Funhouse is the fifth studio album by American singer-songwriter Pink, released by LaFace Records worldwide in October 2008. Upon its release, the album reached number one on the charts in 6 countries including Australia, New Zealand, Netherlands and United Kingdom, while debuting at number two in Germany, Ireland, and United States.

Singles from the album include "So What", which is considered as Pink's most successful song to date, and is her first to ever reach the top spot in the United States. "Sober" and "Please Don't Leave Me" were released as the second and third singles respectively, and both reached the Top 20 and the 2009 Year-End Chart in the United States. They were followed by title track and "I Don't Believe You" which received moderate success. Final single, "Glitter in the Air", which was performed at the 52nd Grammy Awards, was released as the seventh single of the album, and reached top 20 in the Billboard Hot 100.

To date, Funhouse has earned Pink three Grammy nominations and five VMA nominations. It became her highest charter in the United States, peaking at #2 on the Billboard 200 and receiving a rank on the year-end chart for the years 2008 (#130), 2009 (#16) and 2010 (#64), having sold close to 2 million copies in the U.S. to date. It is also the first album by P!nk to spawn a number-one single there, in addition to five Hot 100 entries, four of which reached the top twenty. It's also her third to feature a Parental Advisory sticker and her best seller since 2001's Missundaztood, having sold over eight million units by July, 2010.

Just like I'm Not Dead, Funhouse was re-released. The re-release took place one year after the original release date, it included a bonus DVD and was accompanied by the release of Funhouse Tour: Live in Australia, a live album taped during Pink's Australian leg of the Funhouse Tour.

Writing and development

Pink has stated that this album is her most vulnerable to date. Much of the album's subject matter alludes to the fact that Moore recently separated from her husband, Carey Hart (Although never signing legal divorce documents, a divorce was planned but was not proceeded with as Moore and Hart soon reunited).

. NEWS.com.au. Retrieved on February 20, 2008. The first single, "So What", opens with: "I guess I just lost my husband/I don't know where he went". songteksten.net. Retrieved October 19, 2008. "Please Don't Leave Me" also addresses the split. The artist sums up its theme thus: "Okay, I’m an asshole, but love me anyway." Pink's official website. Retrieved October 19, 2008. In "Mean", she sings, "It was good in the beginning/but how did we get so mean?"

The song that Moore is the most proud of is "Crystal Ball". She said about the track: "I recorded it in one take and we didn’t mix it. It just went straight to master. It was all about a vibe and not about perfection or being polished. I just love that song and I loved recording it." She wrote the song together with friend Billy Mann who also aided her with the songs "Stupid Girls", "Dear Mr. President" and "I'm Not Dead", among others.

In "It's All Your Fault", Pink blames her lover for giving her hopes of a love relationship, then simply giving up on her. She proclaims in the lyrics "I conjure up the thought of being gone, but I’d probably even do that wrong." In "Glitter in the Air", Pink asks many questions such as, "Have you ever looked fear in the face and said I just don’t care?", and "Have you ever hated yourself for staring at the phone?" Pink admits, "I still don’t have some of the answers to the questions I pose on this record. I’m still figuring it all out."

The second single off the album is "Sober". Pink wrote this song at a party hosted at her home, where everyone was drunk or drinking except for her, and she wanted them all to leave. She went to the beach and had a line in her head saying "How do I feel so good sober?". Eventually it had nothing to do with alcohol but with identities. "How do I feel so good with just me, without anyone to lean on?", Pink says in an interview. Youtube and MTV. Retrieved October 19, 2008.

"Ave Mary A" deals with world issues and problems. "One Foot Wrong" talks about an acid trip that went wrong, but also has an underlying theme. "That song is also about losing control and how easy it is to lose the plot in life and teeter on the edge."

Originally, Pink wanted to call her album Heartbreak Is a Motherfucker , but her record label declined because of a fear that offensive language would hurt sales. She also said that she did not want the album to look like a break-up album; "There is a lot of that , but there is fun happening too and that's why I named it Funhouse in the end." Pink has also stated that she sees life as a carnival: "Clowns are supposed to be happy, but they are really scary. Carnivals are supposed to be fun, but really they are kind of creepy." "and that's like life to me, and love. Love is supposed to be fun, but it can sometimes be really scary. And the funhouse mirrors that make you look so distorted that you don’t recognize yourself and you ask yourself, ‘How did I get here? How do I get out of here?’ But, you think that you want to do it again. That is the same as love and life. It's a metaphor for being in love and for life." This also shows in the title track "Funhouse" where she tells that it used to be fun. "It's about when the box you’re in doesn’t fit anymore, burn that fucker down and start a new one."

