IN FEBRUARY 2000, Pink released her debut single – There You Go.
With ballads like Westlife’s ‘I Have a Dream’, Britney’s ‘Born To Make You Happy’ and Gabrielle’s ‘Rise’ claiming the top spot in the Irish charts in the weeks that preceded the release of There You Go, Pink’s debut single felt like a welcome breath of fresh air.
And if you were a teenybopper around the time of its release, you almost felt compelled to prime yourself with plasters such was the extent of its edge.
While Britney was whining that she was put upon this earth for the sole purpose of serving her man, Pink was telling us she no longer had any time for her’s.
Coupling that attitude with her non-conventional popstrel appearance – is it any bloody wonder we ate it up?
Sitting in a café with my 11 year-old son while @Pink's #ThereYouGo plays, and explaining to him how she started out as an R&B singer on LaFace/Arista before branching out into the pop rock powerhouse she is now.... I'm old as shii....
— Ikhane Akhigbe, Esq. 😊 (@ikhane) March 18, 2018
The video, which accompanied the track, was a departure from the norm as well.
Used to being spoon-fed blonde tresses, wind machines and soppy lyrics, teenage girls found themselves more than vaguely impressed with Pink’s approach to the whole damn shebang.
18 years ago, we gazed starry-eyed at our television screens, desperately hoping to channel even an ounce of the singer’s sass, but a recent re-watching threw up a number of questions.
And yes, given the fact the video landed in 2000, you’re right to assume they’re mostly style-related.
We mean, take the following…
1. Should she have been riding a motorbike while wearing an ankle-length coat?
Surely, that was asking for trouble. She’ll have herself killed. There’s sassy and then there’s straight-up stupid, Pink.
2. What was with the binliner ensemble she wore in the P Diddy-inspired dance sequence?
Even as impressionable (and hugely goonish 12-year-olds) we weren’t buying it. We see you, Pink. We see your DIY get-up.
3. And Jesus, what was with the jumper?
Mere moments after working a binliner, she was rocking a knitted forest-green polo neck that wouldn’t have looked out of place on our mothers on Christmas morning.
4. Why does her accent sound very questionable upon re-watching?
“Imma… imma hook you up.’ Hmmm, why aren’t we buying it?
5. Why did she have to go and morph into Elvis Presley in her white jumpsuit before attempting to murder her ex-boyfriend?
The ankle-length coat was preferable, if we’re being honest.
6. Did she even – for a moment – consider the implications if the motorbike had gone through the wrong window?
No she didn’t. Not even for a second.
7. What was with the triumphant donning of the cowboy hat in the moments that followed the attempted murder of her ex-boyfriend?
Was it some symbolism we missed or what?
And if you need reminding, there you go…
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