the lack of good role models for girls while encouraging them to cultivate independence. The song was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance (see Grammy Awards of 2007).

"Who Knew" was released as the second single in May 2006 and initially failed to chart on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100, but it later debuted at number ninety-five in March 2007. It was re-released in the U.S. in June 2007, and had peaked at number nine by mid September. It reached the top ten in other countries, including Australia and the UK. The next single, "U + Ur Hand", took three months to chart on the Hot 100 and peaked at number nine in April 2007. It reached the top twenty across most of Europe and Australia during August – September 2006. The fourth single, "Nobody Knows", was released outside the U.S. in November and reached the top forty in the UK and Australia.

The song "Dear Mr. President" attracted publicity, and there was belief among fans that it would be released as a single, but Pink said she would not release "Dear Mr. President" as a single because she did not want people to think it was a publicity stunt.^[22] In Belgium, an acoustic version of the song was released as a download single in late 2006, and it reached number one on the Ultratop chart. In the UK, "Dear Mr. President" was released as a download-only single with "Leave Me Alone (I'm Lonely)". It reached the UK top forty, also charting in the top five in Australia, where it became the fifth top five hit from I'm Not Dead.

The seventh single, "'Cuz I Can", was released as a digital download in Australia, and it reached the top twenty on the digital tracks chart.^[23]

[edit] Touring

Pink began her North American I'm Not Dead Tour on June 24, 2006 in Chicago (IL), and it ended in Dallas (TX) after twenty shows. She started her European tour on September 8 of the same year in Istanbul; it ran for fifty-two shows and was scheduled to end in Milan on December 21. A DVD of a concert on this leg of the tour, Pink: Live from Wembley Arena, was released in April 2007. In 2007, Pink returned to the U.S. to accompany Justin Timberlake on his FutureSex/LoveShow tour.

She began her sold-out Australian tour in April 2007, and additional dates were scheduled to meet high demand.^{[citation needed]} The Australian leg of the tour was set at a record-breaking thirty-five arena shows, selling around 307,000 tickets — it became the most successful arena tour in Australian history by a female artist in Australia.^[17] Pink broke another record by being the only female artist to play seven consecutive sold-out shows in Sydney.^{[citation needed]} Sony BMG Australia released a special tour edition of I'm Not Dead on March 17, 2007 — it contains the original album including two bonus tracks and a DVD that features live performances and music videos.

[edit] Other promotion

On March 28, 2006, the official website for MTV previewed the album in a section titled The Leak, where one can listen to an album one week before its release in stores.^{[citation needed]} The same month, Pink performed songs from the album during a live performance broadcasted by MTV in New York.^{[citation needed]} The bonus track "Fingers" was used on a cellphone commercial in Taiwan and Korea,^{[citation needed]} and "Long Way to Happy" was featured in an episode of MTV's The Hills.^{[citation needed]} "Who Knew" was used in promotion for the ABC television show October Road in March 2007; the consequent increase in download sales of the song was responsible for its appearance on the U.S. Hot 100.^[24] The song "I'm Not Dead" was used in an episode of the last season of the television show Charmed. ^[25] "Dear Mr. President" was used during the closing of to the fourth season finale of the series The L Word.

On December 4, 2007, an edition of the album titled I'm Not Dead: Platinum Edition was released.^[26]

[edit] Track listing

1. "Stupid Girls" (Pink, Billy Mann, Robin Mortensen Lynch)–3:17
2. "Who Knew" (Pink, Max Martin, Lukasz Gottwald)–3:28
3. "Long Way to Happy" (Pink, Butch Walker)–3:49
4. "Nobody Knows" (Mann, Pink)–3:59
5. "Dear Mr. President" (Pink, Mann) featuring Indigo Girls–4:33
6. "I'm Not Dead" (Pink, Mann)–3:46
7. "'Cuz I Can" (Pink, Martin, Gottwald)–3:43
8. "Leave Me Alone (I'm Lonely)" (Pink, Walker)–3:18
9. "U + Ur Hand" (Pink, Martin, Gottwald, Rami)–3:34
10. "Runaway" (Pink, Mann)–4:23
11. "The One That Got Away" (Pink, Mann)–4:42
12. "I Got Money Now" (Pink, Mike Elizondo)–3:55
13. "Conversations with My 13 Year Old Self" (Pink, Mann)–3:50
14. "Fingers" (Pink, Mann, Christopher Rojas)–4:13 (non-U.S. bonus track; includes thirty seconds of silence on non-UK version)
15. "Centerfold" (Pink, Greg Kurstin, Cathy Dennis)–3:20 (UK bonus track; includes seventeen seconds of silence)
16. "I Have Seen the Rain" (James T. Moore) featuring James T. Moore–3:29 (hidden track)

