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Just Like a Pill

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"Just Like a Pill"
Song
Music video
"Just like a Pill" on YouTube

"Just like a Pill" is a song by American singer Pink. It was written and produced by Dallas Austin and Pink for her second studio album, Missundaztood. The lyrics of the song deal with getting out of painful relationships, with a subtheme about drug abuse.[3]

The song was released worldwide as the third single from Missundaztood in June 2002 and was a commercial success, peaking at number eight on the Billboard Hot 100 in the United States. It also performed well internationally, becoming her second number-one single in the United Kingdom and reaching the top 10 in, amongst other countries, Ireland, the Netherlands and Sweden.

Background and writing

"Just like a Pill" was written by Pink and Dallas Austin, who also produced and arranged the song.[4] Pink said in an interview that the song shows "part of who I am", referring to her documented problems with drugs.[5]

Composition

"Just like a Pill" is set in the key of A major with a tempo of 102 beats per minute in common time. The song follows a chord progression of A5–Fm–D5–E5, and Pink's vocals span from E3 to C5.[6][7]

Reception

Critical response

The song was generally well received by contemporary music critics. NME called it "the third best track off her killer last album".[8] Drowned In Sound's Robert Luckett commented that it is "a fascinating record...this is a record with a edge, a kind of pot boiling over at any moment, ready to go off at any time vibe." He also wrote "it obeys the pop industry's well-dusted rules for a hit."[9] Stylus Magazine's Todd Burns, in his review of the album, compared "Just like a Pill" to the other singles from the album, "Don't Let Me Get Me" and "Get the Party Started", writing "The guitars... sound much more integrated into the work and the overall song works far better."[10]

The song was shortlisted by Digital Spy as a nominee for the best single of 2002, finishing third in the vote to Red Hot Chili Peppers' "By the Way" and Liberty X's "Just a Little".[11]

Chart performance

In the UK, the song scored Pink her second number-one single in that country, whilst peaking at number two in Austria, Ireland and New Zealand, and within the top 10 in many countries across the world including Sweden, the Netherlands, Norway and Belgium. It peaked at number eight on the Billboard Hot 100.[12] In Australia, the song was a radio-only single, in hopes of rising album sales. Although it was a #1 radio hit, a physical release never eventuated. In late June 2009, the song charted at number 97 on downloads, most likely due to Pink's national tour.[citation needed]

Music video

File:PinkJustLikeAPillVideo.jpg
Pink sporting black hair with purple highlights, while holding a rabbit during the music video for "Just like a Pill"

The video for "Just like a Pill" was directed by Francis Lawrence for LaFace Records.[13] The video, shot in December 2001, is considerably different from Pink's previous videos. "Get the Party Started" and "Don't Let Me Get Me" were lighter in nature than the dark atmosphere which is reflected in the video for "Just like a Pill", an example of which is the fact that Pink can be seen throughout the whole video wearing black outfits with naked arms and legs and wearing black hair. Commenting on the different style of video, Pink said: "This one's very dark and artsy, and I have black hair, which is very fun. I loved it. It's another part that I haven't concentrated on before."[14]

In the first scene, Pink lies on the floor. In the chorus she sings in front of her band. She is also featured in another scene with white rabbits around her in a room, and in another scene, she is seen with an elephant. There are also scenes with Pink singing in front of and amongst various people. In the latter half of the video, she runs in a hall whilst lip-synching the song, before disappearing into a bright doorway atop a staircase at the conclusion of the video.[13]

After the elephant scene Pink decided to stop using animals for her videos. In an interview, she explained: "This poor elephant...a huge elephant, it's so cute, and I could see how painful it was for it to get down on its hands and knees, ... I didn't like it. I won't do that again. [...] No more animals."[14]

