Just Like a Pill

"Just Like a Pill"
Single by Pink
from the album Missundaztood
Released June 10, 2002
Format
Recorded October 2001
Genre Pop rock[1][2]
Length 3:57
Label Arista
Writer(s)
Producer(s) Dallas Austin
Pink singles chronology
"Don't Let Me Get Me"
(2002)		 "Just Like a Pill"
(2002)		 "Family Portrait"
(2002)
Music video
"Just Like a Pill" on YouTube

"Just Like a Pill" is a song by American singer Pink. It was written and produced by Dallas Austin and Pink for her second studio album, Missundaztood. The lyrics of the song deal with getting out of painful relationships, with a subtheme about drug abuse.[3]

The song was released worldwide as the third single from Missundaztood in June 2002 and was a commercial success, peaking at number eight on the Billboard Hot 100 in the United States. It also performed well internationally, becoming her second number-one single in the United Kingdom and reaching the top 10 in, amongst other countries, Ireland, France, the Netherlands and Sweden.

Background and writing

"Just Like a Pill" was written by Pink and Dallas Austin, who also produced and arranged the song.[4] Pink said in an interview that the song shows "part of who I am", referring to her documented problems with drugs.[5]

Reception

Critical response

The song was generally well received by contemporary music critics. NME called it "the third best track off her killer last album".[6] Drowned In Sound's Robert Luckett commented that it is "a fascinating record...this is a record with a edge, a kind of pot boiling over at any moment, ready to go off at any time vibe." He also wrote "it obeys the pop industry's well-dusted rules for a hit."[7] Stylus Magazine's Todd Burns, in his review of the album, compared "Just Like a Pill" to the other singles from the album, "Don't Let Me Get Me" and "Get the Party Started", writing "The guitars... sound much more integrated into the work and the overall song works far better."[8]

The song was shortlisted by Digital Spy as a nominee for the best single of 2002, finishing third in the vote to Red Hot Chili Peppers' "By the Way" and Liberty X's "Just a Little".[9]

Chart performance

In the U.K, the song scored Pink her second number one single in that country, whilst peaking at number two in Austria, Ireland and New Zealand, and within the top 10 in many countries across the world including Sweden, the Netherlands, Norway and Belgium. It peaked at number eight on the Billboard Hot 100.[10] In Australia, the song was a radio only single, in hopes of rising album sales. Although it was a #1 radio hit, a physical release never eventuated. In late June 2009, the song charted at #97 on downloads, most likely due to Pink's national tour.

Music video

Pink sporting black hair with purple highlights, while holding a rabbit during the music video for "Just Like a Pill"

The video for "Just Like a Pill" was directed by Francis Lawrence for LaFace Records.[11] The video, shot in December 2001, is considerably different from Pink's previous videos. "Get the Party Started" and "Don't Let Me Get Me" were lighter in nature than the dark atmosphere which is reflected in the video for "Just like a Pill", an example of which is the fact that Pink can be seen throughout the whole video wearing black outfits with naked arms and legs and wearing black hair. Commenting on the different style of video, Pink said: "This one's very dark and artsy, and I have black hair, which is very fun. I loved it. It's another part that I haven't concentrated on before."[12]

In the first scene, Pink lies on the floor. In the chorus she sings in front of her band. She is also featured in another scene with white rabbits around her in a room, and in another scene, she is seen with an elephant. There are also scenes with Pink singing in front of and amongst various people. In the latter half of the video, she runs in a hall whilst lip-synching the song, before disappearing into a bright doorway atop a staircase at the conclusion of the video.[11]

After the elephant scene Pink decided to stop using animals for her videos. In an interview, she explained: "This poor elephant...a huge elephant, it's so cute, and I could see how painful it was for it to get down on its hands and knees, ... I didn't like it. I won't do that again. [...] No more animals."[12]

The edited version of the video changes "Can't stay on your morphine, it's making me itch" to "Can't stay on your life support, it's making me itch", and changes "bitch" to "witch". Pink's mouth is only blurred once in the censored version as she says "bitch" at about 2 minutes 45 seconds in the video.