Recording information

Pink had written and recorded approximately 30 to 35 songs at the ready for the new album. "It's like getting rid of your children: 'I like that one too, but I'm going to let that one die,'" she says of choosing album tracks. "The good thing now is that different countries want extra songs and B-sides, so there's always a home for the other kids."Jason MacNeil — Sun Media Canoe Jam!. Retrieved October 26, 2008.

Pink traveled internationally to write and record the album, working with Eg White in London and with Max Martin in Stockholm. "It was really good to get out of my house and get away from my life. No distractions. No phones", explains Pink of her overseas sessions.

Critical reception

Reviews of the album have been generally positive. Metacritic. Retrieved October 20, 2008. Sydney's The Daily Telegraph gave it 4.5 stars saying, "The record is a balanced blend of upbeat pop gems and midtempo ballads." Adding that "The power of Pink's pop lies in the clever juxtaposition of heartfelt honesty about her life with anthematic choruses and irresistible melodies tailormade to be screamed out by her fans." The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved October 28, 2008.

Other positive reviews were by US Magazine, who gave the album four stars, saying "The rebellious Grammy winner again fuses unrestrained lyrics with perfect pop-rock hooks on her electrifying fifth CD. From her aggressive No. 1 hit "So What" to the vulnerable "Please Don’t Leave Me" and the openhearted ballad "I Don’t Believe You", along with the angry "It's All Your Fault", Pink confirms she's still in excellent fighting shape." US Magazine. Retrieved October 26, 2008.

Mixed reviews came from the likes of Rolling Stone and Blender,Jon Dolan . Retrieved October 25, 2008. each giving the album three stars. Rolling Stone stated "Pink has shown more personality before, and some cuts, including the goopy ballad "I Don't Believe You", make her sound like just another big-voiced chart-buster. Funhouse would be more fun if Pink went easier on the bad-love songs." Rolling Stone. Retrieved October 27, 2008.

Chart performance

Four versions of Funhouse were released to the US iTunes store: two versions of the original, one explicit and one clean; two versions of the deluxe, one explicit and one clean. However, both versions of Funhouse (Deluxe Edition) were unexplainedly removed from the US iTunes store in the evening of Tuesday, October 28, 2008. Funhouse (Deluxe Edition) was readded to the US iTunes store the next day.

Funhouse debuted at #2 on the United States Billboard 200 chart issued on November 18, 2008, with sales of 180,000, behind AC/DC's Wal-Mart exclusive, Black Ice, which claimed the top spot with its second-week sales of 271,000. This is Pink's highest charting album on the Billboard 200 so far. Other songs also charted on the Digital Chart  — "Sober" (#71 with 16,972 copies sold), "Please Don't Leave Me" (#89 with 14,032 copies sold), "Bad Influence" (#151 with 7,734 copies sold), "It's All Your Fault" (#158 with 7,511 copies sold) and "I Don't Believe You" (#172 with 7,012 copies sold). After weeks of falling down the Billboard 200, Funhouse rebounded 21   13. By early March 2009 it was certified platinum by the RIAA for selling over 1,000,000 copies.

In its 67th week on The 200, "Funhouse" leaped from #61 to #15 right back into the Top 20, after the performance of "Glitter in the Air" at the 52nd Grammy Awards.http

