From school girl Alecia Beth Moore to pop star P!nk

P!nk's rise to fame

Pink

Just eight months after giving birth P!nk has dropped her brand new song 'What About Us'. It is her first solo single since 2016 and the lead from her first album in five years, which will be released in October.

The 37-year-old singer has been in the music industry for many years, but how did the teenage tomboy become a super star with attitude, as well as a mother of two?!

We look back at how Alecia Beth Moore became P!nk.

Although we all know her as Pink, correctly stylised as P!nk, her real name is Alecia Beth Moore. Born on the 8th September 1979, to a nurse and insurance salesman, the singer is now in her late 30s, and despite having a husband and two children, she still has a very successful career. Although just 5ft 4in, P!nk has never hidden her tomboyish attitude, saying her favourite colour is black.

P!nk's teenage years

P!nk had a tough childhood as her parents went through a divorce and she found herself getting into trouble, however after taking singing lessons, at the age of 14 she began to perform in clubs in Philadelphia.

She started using her stage name P!nk in the clubs, a nickname that she had apparently had for quite some time.

While there are a few stories surrounding the reasoning behind her name many seem to stem back to her childhood when she was bullied and kids pulled down her trousers. Because of this humiliation she turned 'pink' and the name stuck.

According to a report it was soon after that the film Reservoir Dogs came out and Mr Pink was the one with the 'smart mouth', so the name took on a different meaning.

As well as performing in clubs, when P!nk was 14 she joined a girl group called Basic Instinct, however they disbanded before releasing any material.

Two years later she formed the group Choice with two other girls. The group recorded one album, but it wasn't released and shortly afterwards P!nk was then given the choice to 'go solo' or 'go home'. Choice broke up and she continued solo.

P!nk and her husband Carey Hart

P!nk is married to a former professional freestyle motocross racer, Carey Hart, who she met at the 2001 X Games in Philadelphia.

Four years later she proposed to Carey by holding up a sign that said 'Will You Marry Me? I'm serious!' as he raced. He missed it the first time he went around, but as soon as he noticed it, he pulled over and said 'yes'! The pair married in Costa Rica in 2006 and despite a rocky patch in 2008 when they had marriage counseling, they are still together.

P!nk and her children

P!nk and Carey now have two children together, Willow Sage Hart born in 2011 and Jameson Moon Hart in 2016.

Speaking to Hello! magazine about her daughter's unusual name, P!nk explained, "I grew up near one willow tree. It is the most flexible tree and nothing can break it – no wind, no elements. It can bend and withstand anything. I love that sentiment and I want that for her."

She went on to say, "Sage is cleansing and sacred and it sounds great with Willow."

When it came to naming her second child, Jameson Moon Hart, her inspiration for his unusual name was very different.

"My dad’s name is James, and my brother’s name is Jason," she told Access Hollywood, continuing,

"Carey and I are both Irish, Carey’s middle name is Jason, and Jameson – we like whiskey. That’s a no brainer."

P!nk the person

P!nk writes many of her songs and she is reported to have written 'Please Don't Leave Me' when she was going through a rough patch with her husband. During the chorus of the song she sings, "I always say how I don't need you, but it's always gonna come right back to this, please don't leave me."

If you've ever seen P!nk live you'll know that she puts on an amazing show, often using ropes in her performance to hang from the ceiling! She works hard at keeping her body in shape for her performances telling Food and Wine magazine in 2015, "I work out four and a half hours a day: a two-hour show, plus yoga, cardio and a rig check with the flying apparatuses."

The singer had been vegetarian since she was 15-year-old, however when she was pregnant with her first child she started to eat chicken again, "She just demanded chicken wings and fingers!" the singer said.

Pink

Like many celebrities P!nk has a lot of tattoos. She currently has more than 20 tattoos including a barcode on the back of her neck, and one dedicated to her late dog saying, 'Sir Corky Moore 89-03', a West Highland terrier who died in 2003.

On her left forearm she has a tattoo dedicated to another dog. Elvis was her bulldog who drown in her swimming pool. The tattoo is a verse from the Bible which reads, ‘A time to weep, a time to laugh, a time to mourn, a time to dance, sleep in peace my darling, I release you’.

In 2013 Pink was the highest earning touring female artist grossing a whooping $20,072,072 thanks to 'The Truth About Love Tour' and its 111 sold out dates (of an 114 date tour). She now has a net worth thought to be around $110 million, and in 2010 she was at number 27 on the Forbes Celebrity 100 list.

Never afraid to change her image P!nk has had a variety of hairstyles from bright pink to black and blonde, mohawks to braids, she's had everything. Check out our gallery of P!nk's changing hairstyles >>

Unlike many other singers P!nk doesn't have her own perfume, however she has plenty of merchandise available. P!nk's official merchandise is available here in the UK, however the UK store has a very limited range and if you can bear to pay a little more and wait, then the US official merchandise site has a much broader range available.

P!nk in films

Often credited as Alecia Moore, P!nk has featured in a number of films including Charlie's Angels Full Throttle and Get Him to the Greek. In Rollerball she appeared as a rock singer and she also make a cameo appearance in an episode of SpongeBob SquarePants.

In 2011 she provided the voice for Gloria in Happy Feet Two.

P!nk 'What About Us'

P!nk's new song 'What About Us' is her first single from her forthcoming seventh studio album 'Beautiful Trauma' which is due out in October. Her single was released on 10th August and was immediately a hit with fans.

We are currently playing P!nk's new single 'What About Us' on Tay FM.