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Not to be confused with the song of the same name.
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The Truth About Love
Truth about love cover
Studio album by P!nk
Released
September 14, 2012
Recorded
2012
Genre
Pop rock
Length
51:23
Label
RCA
Producer(s)
Greg Kurstin, Butch Walker, John Hill, DJ Khalil, Emile Haynie, Billy Mann, Max Martin, Shellback, Dan Wilson, Tracklacers, David Schuler
P!nk chronology
GreatestHitsPinkAlbum Truth about love cover P!nk - Beautiful Trauma
(2010) (2012) (2017)
Singles from The Truth About Love
  1. "Blow Me (One Last Kiss)"
    Released: June 3, 2012
  2. "Try"
    Released: August 10, 2012
  3. "Just Give Me a Reason"
    Released: 26 February 2013
  4. "True Love"
    Released: July 22, 2013
  5. "Walk of Shame"
    Released: September 25, 2013
  6. "Are We All We Are"
    Released: October 31, 2013
Alternative cover
P!nk - The Truth About Love (Deluxe Edition)
Fan edition cover.

The Truth About Love is the sixth studio album by American singer-songwriter Pink. It was released on September 14, 2012, through RCA Records. After giving birth to her first child in 2011, Pink started working on the album with longtime collaborator Billy Mann. With hopes of becoming more involved in the production of the album, she also reunited with Greg Kurstin and Butch Walker. The Truth About Love is primarily a pop record and includes elements of electropop, dance-pop, and rock music. Its lyrics explore themes of love, monogamy, and sexuality, as evidenced by the album title. The songs on the album express various perspectives towards romance and delve into the realities of long-term relationships. It features guest appearances by Eminem, Lily Allen, and Nate Ruess.

The album received generally positive reviews from music critics, who commended Pink's thematic and musical direction. Buoyed by extensive marketing, The Truth About Love was a commercial success, topping the charts in eight countries, including Australia, Canada, Germany, and Sweden. In the United States, it became Pink's first number-one album on the Billboard 200 chart and was later certified triple platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for sales of three million album-equivalent units. In Australia, The Truth About Love became the first album to top the year-end chart for two consecutive years and was certified nine times platinum by the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA). It was ranked as the seventh best-selling album of 2012, with sales of 2.6 million copies sold worldwide. By 2016, the album had sold over seven million copies globally. Pink was Wrtting the album In 2009 back at her Funhouse Tour

Six tracks from the album were released as singles. "Blow Me (One Last Kiss)", the album's lead single, was released on June 3, 2012, and peaked at number five on the US Billboard Hot 100. The second single, "Try", attained the top-ten position in several countries worldwide, including Australia, Canada, Germany, the UK, and the US. It was followed by "Just Give Me a Reason", which topped the record charts in over ten countries worldwide and became Pink's fourth number-one single on the Billboard Hot 100. "True Love" charted moderately in various countries, while the album's other singles, "Walk of Shame" and "Are We All We Are", had a limited release. The album was further promoted through The Truth About Love Tour (2013–2014), which grossed $183 million upon completion. The Truth About Love was nominated for Best Pop Vocal Album at the 55th Annual Grammy Awards.


Other songs[]

"Here Comes the Weekend," which features Eminem, was leaked online prior to the album's release and received subsequent radio airplay. The song was scheduled to be released as the lead single from the album but was scrapped in favor of "Blow Me (One Last Kiss)."

"Are We All We Are" was released as the album's first promotional single exclusively in Australia, as a radio-only single; the release sparked controversy amongst fans, who were given the impression the third single would be "Just Give Me a Reason" due to leaked images from the third single's video. "True Love" was released as the album's second promotional single in Hungary.

Critical reception[]

The Truth About Love received generally positive reviews from contemporary music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 77, which indicates "generally favorable reviews", based on 16 reviews. Kyle Anderson of Entertainment Weekly dubbed it a "lyrical masterpiece" and praised P!nk's songwriting as "unfalteringly vibrant, loaded with righteous anger, irreverence, and a clear eye for the darker side." Caroline Sullivan of The Guardian commended her for having "the nous to convert raw emotion into pop-punk earworms", although she commented that the "Mariah-slick motivational ballads ... detract from an otherwise fierce record." Andrew Hampp of Billboard called the album "a peerlessly witty, endlessly melodic tour de force". Consequence of Sound's Sarah Grant commended P!nk for "filter[ing] whatever the current trend is through her unique musical lens" and commented that her "consistency proves she should be taken at her word."

