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"Don't Let Me Get Me"
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Single by P!nk
from the album M!ssundaztood
Released
15 February 2002
Recorded
2001
Genre
Pop rock
Length
3:30
Label
Arista
Writer(s)
P!nk, Dallas Austin
Producer(s)
Dallas Austin
P!nk singles chronology
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"Get the Party Started" Just Like a Pill
M!ssundaztood track listing
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"M!ssundaztood" Family Portrait

"Don't Let Me Get Me" is a pop rock song by American singer P!nk. It was released as the second single from her second studio album M!ssundaztood in 2002. The song was written by P!nk and Dallas Austin, and produced by the latter.

"Don't Let Me Get Me" was generally a success, reaching top ten positions in 14 countries, and became her fifth single to peak inside the top ten US Billboard Hot 100 chart, stalling successfully at number eight. It also became her first number one on the US Mainstream Top 40 chart. The song received positive reviews from music critics, who praised the tone of the song.

Background[]

During her appearance on MTV's Making the Video, P!nk discussed the track:

It's basically about feeling inadequate, and wanting to get away from yourself. [...] It's somewhat autobiographical, for the most part, definitely. In class, I was definitely always getting into trouble—I had 63 hours of overdue detentions when I left school that I'll never have to serve! [...] To me, any truth is good, whether it hurts or not, so me looking in the mirror, standing next to what most people would call 'perfect girl,' I have those feelings. I think every girl does, and it's important for girls to do that, yeah, I'm up here. I'm doing my thing. I'm a strong individual and I've gained that strength over the years, but I'm still up in the mirror and try to pat my hips in.[1]

The song specifically references P!nk's conflict with her record label, who wanted her to change her image to create a more mainstream appeal, and mentions both LA Reid (head of P!nk's record label, Arista Records, at the time) and Britney Spears. In regards to the lyrics, "I'm tired of being compared to damn Britney Spears; she's so pretty, that just ain't me," P!nk stated that, "I don't want to get my point misconstrued. It's more about the record company than it is about Britney Spears. Reid later denied there being any truth to the lyrics implying that he had asked P!nk to change who she was to be successful: "She was poking fun at me, [but] I think she does prove a point here. You can be a popstar and have a brain, and have some creativity, and have some depth, and have some feelings, and not be afraid to bare those feelings."[2]

In a 2012 interview with The Los Angeles Times, P!nk revealed that "Don't Let Me Get Me" is the song she hates performing the most, adding, "I wish I could burn that song and never sing it again!" before laughing.[3]

Reception[]

"Don't Let Me Get Me" reached number one in New Zealand, number six in the UK, number eight in the U.S. and number twenty in Canada.

The song earned positive reports from music critics, but most gave sensitively mixed reviews upon her self-hating lyrical content. Robert Christgau in his consumer guide for MSN wrote that "Despite P!nk's audacious claim that she's not as pretty as 'damn Britney Spears,' celebrity anxiety takes a backseat to a credible personal pain rooted in credible family travails, a pain held at bay by expression." Jim Farber of Entertainment Weekly wrote that "In 'Don't Let Me Get Me,' she turns self-loathing into a perverse kind of anthem."

Jason Thompson of PopMatters wrote, "on the power rock of 'Don’t Let Me Get Me,' P!nk herself tells it like it is and attempts to break free from the image making machine. 'Tired of being compared / To damn Britney Spears / She’s so pretty / That just ain’t me.' Well, that’s debatable in itself, but the fact that P!nk takes it upon herself to call Spears out should be nothing short of revelatory. Spears certainly has nothing on P!nk in the vocal department. P!nk can actually sing. And damn well, mind you."

Jim Alexander wrote a negative review, saying that the rest of M!ssundaztood is full of bad songs and that "'Don't Let Me Get Me' and 'Dear Diary' see all pop joy expunged for acoustic seriousness, dreary unobtrusive beats and lyrics about relationship woes and record company badness."

Music video[]

the music video was shot in January 2002. "Don't Let Me Get Me," shot by director Dave Meyers, depicts P!nk as a high school student, in various scenes in which her nonconformity causes conflict with other students and school officials. A similarly-themed scene depicts her meeting with L.A. Reid, who tells her that in order to make her into a pop star, she will have to change everything about her outward appearance, in order to make her persona more comparable to that of Britney Spears, despite P!nk's insistence that that is not how she sees herself. Yet another scene shows her modeling for the cover of a magazine, irritated at how she is being made up by the lighting technicians, makeup artists and other personnel involved in the shoot. The video then shifts to a scene in which P!nk, now in control over her career, is welcomed back to her high school for a concert there.

Live performances[]

P!nk and James Gillespie

P!nk and James Gillespie performing "Don't Let Me Get Me" in 2017.

Since its release, "Don't Let Me Get Me" has been a staple in P!nk's concert setlists. It was the final song performed in the encore of the Party Tour, and also appeared in P!nk's subsequent tours—the Try This Tour, the I'm Not Dead Tour, the Funhouse Tour, and the Funhouse Summer Carnival. P!nk's 2013 The Truth About Love Tour was the first tour in which the song was not performed.