Cover versions

Track listings

  1. "Just Like a Pill" (Radio Version) - 3:57
  2. "Just Like a Pill" (Jacknife Lee Remix) - 3:46
  3. "Get the Party Started" (Live At La Scala) - 3:17
  4. "Just Like a Pill" (Video) - 3:57
  1. "Just Like a Pill" (Radio Version) - 3:57
  2. "Just Like a Pill" (Jacknife Lee Remix) - 3:46
  3. "Get the Party Started" (Live At La Scala) - 3:17
  • European CD single[15]
  1. "Just Like a Pill" (Radio Version) - 3:57
  2. "Just Like a Pill" (Jacknife Lee Remix) - 3:46
  • American CD single[16]
  1. "Just Like a Pill" (Radio Version) - 3:57
  2. "Just Like a Pill" (Instrumental) - 3:52
  3. "Don't Let Me Get Me" (Ernie Lake Ext Club Vox) - 5:49

Charts and certifications

Weekly charts

Chart (2002) Peak
position
Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[17] 2
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[18] 5
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Wallonia)[19] 19
Denmark (Tracklisten)[20] 10
Finland (Suomen virallinen lista)[21] 19
France (SNEP)[22] 29
Germany (Official German Charts)[23] 2
Hungary (Rádiós Top 40)[24] 6
Ireland (IRMA)[25] 2
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[26] 7
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[27] 2
Norway (VG-lista)[28] 7
Poland (Polish Singles Chart)[29] 7
Scotland (Official Charts Company)[30] 1
Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[31] 5
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[32] 6
UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[33] 1
US Billboard Hot 100[34] 8
US Adult Top 40 (Billboard)[35] 19
US Mainstream Top 40 (Billboard)[36] 2
US Rhythmic (Billboard)[37] 34
Chart (2009) Peak
position
Australia (ARIA)[38] 97

Year-end charts

Chart (2002) Position
Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[39] 33
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[40] 60
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[41] 77
German Singles Chart[42] 57
Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[43] 73
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[44] 50
UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[45] 42
US Billboard Hot 100[46] 43

Certifications

Region Certification Sales/shipments
Austria (IFPI Austria)[47] Gold 20,000x
Norway (IFPI Norway)[48] Gold 5,000*
United Kingdom (BPI)[49] Silver 360,000[50]

*sales figures based on certification alone
^shipments figures based on certification alone

