Trustfall
Trustfall is the ninth studio album by American singer-songwriter P!nk, released on February 17, 2023, through RCA Records.[1] It marks her return to recording following the 2019 release of Hurts 2B Human and features production incorporating pop, rock, and electronic influences across its 13 tracks.[2] Lyrically, the album explores themes of trust, resilience in the face of loss, self-acceptance, and the cyclical nature of life's challenges, with P!nk framing it as a motivational reflection on embracing uncertainty.[3][4] Notable collaborations include Chris Stapleton on "All My Reasons," the Lumineers on "Long Way to Go," and First Aid Kit on "Kids in Love," alongside lead singles such as "Never Gonna Not Dance Again" and the title track "TRUSTFALL."[5] Commercially, Trustfall debuted at number two on the Billboard 200 with 74,500 album-equivalent units, including 59,000 pure sales, securing P!nk's third number-one on the Top Album Sales chart.[6][7] The release garnered mixed critical reception, praised for P!nk's vocal delivery and energetic variety but critiqued for adhering to familiar formulas without significant innovation, as aggregated on Metacritic.[8] Promotion faced challenges from media fixation on P!nk's recounting of a decades-old set dispute with Christina Aguilera during the "Lady Marmalade" video shoot, which P!nk expressed disappointment over eclipsing the album's content.[9] The supporting Trustfall Tour, launched in 2023, highlighted P!nk's signature acrobatic performances and achieved substantial commercial success.[10] A deluxe edition followed in December 2023, adding new tracks including "Irrelevant."[11]Development and Recording
Inspirations and Background
The development of Trustfall was catalyzed by the death of P!nk's father, Jim Moore, a Vietnam veteran, on August 20, 2021, following a battle with cancer. This loss prompted P!nk to confront themes of grief and impermanence, with the album serving as an outlet for processing the emotional void left by his absence, which she described as a pivotal force in reigniting her creative drive after a period of introspection.[12][13] P!nk's marital relationship with Carey Hart, marked by periods of strain including a 2008 separation from which they reconciled, also informed the album's genesis, highlighting the causal role of relational trials in fostering messages of endurance and mutual reliance. These personal upheavals, compounded by raising two children—Willow born in 2011 and Jameson in 2016—underscored a shift toward valuing authentic vulnerability over performative stability in her family life.[14] The project followed a four-year hiatus from full-length releases since Hurts 2B Human in April 2019, during which P!nk focused on recovery from physical demands of prior tours and domestic priorities rather than market-driven output. This deliberate pacing reflects her sustained viability in the industry, built on iterative personal narratives rather than ephemeral stylistic shifts, allowing time for life events to distill into substantive artistic material.[15][10]Songwriting and Collaboration
P!nk co-wrote select tracks on Trustfall with collaborators including Greg Kurstin, with whom she penned "Hate Me," emphasizing unfiltered emotional confrontations. She also partnered with Johnny McDaid on the title track "Trustfall," incorporating introspective elements drawn from personal reflection.[16] Additional co-writing credits included Max Martin and Shellback for "Never Gonna Not Dance Again," which balances defiance against adversity with unvarnished joy.[3] The songwriting sessions extended over three years, accelerated post-2021 amid family losses such as her father's death in September 2021, enabling lyrics rooted in immediate experiential processing rather than retrospective polish.[17][3] This timeline followed her 2019 album Hurts 2B Human, with writing intensifying during pandemic isolation to capture oscillating states of hope and despair without external sanitization.[10] Collaborations prioritized raw authenticity, as evidenced by P!nk's credits on fewer than half the tracks, delegating to trusted writers like those on "Lost Cause" (Stephen Wrabel, Sam de Jong, Sam Romans) to explore themes of self-agency and redemption over passive victimhood.[18][3] Tracks like "Turbulence" reflect life's inherent turbulence through direct admissions of anxiety, underscoring proactive resilience amid chaos.[3]Production Process
