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Pink

Los Angeles, UNITED STATES: Nominee for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance Pink arrives at the 49th Grammy Awards in Los Angeles 11 February, 2007. AFP PHOTO Hector MATA (Photo credit should read HECTOR MATA/AFP/Getty Images)

Pink

Although initially viewed as another face in the late-’90s crowd of teen pop acts, Pink (professionally known as P) quickly transcended and outgrew that label with her combination of pop songcraft and powerhouse, rock-influenced vocals. Born Alecia Moore on September 8, 1979, in Doylestown, PA, Pink received her nickname as a child, years before she dyed her hair accordingly. She grew up in a musical family and was a regular on the Philadelphia club scene by the age of 13, first as a dancer …

Pink

Making mistakes is all part of the act

Rehearsing on stage inside London’s Wembley Arena, Pink showed off the kind of moves that would ease her straight into Cirque du Soleil. Performing acrobatics in mid-air, using only a piece of material suspended from the roof (with no safety net below), she did some impromptu sit-ups – hanging by her legs. “She’s the skinniest she’s ever been,” said Pink’s manager Roger Davies, leaning in to whisper conspiratorially, as I stood goggle-eyed, amazed at the singer’s extraordinary fitness.

Although she has long been recognised for her taut, sporty physique, it turns out Pink had embarked on an intensive six-week program to slim down before the filming of a DVD during her London concert last month.

For some reason although so many women are focused on their bodies this was startling. After all, wasn’t this the same Pink who had gloriously sung Stupid Girls, lambasting Hollywood’s airheads for their vanity, overt sexuality and worrying obsession with body image? (And didn’t we love it.)

Pink is by no means obsessed she is funny, feisty and intelligent but it was curiously disappointing to realise how focused she had been on dropping kilograms before her London show. Even after our official chat inside her backstage dressing room, it was inside the singer’s makeshift cafeteria – where her staff are fed and watered ahead of her concerts – that her strict dieting was made obvious.

Sitting in front of a specially prepared dish of tofu, with steamed broccoli on the side, Pink joked about succumbing to the range of desserts on display. “Let’s get this show on the road – so I can eat the cheesecake afterwards,” she said, with a slightly hollow laugh. "You know what it’s like when you have no sugar – I’m like, ‘Oh my god, it’s a banana,’ " she added, wild-eyed, mimicking a sugar rush.

It’s probably silly to think Pink is immune to the pressures of stardom (and the opinions of record company executives), despite her considerable level of fame. But there seems to be a noticeable shift in her image, from the brash, outspoken tomboy to the way she now appears on stage.

The singer herself said her renewed focus on fitness had positively affected her live performances. “I’m in a good place right now; I’m probably the healthiest I’ve been ever,” she said. "I quit smoking eight weeks ago, I do an hour of yoga, an hour of running each day, then an hour-and-a-half show … with the silks and the nets and the acrobatics. It’s just awesome.

“I’ve gotten so much stronger, just from the show; it’s like boot camp, it’s fun.” Aside from slimming down, she has also become a little more girly on stage, with a production heavy on costume changes. In one segment of her concert, she writhes inside a mesh net dressed in a bikini. After donning one of her simpler outfits, a white slip dress (worn with bare feet), Pink told the London audience: “I don’t normally wear dresses; I’m learning.”

There are still occasional touches of tough girl lesbian chic. Pink on a motorbike surrounded by cavorting female dancers, but there was a sense of Pink deliberately expanding her image to show off a softer side. She said she had never pretended to be something she was not; instead her connection with fans came from being honest.