Cover versions

Track listings

Charts and certifications

See also

References

  1. ^ "Just like a Pill (song) by Pink review". reviewstream.com. Retrieved March 17, 2015.
  2. ^ "Review of Pink, "Missundaztood" (2001)". truthaboutnursing.org. Retrieved March 17, 2015.
  3. ^ Sheffield, Rob. "CD Review - M!ssundaztood". Rolling Stone. Retrieved June 12, 2009.
  4. ^ Soghomonian, Talia. "Archive of song reviews". all-reviews.com. Retrieved June 14, 2009.
  5. ^ "Interview: Pink". musicOMH. Archived from the original on March 31, 2009. Retrieved June 14, 2009. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  6. ^ Austin, Dallas. "Pink "Just Like a Pill" Sheet Music in A Major (transposable) - Download & Print". Musicnotes.com. Retrieved September 4, 2017.
  7. ^ "Just Like a Pill - P!nk - Spot On Track". www.spotontrack.com. Retrieved September 4, 2017.
  8. ^ Wells, Steven (August 22, 2002). "Track reviews - Pink: Just like a Pill". NME. Retrieved June 14, 2009.
  9. ^ Luckett, Robert (September 21, 2002). "Pink: Just like a Pill". Drowned in Sound. Retrieved June 14, 2009.
  10. ^ Burns, Todd (September 1, 2003). "Pink - M!ssundaztood - Review". Stylus Magazine. Archived from the original on February 4, 2010. Retrieved June 14, 2009. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  11. ^ Wilkes, Neil (January 1, 2003). "BBC big winner in DS Awards". Digital Spy. Retrieved June 14, 2009.
  12. ^ "Pandora Archive" (PDF). Pandora.nla.gov.au. August 23, 2006. Retrieved April 2, 2014.
  13. ^ a b "Pink Just like a Pill Music Video on Yahoo! Music". Yahoo! Music. Retrieved June 14, 2009.
  14. ^ a b Perry, Rachel. "Pink: Party started, pill swallowed, elephant spared". VH1. Retrieved June 14, 2009.
  15. ^ Perfect World "Perfect World" Label: Frontier Records Released:2004
  16. ^ "PiNK - Just Like A Pill (CD) at Discogs". discogs. September 16, 2002. Retrieved April 2, 2014.
  17. ^ "PiNK - Just LIke A Pill (Cassette) at Discogs". discogs. June 10, 2002. Retrieved April 2, 2014.
  18. ^ "Pink - Just Like A Pill (CD) at Discogs". discogs. August 5, 2013. Retrieved April 2, 2014.
  19. ^ "Pink - Just Like A Pill (CD) at Discogs". discogs. August 20, 2002. Retrieved April 2, 2014.
  20. ^ "Pink – Just like a Pill" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Retrieved May 1, 2015.
  21. ^ "Pink – Just like a Pill" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved May 1, 2015.
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  23. ^ "Pink – Just like a Pill". Tracklisten. Retrieved May 1, 2015.
  24. ^ "Pink: Just like a Pill" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat. Retrieved May 1, 2015.
  25. ^ "Pink – Just like a Pill" (in French). Les classement single. Retrieved May 1, 2015.
  26. ^ "Archívum – Slágerlisták – MAHASZ" (in Hungarian). Rádiós Top 40 játszási lista. Magyar Hanglemezkiadók Szövetsége. Retrieved May 1, 2015.
  27. ^ "Chart Track: Week 13, 2002". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved May 1, 2015.
  28. ^ "Nederlandse Top 40 – Pink" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved May 1, 2015.
  29. ^ "Pink – Just like a Pill". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved May 1, 2015.
  30. ^ "Pink – Just like a Pill". VG-lista. Retrieved May 1, 2015.
  31. ^ "Polish Airplay Charts - Lista krajowa 5/2003". Archived from the original on October 21, 2007.
  32. ^ "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved October 30, 2015.
  33. ^ "Pink – Just like a Pill". Singles Top 100. Retrieved May 1, 2015.
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  35. ^ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved May 1, 2015.
  36. ^ "Pink Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard.
  37. ^ "Pink Chart History (Adult Pop Songs)". Billboard.
  38. ^ "Pink Chart History (Pop Songs)". Billboard.
  39. ^ "Pink Chart History (Rhythmic)". Billboard.
  40. ^ Steffen Hung (December 22, 2002). "Jahreshitparade 2002". austriancharts.at. Archived from the original on March 12, 2014. Retrieved April 2, 2014. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  41. ^ "Ultratop Belgian Charts". ultratop.be. Retrieved April 2, 2014.
  42. ^ Steffen Hung. "Dutch charts portal". dutchcharts.nl. Retrieved April 2, 2014.
  43. ^ "Top 100 Single-Jahrescharts". GfK Entertainment (in German). offiziellecharts.de. Retrieved December 16, 2015.
  44. ^ "End of Year Charts 2002". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved December 12, 2017.
  45. ^ "www.sverigetopplistan.se - Ĺrslista Singlar - Ĺr 2002". Hitlistan.se. Archived from the original on February 1, 2016. Retrieved April 2, 2014. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  46. ^ Steffen Hung. "Swiss Year-End Charts 2002". swisscharts.com. Archived from the original on July 8, 2012. Retrieved April 2, 2014. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  47. ^ "The Official UK SAingles Chart : 2002" (PDF). UKchartsplus.co.uk. Retrieved April 2, 2014.
  48. ^ "2002". Longbored Surfer. Archived from the original on January 7, 2014. Retrieved April 2, 2014. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  49. ^ "ARIA Charts - Accreditations - 2018 Singles". Australian Recording Industry Association. June 30, 2018. Retrieved July 11, 2018.
  50. ^ "IFPI Austria - Searchable Database". International Federation of the Phonographic Industry. Archived from the original on July 1, 2013. Retrieved April 25, 2013. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  51. ^ "RIAA Gold, Platinum and Multi- Platinum Awards from 1/1/2015 to 1/31/2015" (PDF). Recording Industry Association of America. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 13, 2015. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  52. ^ "Trofeer" (in Norwegian). International Federation of the Phonographic Industry – Norway. 2001. Archived from the original on November 5, 2012. Retrieved February 25, 2014. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  53. ^ Myers, Justin (October 29, 2015). "Pink's Official Top 20 biggest selling songs". Official Charts Company. Retrieved October 30, 2015.
  54. ^ "British single certifications – Pink – Just like a Pill". British Phonographic Industry. Select singles in the Format field. Select Gold in the Certification field. Type Just like a Pill in the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter.
  55. ^ "Pink's latest greatest hit". Billboard. October 2, 2010.
  56. ^ "American single certifications – Pink – Just like a pill". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved April 12, 2018}. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |access-date= (help)