Bonus DVD - DualDisc DVD side

1. Entire Album in 5.1 Surround Sound & Enhanced Stereo
2. Preview of the Live in Europe Concert DVD
3. Interview with Pink
4. Pink Presents: The Stupid Girls
5. "Stupid Girls" music video
6. "Stupid Girls" outtakes & bonus photos

Australian Tour Edition - CD/DVD set

• CD

14. "Fingers"
15. "I Have Seen the Rain"
16. "Who Knew" (Bimbo Jones radio edit) marked as no. 15 on album cover
17. "U + Ur Hand" (Beatcult remix) marked as no. 16 on album cover

• DVD

1. "Stupid Girls" – video
2. "Who Knew" – video
3. "U + Ur Hand" – video
4. "Nobody Knows" – video
5. "Dear Mr. President" – live video
6. "Leave Me Alone (I'm Lonely)" – live video
7. "Stupid Girls" – making the video
8. "U + Ur Hand" – making the video

U.S. Platinum Edition - CD/DVD set

• CD

14. "I Have Seen the Rain"
15. "Heartbreaker"
16. "Centerfold"
17. "Fingers"
18. "U + Ur Hand" (Bimbo Jones remix)

• DVD

1. "Stupid Girls" – making the video
2. "Stupid Girls" – video
3. "U + Ur Hand" – making the video
4. "U + Ur Hand" – video
5. "Who Knew" – video
6. "Nobody Knows" – video
7. "U + Ur Hand" (live from Wembley Arena London, England)
8. "Who Knew" (live from Wembley Arena London, England)
9. "Dear Mr. President" – video
10. "Just like a Pill" (live from Wembley Arena London, England)
11. "Dear Mr. President" (in-studio performance) featuring Indigo Girls

Single B-sides

• "Heartbreaker" ("Stupid Girls")
• "Disconnected" ("Who Knew")
• "Crash & Burn" ("U + Ur Hand")
• "Words" ("Nobody Knows")

[edit] Charts and certifications

See also: Pink discography

Chart (2006/2007) Peak position Australia Albums Chart[27] 1 Austria Top 40[27] 1 Belgium Albums Chart[27] 3 Canada Albums Chart[28] 2 Europe Chart[29][not in citation given] 1 France Albums Chart[27] 7 Germany Albums Chart[27] 1 Ireland Albums Chart[27] 9

Chart (2006/2007) Peak position Japan Albums Chart[30][not in citation given] 19 Netherlands Albums Chart[27] 5 New Zealand Albums Chart[27] 1 Norway Albums Chart[27] 4 Sweden Albums Chart[27] 7 Switzerland Albums Chart[27] 1 UK Albums Chart[27] 3 U.S. Billboard 200[27] 6 United World Chart[27] 2

Year-end chart (2006/2007)	Peak position
United World Chart 2006[31]	10
United World Chart 2007[32]	23

Country	Certification	Sales/shipments[33]
Australia (ARIA)	8× platinum[34]	560,000
Austria (Media Control Europe)	Platinum[35]	30,000
Canada (CRIA)	Platinum[36]	100,000
Europe (IFPI)	2× platinum[37]	3,000,000
France (SNEP/IFOP)	Platinum[38]	245,400[39]
Finland (IFPI)	Gold	16,065+[40]
Germany (Media Control)	3× platinum[41]	600,000
Hungary (MAHASZ)	Platinum[42]	30,000
Ireland (IRMA)	3× platinum[43]	60,000
Japan (Oricon)	—	55,000[44]
New Zealand (RIANZ)	2× platinum[45]	30,000
Switzerland (Media Control)	2× platinum[46]	60,000
UK (BPI)	3× platinum[47]	1,145,500[48]
U.S. (RIAA)	Platinum[49]	1,223,973[50]
World (Media Traffic)	3× platinum	6,291,000