Minor controversy occurred in Australia where record shops broke embargo and placed Funhouse on sale one day before the release date. Funhouse still managed to be the fourth highest selling album of the week, with only one day of sales, selling 7,120 copies.Paul Cashmere Undercover.com.au. Retrieved October 27, 2008. Funhouse debuted at number one in Australia, becoming Pink's first album to do so. It sold 86,273 units that week (the highest first week sales of 2008), and was immediately certified 2x Platinum. Funhouse achieved nine consecutive weeks at #1, tying with The Beatles compilation 1 (20 November 2000 - 21 January 2001). Funhouse has been certified 7x Platinum, after only 3 months of release. On the issue date of April 20, 2009, Pink became the only artist to have 3 albums at the top 50 in the album charts with Funhouse sitting at #8 while her 2 previous albums I'm Not Dead and M!ssundaztood charted at number 32 and 46 respectively. The album's 5 singles have all peaked at #1 on the Australian Airplay Chart. On the issue date of June 8, 2009, Pink broke another record on the ARIA Albums Top 50 having all her 5 albums enter the top 50 with Funhouse at number 3, I'm Not Dead at number 12, Try This at number 26, M!ssundaztood at number 19 and Can't Take Me Home at number 38 and also the M!ssundaztood/Can't Take Me Home box set at number 39. Funhouse is currently certified 11x platinum for 770,000 copies sold. The album ended both 2008 and 2009 as the second highest selling album of the year. This has caused Pink to hold the number two on the year end chart for four consecutive years, as 'I'm Not Dead' was number two of the year in 2006 and 2007. The album was announced on January 7, 2010, to be the second most successful album of the decade. On the week 8/11/2010 the album re-entered at #47 in the ARIA Albums

Chart, its 67th week on the chart. The album is currently at #33, being the best seller in the list.

The album sold over 37,100 copies in its first day in the UK, placing it at number one in UK midweeks over Snow Patrol's A Hundred Million Suns, which sold a similar amount of 34,600. On the Friday midweek update, Pink had sold 83,000 compared to Snow Patrol's 70,000. Music Week. Retrieved October 31, 2008. Funhouse became her first number one album in the UK, entering at number one on November 2, 2008. It has currently been certified 3x Platinum for sales of over 900,000, and has sold upward of 1,000,000 to date. As well as the release of the singles from Funhouse, other noticeable promotions which have helped the album have longevity on the charts include the first leg of her UK tour which started in April 2009 and ended in May. T4 screened the tour on August 14, 2009, which helped the album to climb back up the charts in the following couple of weeks. On December 28, 2008, Funhouse was announced as the 9th biggest selling record of 2008, despite only being available to purchase for nine weeks out of the fifty-two. It is so far the 11th biggest seller of 2009 (as of 25 October). On September the 27th 2010 Funhouse rose from chart position 120 all the way to number 41, a possible cause for this rise in sales could be due to the announcement of P!nk's 'Greatest Hits' album due for release at the end of 2010. The following week on the 4th of October 2010 Funhouse rose another 10 places to number 31.

On October 31, 2008 Funhouse debuted at number 1 in the album top 100 in the Netherlands. This is her highest debut ever in the Netherlands.

In New Zealand, Funhouse debuted at number one on November 3, 2008, becoming Pink's highest debut there. The album shipped over 15,000 copies in its first week and was certified Platinum. The album stayed at number one for a second week, before slipping to number three in its third week. Funhouse was certified 3x Platinum after fifty-four weeks on the chart, shipping over 45,000 copies.

In Switzerland, Funhouse debuted at number one on November 5, 2008. It shipped over 30,000 copies in its first week, therefore it was certified Platinum.

In Germany, Funhouse debuted at number two on November 5, 2008. It shipped over 80,000 copies in its first week. In its 54 week Funhouse returned into the German Album Top 10, jumping from #48 to #6. In its 58 week Funhouse sits at #10 still. In its 63rd week on the chart, the album jumped again: from #10 to #4 and in week 80 Funhouse jumped from #37 to #13.

There it´s the 6th most sold Album of 2009 and the 23rd most sold album of 2010 . In June 2010 Funhouse sold more than 1,000,000 copies in Germany and was certified 5x Platinum.httphttp

Promotion

* Pink released a deluxe edition of the album in an original steel box. The box set includes all the standard and bonus tracks in an Enhanced CD which includes the "So What" music video, in addition to an extra T-Shirt with the official Pink logo for the album. The box did not get a worldwide release.

* To promote the new album and single, Pink twice guest-hosted the new TV-station FNMTV, and the music video for "So What" made its world premiere on FNMTV on August 22, 2008.

* On September 7, Pink performed "So What" live at the 2008 American MTV Video Music Awards.. Yahoo. Retrieved on August 21, 2008.