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Just like a Pill (song) by Pink review". reviewstream.com. Retrieved March 17, 2015.
  2. ↑ "Review of Pink, "Missundaztood" (2001)". truthaboutnursing.org. Retrieved March 17, 2015.
  3. ↑ Sheffield, Rob. "CD Review - M!ssundaztood". Rolling Stone. Retrieved June 12, 2009.
  4. ↑ Soghomonian, Talia. "Archive of song reviews". all-reviews.com. Retrieved June 14, 2009.
  5. ↑ "Interview: Pink". musicOMH. Retrieved June 14, 2009.
  6. ↑ Wells, Steven (August 22, 2002). "Track reviews - Pink: Just Like a Pill". NME. Retrieved June 14, 2009.
  7. ↑ Luckett, Robert (September 21, 2002). "Pink: Just Like a Pill". Drowned in Sound. Retrieved June 14, 2009.
  8. ↑ Burns, Todd (September 1, 2003). "Pink - M!ssundaztood - Review". Stylus Magazine. Retrieved June 14, 2009.
  9. ↑ Wilkes, Neil (January 1, 2003). "BBC big winner in DS Awards". Digital Spy. Retrieved June 14, 2009.
  10. ↑ "Pandora Archive" (PDF). Pandora.nla.gov.au. August 23, 2006. Retrieved April 2, 2014.
  11. 1 2 "Pink Just Like a Pill Music Video on Yahoo! Music". Yahoo! Music. Retrieved June 14, 2009.
  12. 1 2 Perry, Rachel. "Pink: Party started, pill swallowed, elephant spared". VH1. Retrieved June 14, 2009.
  13. ↑ "PiNK - Just Like A Pill (CD) at Discogs". discogs. September 16, 2002. Retrieved April 2, 2014.
  14. ↑ "PiNK - Just LIke A Pill (Cassette) at Discogs". discogs. June 10, 2002. Retrieved April 2, 2014.
  15. ↑ "Pink - Just Like A Pill (CD) at Discogs". discogs. August 5, 2013. Retrieved April 2, 2014.
  16. ↑ "Pink - Just Like A Pill (CD) at Discogs". discogs. August 20, 2002. Retrieved April 2, 2014.
  17. ↑ "Austriancharts.at – Pink – Just Like a Pill" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Retrieved May 1, 2015.
  18. ↑ "Ultratop.be – Pink – Just Like a Pill" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved May 1, 2015.
  19. ↑ "Ultratop.be – Pink – Just Like a Pill" (in French). Ultratop 50. Retrieved May 1, 2015.
  20. ↑ "Danishcharts.com – Pink – Just Like a Pill". Tracklisten. Retrieved May 1, 2015.
  21. ↑ "Pink: Just Like a Pill" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved May 1, 2015.
  22. ↑ "Lescharts.com – Pink – Just Like a Pill" (in French). Les classement single. Retrieved May 1, 2015.
  23. ↑ "Musicline.de – Pink Single-Chartverfolgung" (in German). Media Control Charts. PhonoNet GmbH. Retrieved May 1, 2015.
  24. ↑ "Archívum – Slágerlisták – MAHASZ" (in Hungarian). Rádiós Top 40 játszási lista. Magyar Hanglemezkiadók Szövetsége. Retrieved May 1, 2015.
  25. ↑ "Chart Track: Week 13, 2002". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved May 1, 2015.
  26. ↑ "Nederlandse Top 40 – Pink search results" (in Dutch) Dutch Top 40. Retrieved May 1, 2015.
  27. ↑ "Charts.org.nz – Pink – Just Like a Pill". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved May 1, 2015.
  28. ↑ "Norwegiancharts.com – Pink – Just Like a Pill". VG-lista. Retrieved May 1, 2015.
  29. ↑ "Nielsen Music Control". Archived from the original on May 8, 2008.
  30. ↑ "Archive Chart: 2002-09-28". Scottish Singles Top 40. Retrieved October 30, 2015.
  31. ↑ "Swedishcharts.com – Pink – Just Like a Pill". Singles Top 100. Retrieved May 1, 2015.
  32. ↑ "Swisscharts.com – Pink – Just Like a Pill". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved May 1, 2015.
  33. ↑ "Archive Chart: 2002-09-28" UK Singles Chart. Retrieved May 1, 2015.
  34. ↑ "Pink – Chart history" Billboard Hot 100 for Pink.
  35. ↑ "Pink – Chart history" Billboard Adult Pop Songs for Pink.
  36. ↑ "Pink – Chart history" Billboard Pop Songs for Pink.
  37. ↑ "Pink – Chart history" Billboard Rhythmic Songs for Pink.
  38. ↑ "Australian-charts.com – Pink – Just Like a Pill". ARIA Top 50 Singles. Retrieved May 1, 2015.
  39. ↑ Steffen Hung (December 22, 2002). "Jahreshitparade 2002". austriancharts.at. Retrieved April 2, 2014.
  40. ↑ "Ultratop Belgian Charts". ultratop.be. Retrieved April 2, 2014.
  41. ↑ Steffen Hung. "Dutch charts portal". dutchcharts.nl. Retrieved April 2, 2014.
  42. ↑ "Top 100 Single-Jahrescharts". GfK Entertainment (in German). offiziellecharts.de. Retrieved 16 December 2015.
  43. ↑ "www.sverigetopplistan.se - Ĺrslista Singlar - Ĺr 2002". Hitlistan.se. Retrieved April 2, 2014.
  44. ↑ Steffen Hung. "Swiss Year-End Charts 2002". swisscharts.com. Retrieved April 2, 2014.
  45. ↑ "The Official UK SAingles Chart : 2002" (PDF). UKchartsplus.co.uk. Retrieved April 2, 2014.
  46. ↑ "2002". Longbored Surfer. Retrieved April 2, 2014.
  47. ↑ "IFPI Austria - Searchable Database". International Federation of the Phonographic Industry. Archived from the original on 2002. Retrieved April 25, 2013.
  48. ↑ "Trofeer" (in Norwegian). International Federation of the Phonographic Industry – Norway. 2001. Archived from the original on November 5, 2012. Retrieved February 25, 2014.
  49. ↑ "British single certifications – Pink – Just Like a Pill". British Phonographic Industry. Enter Just Like a Pill in the field Keywords. Select Title in the field Search by. Select single in the field By Format. Select Silver in the field By Award. Click Search
  50. ↑ Myers, Justin (October 29, 2015). "Pink's Official Top 20 biggest selling songs". Official Charts Company. Retrieved October 30, 2015.
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