P!nk Takes the Helm as This Month’s EQUAL Global Artist

With more than 20 years in music, P!nk has cemented herself as a powerful force. She racked up so many top singles that she filled a greatest hits album just 10 years into her solo career, and her passionate fans have helped her sell out arenas around the globe.

Since her debut, she’s released nine studio albums—2023’s TRUSTFALL is her latest—and received 21 Grammy nominations, and she took home three of those awards. P!nk has always pushed boundaries to emerge as an artist with a strong message that empowers women. Her advocacy is just one reason she’s our August pick for EQUAL Global Artist of the Month.

Spotify’s EQUAL Global Music Program started in 2021 with the aim of contributing to gender equity in the music industry by amplifying and celebrating the work of women creators around the world. As a Global Ambassador, P!nk adorns the cover of our EQUAL Global playlist, and her hit single “TRUSTFALL” is featured in the top spot of the playlist.

For the Record chatted with the award-winning artist to learn what it’s like to be a part of EQUAL and how she’s breaking down barriers for women in the music industry.

The thing that excites me most about being a part of EQUAL is…

That I believe in equal representation for everyone in all walks of life, regardless of your gender, who you love, or how you identify. Having strong and inspiring women leaders in all industries, and especially in music, is important because it shows our children what’s possible. It inspires their dreams and aspirations of who they can become. I am so grateful and humbled that I can play a small role in the evolution of future generations. 

As an artist, to me, women’s representation means…

When I was a little girl, I looked up to my favorite female artists like Madonna and Mary J. Blige, who were not only talented and successful but pushed artistic boundaries and were unapologetic and fierce with their messages. It’s so important that women are an equal part of the artistic conversation at all levels of the music industry—as artists, executives, directors, choreographers, studio engineers, etc., because we have a different way of seeing things, expressing ourselves, and understanding and leading the world. If we want our little girls to be inspired and believe they can do these things too, women need equal representation to show them the way.

The artists who have most inspired me are… 

There are so many. So obviously it’s hard to choose. Cher, Madonna, Debbie Harry, and Bette Midler. Bette Midler comes to mind because she, to me, is one of the most incredible entertainers. You can tell when someone really loves what they do. And to me, Bette is a triple threat: singer, actress, dancer. . . well, a quadruple threat—she’s also a comedian. I’ve watched her walk into a room, and she’s so incredibly charming and she’s so joyful that she has the entire room eating out of the palm of her hand. And she does that onstage. When I go and see somebody perform, I want to know that they love it. I want to know that their heart is in it. I want to feel like I’m getting to know the actual person who’s onstage. And I don’t think anybody does that like Bette Midler. I love her.

A woman artist that I’m excited about is… 

Brandi Carlile. I have been a fan of Brandi’s since her EP came out, Eye of the Needle. Her voice is very, very, very, very special and I am a fan of a singer that you can feel their soul. I like when her voice cracks and it’s imperfect and she has so much f*@kin’ swag. I love her so much and she plays the sh!t out of a guitar. She’s kind. She’s been working her ass off for years and years and years and years, and she’s finally hit this place in her career where people are giving her the love that she deserves. I love singing with her. I love being her friend. I love walking the earth at the same time that she does. I love what she’s doing for the industry. She’s really bringing women together and she’s out and proud and she’s a mama. And I couldn’t love her more. And I get to tour with her soon because I’m a lucky b*tch.

The idea behind your newest song, “TRUSTFALL,” is…

I sort of went to the studio with [the lyrics] “it’s a trust fall, baby.” Just the idea that, in today’s world, it requires so much of us to feel safe and to get out of bed and to leave the house and to love and be who you really are. And it feels like a trust fall. It feels like you’re falling backwards and you don’t know where the ground is. I love performing it live because it’s a different-style song than what I do a lot of the time. And it’s so amped and it’s at such a perfect point in the show—it just feels like letting go. It feels like why I used to go to raves. You want that moment where the music comes on, it’s inside of your entire body, and you can’t do anything but move and let go of all the stuff you’ve been carrying around. And that’s what “TRUSTFALL” feels like to me. So I’m grateful to have written a song like that. And it’s a f*@king banger.

Get ready to turn the volume up and sing along with P!nk, and other amazing talents, in our EQUAL Global playlist.