* On September 22, 2008 Pink performed on Much Music for a Live @ Much special.

* Pink visited Australia during October for promotion of the album, which included a performance at the 2008 ARIA Awards ceremony in Sydney on October 19. She will return to Australia as part of her The Funhouse Tour in May 2009.. Undercover.com.au. Retrieved on August 31, 2008.

* Pink performed various songs from her new album on 4Music on October 5, 2008 including "So What", "Sober", "Please Don't Leave Me" and her U.K. number 1 hit "Just Like A Pill".

* On Friday October 24, 2008, Pink performed the song "Funhouse" live as world premiere of the song from the album of the same name on Sunrise an Australian Breakfast Television program.

* Pink performed a "Secret Gig" at The Metro, Sydney, while in Australian on Promo.

* Pink's Funhouse iPhone App was created in support of Funhouse and represents the first artist themed promotional app to be made for the iPhone App platform.

* On November 6, 2008 Pink performed her hit single "So What" at the MTV Europe Music Awards during a live show MTV UK. Retrieved October 11, 2008. where 40 000 feathers were released on stage making her unable to sing the line "And you're a tool, so..."

* Pink also performed at another big award show, The 2008 American Music Awards on November 23, 2008, Reality TV Website. Retrieved October 11, 2008. her second Funhouse single, Sober.

* Pink performed a "Secret Gig" at The Cafe Du Paris, London on November 4, 2008

* Pink held a secret showcase in Barcelona, Spain on November 20. Click 2 Music (Spanish). Retrieved November 4, 2008.

* Pink appeared at the Bellagio Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada on November 7, 2008 for her album debut party.

* Pink has appeared on many talks shows to help promote the album — The Today Show on October 28; The View on October 29; Late Night with Conan O'Brien on October 30; CBS Early Show on November 3; and the Ellen Degeneres Show on November 24.

* Pink recorded a performance for Divas II benefit for breast cancer on November 23 in the UK. She could not be there due to performing at the American Music Awards.

* She performed on "For One Night Only" in the UK.

* Pink appeared on The Paul O'Grady Show in London in September 2008.

* Pink appeared on German talk show Wetten, dass..? in 2008.

* On November 3, 2008 Pink performed Sober on Australian Idol Verdict Show.

* On January 31, 2010 Pink performed "Glitter In The Air" at the 52nd Grammy Awards, following the performance the song started to rise on iTunes, prompting it to debut at number 18 on the Billboard Hot 100 and number 13 on the Canadian Hot 100. The performance was also highly critically acclaimed by celebrities, TV talk shows and the public in general.

* Pink appeared at the Oprah Winfrey Show on February 5, 2010. She sat down with Winfrey to speak about her Grammy performance as well as her break up with husband Carey Hart, which was followed by a performance of "I Don't Believe You". Following the performance, the song started rocketing up the iTunes chart.

* Promotion ended with the Funhouse Summer Carnival and P!nk headed to studio to record songs for her following album, Greatest Hits... So Far

Artist/Band Information

Alecia Beth Moore (born September 8, 1979), better known by her stage name, Pink (stylized as P!nk), is an American singer-songwriter and musician. She released her first single "There You Go", on her first album, the R&B-oriented Can't Take Me Home, in 2000 via LaFace Records, which garnered commercial success. Her more pop rock-oriented second studio album, Missundaztood, which began a marked shift in the sound of her music, was released in 2001 and was a huge success worldwide.

Pink released her third album, Try This, in November 2003, which although less successful commercially than her previous release, still managed to sell around 3 million copies and earned her a Grammy for Best Female Rock Vocal Performance for the single "Trouble". Her fourth album, I'm Not Dead, was released in April 2006. The album generated several hit singles, including "Stupid Girls", "U + Ur Hand" and "Who Knew". Both "U + Ur Hand" and "Who Knew" went to #1 on the pop chart. Her fifth album, Funhouse, was released in late October 2008 and was preceded by her first solo number one on the Billboard Hot 100, "So What". The album notched three other Top 20 hits: "Sober", "Please Don't Leave Me" and "Glitter in the Air". On November 15, 2010, she released her first compilation, Greatest Hits... So Far