[edit] Personnel

• Pink: Producer, vocals, backing vocals, keyboard, piano
• Adem Hawkins: Song mixing
• Al Clay: Song mixing
• Amy Ray: Backing vocals
• Andy Timmons: Guitars
• Beth Cohen: Backing vocals
• Billy Mann: Backing vocals, guitars, piano, orchestra arranged, drums
• Butch Walker: Backing vocals, additional programming, guitars, bass
• Christopher Rojas: Mixing, keyboard programming, violins, drum programming, guitars, bass, backing vocals
• Dan Chase: Keyboard programming, drum programming
• Dan Warner: Electric guitars
• Emily Saliers: Backing vocals, guitars
• Fermio Hernandez: Assistant mix engineer
• Geoff Zanelli: Guitars, bass, synthesizer
• Jeff Phillips: Guitars
• Joey Waronker: Drums
• John Hanes: Additional Pro Tools engineer
• Justin Meldal-Johnsen: Bass
• Lasse Mårtén: Drums
• Lee Levin: Drums
• Leon Pendarvis: Orchestra arranged, conducted
• Lukasz Gottwald: Guitar programming, drum programming
• Max Martin: Keyboard programming, Guitar programming, drum programming
• Mike Elizondo: Additional programming, keyboard programming, keyboard, guitars
• Niklas Olovson: Drum programming, bass
• Molecules: Guest MC
• Mylious Johnson: Drums
• Pete Wallace: Keyboard programming, drum programming, guitars, piano, percussion
• Rafael Moreira: Guitars
• Robin Lynch: Guitars
• Roc Raida: DJ
• Serban Ghenea: Song mixing
• Shawn Pelton: Drums
• Steven Wolf: Additional programming, tamborine
• Tim Roberts: Assistant mix engineer
• Tom Lord-Alge: Song mixing
• Tom Talomaa: Assistant mix engineer
• Tom Coyne: Mastering
• Thom Cadley: 5.1 mixing
• Mark Rinaldi: Assistant 5.1 mixing
• Mark Wilder: 5.1 mastering

[edit] Notes

Preceded by Ta-Dah by Scissor Sisters	Australian ARIA Albums Chart number-one album (first run) October 2, 2006	Succeeded by The Open Door by Evanescence
Preceded by Minutes to Midnight by Linkin Park	Australian ARIA Albums Chart number-one album (second run) June 4, 2007	Succeeded by Dream Days at the Hotel Existence by Powderfinger
Preceded by Schrei by Tokio Hotel	Austrian MediaControl Albums Chart April 14, 2006	Succeeded by Splitternackt by Andrea Berg
Preceded by Zeitgeist by Smashing Pumpkins	New Zealands RIANZ Albums Chart number-one album July 30, 2007	Succeeded by One Chance by Paul Potts
Preceded by 3121 by Prince	Switzerland's MediaControl Albums Chart April 16, 2006	Succeeded by 2006: Le village des Enfoirés by Les Enfoirés
Preceded by Das große Leben by Rosenstolz	German MediaControl Albums Chart April 17, 2006	Succeeded by Splitternackt by Andrea Berg

v • d • e Pink Albums Can't Take Me Home · M!ssundaztood · Try This · I'm Not Dead Other albums Pink Box Singles "Gonna Make Ya Move (Don't Stop)" · "There You Go" · "Most Girls" · "You Make Me Sick" · "Lady Marmalade" · "Get the Party Started" · "Don't Let Me Get Me" · "Just like a Pill" · Family Portrait" · "Feel Good Time" · "Trouble" · "God Is a DJ" · "Last to Know" · "Stupid Girls" · "Who Knew" · "U + Ur Hand" · "Nobody Knows" · "Dear Mr. President" · "Leave Me Alone (I'm Lonely)" · "'Cuz I Can" Tours "Party Tour" · "Try This Tour" · "I'm Not Dead Tour" DVD Pink: Live in Europe · Pink: Live from Wembley Arena Related articles Discography · Awards and nominations