In August 2017, P!nk headlined several music festivals where up-and-coming British singer-songwriter James Gillespie opened for her. She handpicked him after hearing his own recording of "Don't Let Me Get Me," which he released as the follow-up to his debut single. During some of the shows, P!nk joined Gillespie onstage during his set to perform the song, although it did not appear in her own setlist.

Track listings[]

  • UK CD single
  1. "Don't Let Me Get Me" [John Shanks Remix] - 3:16
  2. "Don't Let Me Get Me" [Radio Mix] - 3:31
  3. "Don't Let Me Get Me" [Maurice's Nu Soul Mix] - 6:03
  4. "Don't Let Me Get Me" [Video] - 3:30
  • Australian CD single
  1. "Don't Let Me Get Me" [Radio Mix] - 3:31
  2. "Don't Let Me Get Me" [John Shanks Remix] - 3:16
  3. "There You Go" [Live from Sydney] - 3:09
  4. "Don't Let Me Get Me" [Juicy Horn Mix] - 9:32
  • European CD single and Cassette
  1. "Don't Let Me Get Me" [Radio Mix] - 3:31
  2. "Don't Let Me Get Me" [John Shanks Remix] - 3:16
  • German CD single
  1. "Don't Let Me Get Me" [Radio Mix] - 3:31
  2. "Don't Let Me Get Me" [John Shanks Remix] - 3:16
  3. "Don't Let Me Get Me" [Maurice's Nu Soul Mix] - 6:03
  4. "Get the Party Started / Sweet Dreams" (featuring Redman) - 4:05
  5. "Don't Let Me Get Me" [Video] - 3:30
  • American DVD single
  1. "Don't Let Me Get Me" [Video] - 3:30
  2. "Get The Party Started" [Video] - 3:21
  3. "Get The Party Started" [Behind The Scenes] - 2:00
  4. "Photo Gallery" with "Get the Party Started" [Redman Remix] [Clean Radio Edit] [Audio] - 4:03

Lyrics[]

Never win first place,
I don't support the team,
I can't take direction and my socks are never clean.

Teachers dated me
My parents hated me
I was always in a fight
'Cause I can't do nothin' right

Every day I fight a war against the mirror,
I can't take the person starin' back at me.

I'm a hazard to myself
Don't let me get me
I'm my own worst enemy
It's bad when you annoy yourself
So irritating
Don't wanna be my friend no more,
I wanna be somebody else
I wanna be somebody else, yeah

L.A. told me,
"You'll be a pop star.
All you have to change
Is everything you are"

Tired of being compared
To damn Britney Spears
She's so pretty,
That just ain't me

So doctor, doctor won't you please prescribe me somethin'?
A day in the life of someone else

'Cause I'm a hazard to myself
Don't let me get me (no)
I'm my own worst enemy
It's bad when you annoy yourself
So irritating (no)
Don't wanna be my friend no more
I wanna be somebody else (yeah)

Don't let me get me (don't let me)
I'm my own worst enemy (oh)
It's bad when you annoy yourself
So irritating
Don't wanna be my friend no more,
I wanna be somebody else

So doctor, doctor won't you please prescribe me somethin'?
A day in the life of someone else
Don't let me get me

Oh, I'm a hazard to myself, yeah
Don't let me get me
I'm my own worst enemy,
It's bad when you annoy yourself (yourself)
So irritating (so irritating)
Don't wanna be my friend no more (don't, don't)
I wanna be somebody else

Don't let me get me (don't let, don't let)
I'm my own worst enemy (don't let me get me),
It's bad when you annoy yourself (it's bad, it's so bad).
So irritating (oh)
Don't wanna be my friend no more (I)
I wanna be somebody else

Charts and certifications[]

Weekly charts[]

Chart (2002) Peak position
Australia (ARIA) 8
Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40) 10
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders) 6
Canada (Canadian Hot 100) 20
Denmark (Tracklisten) 4
Finland (Suomen virallinen lista) 34
France (SNEP) 42
Germany (Official German Charts) 10
Hungary (Single Top 40) 9
Ireland (IRMA) 5
Italy (FIMI) 6
Netherlands (Single Top 100) 6
Norway (VG-lista) 7
Poland (Polish Singles Chart) 13
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ) 1
Sweden (Sverigetopplistan) 5
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade) 10
UK Singles (Official Charts Company) 6
US Billboard Hot 100 8
US Adult Top 40 (Billboard) 16
US Dance Club Songs (Billboard) 31
US Mainstream Top 40 (Billboard) 1
US Rhythmic (Billboard) 30

Year-end charts[]

Chart (2002) Position
Australian Singles Chart 71
Austrian Singles Chart 58
Dutch Singles Chart 80
German Singles Chart 65
Italian Singles Chart 37
Swedish Singles Chart 25
Swiss Singles Chart 46
UK Singles Chart 83
US Billboard Hot 100 36

Certifications[]

Region Certification Certified units/Sales
Australia (ARIA) Gold 35,000^
Sweden (GLF) Gold 15,000^
United Kingdom (BPI) Silver 200,000^
United States (RIAA) Gold 500,000^
^shipments figures based on certification alone

References[]

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