Top 30 Artists of 2011: 30 P!nk

Total Points – 79

Charted Songs :

26        F**kin’ Perfect – P!nk  (75 points)

97        Raise Your Glass – P!nk (4 points)

Last Year’s Rank:     27

I have a feeling if I watched Happy Feet 2, she would have been a few notches higher, but I never did. There’s an appeal of watching the thing, but I’m gonna wait until it ends up on something like Netflix.

P!nk kinda was more on a child break this year, kinda like Beyonce, but a little earlier. She plopped out a Greatest Hits and sat back. Both songs that charted this year were outcast anthems and that’s a great thing. P!nk’s always been a bit of a rebel and it’s a great thing that she knows that people have difficult lives and everyone has struggles. It may just be time management or it could be having to have food stamps. I think both songs were positive songs. Outside of those two songs, her rendition of “Whatta ya want from me?” was also really pretty. I think I may prefer hers over Adam Lambert’s version.

I’m happy for P!nk having her kid Willow and hasn’t paraded her around too much. I’m hoping though that her music doesn’t soften because of her child. She needs to continue to be a strong role model for everyone.

One thing I have to point out is the wacked out version that was used for Kirstie Alley during the 12th season of DWTS

I still think there needs to be a better house band…

Here are three songs that I totally forgot about and totally loved. It was one of those slipped the brain moments when I created the list. I don’t think that any of them would have cracked the top 30, but some would have actually stirred up the top 40 maybe. There is only one song I will mention that owuld have affected the top 20. It will be mentioned soon.

OK Go – White Knuckles

If I remember OK Go at all, I would have probably placed both “White Knuckles” and “This Too Shall Pass” on my list. That probably may have led them to crack the top 40 at least. OK Go continued to make very innovative music videos. I loved how “White Knuckles” included the cutest of doggies and loved how they actually paid attention.

Macy Gray – “Kissed it”

It was this one damned commercial that never really went away. By the time it did, I had downloaded Macy Gray and was listening to it non-stop. Macy Gray’s song was catchy and really dancable. Macy Gray has a very distinguishable voice and swagger and it also showed that going on ‘Dancing with the Stars’ isn’t the end of a career, it can actually help.

Pink – “Glitter in the Air”

I thought this performance was stunning and beautiful. Sure she did it for her tour, but it was still amazing to watch. I love Pink’s daring nature to go up there and spin around and it fit perfectly with what a Grammy performance should be. Pink would have actually benefited if I remembered her performance earlier in the year, because it easily would have been in the 60s and it would have vaulted Pink from the high 20s into the high teens. Whoopsies.

I’m very happy that Pink is not only still prominent in the music industry, that she is pregnant. I really hope she does have a son so that she will actually name him Jameson. Who expected a music career like this from the girl with short neon-pink hair singing R&B music about how she just wanted real love. To me, Pink represents that underdog that finally got to that point where she can do whatever the hell she wants and can get away with it. She’s well… “Too School for Cool.”

It’s funny, the first time I heard the song I thought, “Oh it’s another one of those songs that Adam Lambert* could have taken.” But it grew on me instantly when I actually heard the lyrics to the song. It’s all about underdog pride; celebrating how everyone is different and original. Kind of like watching Ann win ‘America’s Next Top Model.’ It’s actually an anthem that resonated (apparently) with many of my Facebook friends as well.

I was a bit disappointed by the use of the song on ‘Dancing with the Stars’ but I guess that’s what we/you get for making the song an “instant dance.” I’m sure we’ll see the instant dance again next season.

*Random Fact: Adam Lambert’s song “Whataya Want from Me” was orignally performed by Pink and was supposed to be on her album Funhouse. It was cut and eventually given to Adam Lambert. To make it even more interesting, he was nominated for a Grammy. [He lost]

Like I mentioned with Owl City at 23, “Please Don’t Leave Me” has one strong music video based off of the Stephen King classic, Misery. I found this song to be really good top 40 fodder, because it then ended up on the Lite FM stations. Why you may ask? Well because the Lite stations were all intimidated by the “Fresh” station. So they countered by playing Pink. (And groups like The Fray, but I thought that Pink’s inclusion was more interesting because she has “edge”) Apparently because the Lite stations think that she’s what the young’uns listen to.

Either way, the song was one of those that always seemed to be in rotation, which I’m not sure is good or bad. The song got annoying by November, but then the Christmas music started playing. I hope the radio stations reevaluate their music line-up by 2010.

I was convinced that I should pick “Please Don’t Leave Me” over “Sober” because of the longevity. If I had to pick the better song, I would have easily picked “Sober.” But since I’m picking the song that made the most impact on me, it’s “Please Don’t Leave Me.”