Josh Langhoff of PopMatters praised P!nk's hooks and found the album "not bad" for "major label singer-songwriter stuff". Jon Pareles of The New York Times felt that she "is committed to pop impact, not to any particular style", and "recognizes some nonstorybook sides of romance." Allmusic editor Stephen Thomas Erlewine complimented her "eager[ness] to dive into the muck of grown-up emotions, expanding and deepening her music without succumbing to stuffy pretension", and called it "weird and willfully, proudly human, a big pop album about real emotions and one of P!nk's wildest rides." Caryn Ganz of Spin called Pink "charmingly unhinged" and wrote that, despite some "objectionable moments" of "rock'n'roll karaoke", "her songs have enough heart, grit, and energy to stand on their own." MSN Music's Robert Christgau viewed that, apart from its last two songs, the album "hit[s] every time" and quipped, "P!nk and her 21 collaborators fashion a recorded image of her feisty, heartfelt, all-over-the-place love/sex life."

Although he found it "supercatchy", Jody Rosen of Rolling Stone viewed that the album "devolves into self parody" as "P!nk strains to shock, peppering songs with gratuitous curse words." Hermoine Hoby of The Observer favored its "workmanlike ballads delivered with beyond-workmanlike shading" over its "chunky guitar pop stuffed with shouty, bad-girl choruses", which she considered "dominates" the album. Marc Hirsh of The A.V. Club felt that P!nk is pandering to her contemporaries in pop music, but complimented her "disarming candor that's all the more bracing because it's delivered with a middle finger." Slant Magazine's Sal Cinquemani viewed the album as formulaic and "competently, often frustratingly more of the same from an artist who still seems capable of much more." Greg Kot of the Chicago Tribune. perceived "formula production and hack songwriting", but complimented P!nk's personality and its "handful" of worthy tracks.

Accolades[]

In his list for Barnes & Noble, Robert Christgau named The Truth About Love the fourth best album of 2012. It also made NPR Music's list of 50 Favorite Albums Of 2012. It placed #11 on SPIN's list of best Pop Albums of 2012 It became P!nk's second consecutive album to receive a Grammy Award nomination for Best Pop Vocal Album, and her third overall to achieve the honor. However, on February 10, the album lost the Grammy to Kelly Clarkson's Stronger. P!nk became the artist with most nominations in the category, with three, tying up with Clarkson, Madonna and Sarah McLachlan.

Commercial performance[]

In Australia, the album debuted at number one and was certified double platinum within its first week of release, becoming P!nk's third number one album there. In the United Kingdom, the album debuted at number two with 80,000 copies sold in its first week behind The Killers' Battle Born.

The Truth About Love became P!nk's first chart topping album in the United States, debuting at number one with first week sales of over 281,000. In its second week the album fell to number four with 94,000 copies sold. On Thanksgiving week, following her American Music Awards performance of "Try," the album leaped back into the Billboard 200 top ten at #7 with 144,000 copies sold. It has earned a Platinum certification from the RIAA denoting shipments to retailers of over 1 million copies in the US. In 2012, it sold 945,000 copies in the US and 446,000 copies in the UK. In Canada, the album debuted at number one selling 28,000 copies.

Track listing[]

No. TitleWriter(s)Producer(s) Length
1. "Are We All We Are"  P!nk, Butch Walker, John Hill, Emile HaynieWalker, Hill, Haynie 3:37
2. "Blow Me (One Last Kiss)"  P!nk, Greg KurstinKurstin 4:15
3. "Try"  busbee, Ben WestKurstin 4:07
4. "Just Give Me a Reason" (featuring Nate Ruess)P!nk, Jeff Bhasker, RuessBhasker 4:02
5. "True Love" (featuring Lily Rose Cooper)P!nk, Kurstin, CooperKurstin 3:50
6. "How Come You're Not Here"  P!nk, KurstinKurstin 3:12
7. "Slut Like You"  P!nk, Max Martin, ShellbackMartin, Shellback 3:42
8. "The Truth About Love"  P!nk, Billy Mann, David SchulerMann, Schuler 3:48
9. "Beam Me Up"  P!nk, MannMann 4:27
10. "Walk of Shame"  P!nk, KurstinKurstin 2:42
11. "Here Comes the Weekend" (featuring Eminem)P!nk, Khalil Abdul Rahman, Pranam Injeti, Liz Rodrigues, Marshall MathersDJ Khalil, Chin Injeti 4:24
12. "Where Did the Beat Go?"  P!nk, Mann, Jon Keep,
Steve Daly
Mann, Tracklacers 4:18
13. "The Great Escape"  P!nk, Dan WilsonWilson 4:24
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