The production of Trustfall was led by Greg Kurstin, a frequent collaborator with Pink who produced several tracks including "When I Get There," where he performed drums, percussion, bass, electric guitar, synthesizers, and keyboards to create layered yet organic pop-rock foundations. Additional producers included Fred again.. (on the title track), Max Martin and Shellback (on "Never Gonna Not Dance Again"), Billy Mann, David Hodges, and Johnny McDaid, each contributing to a mix of upbeat dance-pop and introspective ballads through targeted sessions that integrated live instrumentation over synthetic-heavy formulas. This hands-on approach by Kurstin and others emphasized empirical audio capture, with minimal post-processing to retain the natural dynamics of performances, avoiding the dilution common in algorithm-driven pop production.[19][20][21] Recording occurred over roughly three years from 2020 to 2022, extended by the COVID-19 pandemic, which disrupted traditional studio workflows but enabled remote contributions from international collaborators like those at Fieldwork Studios in London. Primary work centered in Los Angeles, aligning with Kurstin's base and Pink's location, incorporating vulnerable ballad structures alongside pop-rock energy through isolated vocal takes and instrumental overdubs that prioritized causal emotional fidelity over polished artifice. Engineering credits, such as those from Julian Burg and Matt Tuggle under Kurstin, focused on clean signal chains to preserve unfiltered vocal grit and instrumental texture, reflecting a deliberate restraint against overproduction that could obscure raw human expression.[22][19][23] Mixing for select tracks, like "When I Get There," was handled by Mark "Spike" Stent at Windmill Lane Recording Studios in Dublin, ensuring balanced frequency responses that highlighted the album's dual emphasis on energetic rhythms and subdued introspection without excessive compression or effects. These technical decisions supported a sound profile grounded in verifiable acoustic realism, where vocal and instrumental elements were captured to mirror direct performance causality rather than stylized enhancement.[24][25]Musical Style and Themes
Genre and Sound
Trustfall primarily encompasses dance-pop and pop-rock genres, integrating subgenres such as adult contemporary, synth-pop, EDM, disco-funk, folk, and hints of country and Americana across its 13 tracks.[26][27] The album alternates between high-energy dance anthems, exemplified by the roller-rink-ready disco-funk of "Never Gonna Not Dance Again" and the beat-forward electro of the title track, and introspective ballads that provide emotional contrast.[2] This eclecticism draws from P!nk's established pop-rock resilience, favoring structured, anthemic builds over ephemeral modern pop trends, as seen in enduring verse-chorus frameworks bolstered by classic rock-inspired dynamics.[2] Production, handled by collaborators including Fred Again.. and Max Martin, yields a bold, cohesive sound through lush instrumentation: charisma-filled brass sections, jubilant percussion, layered vocal harmonies, and occasional saxophone flourishes create a unified yet varied palette.[28] Critics noting stylistic disarray overlook the deliberate mood swings, which sonically mirror life's highs and lows—transitioning from euphoric EDM bangers to folk-tinged reflections—ensuring the album's diversity serves an overarching motivational arc rather than fragmentation.[29][30] Such choices prioritize sonic innovation grounded in verifiable pop-rock traditions, evident in the title track's interpolation of David Bowie's "Heroes" melody for added timeless depth.[31]Lyrical Content and Messages
The lyrics across Trustfall center on personal accountability and radical vulnerability as mechanisms for navigating grief, marital tensions, and motherhood, framing these experiences as opportunities for self-directed growth rather than occasions for external blame or indefinite lamentation. P!nk draws from her father's death in August 2021 after an eight-year battle with cancer, her multiple marital separations and reconciliations with Carey Hart since 2008, and the ongoing demands of raising children Willow and Jameson, to depict life's "roller coaster" as a series of causal choices where individuals must actively choose trust over retreat.[14] [17] This approach privileges agency, as seen in lyrical assertions like "I will not be the villain in your story," which reject victim narratives in favor of introspective responsibility.[14] In the title track "Trustfall," the core metaphor of a deliberate backward fall encapsulates vulnerability not as weakness but as a calculated risk yielding strength, with lines such as "Picture a place where it all doesn't hurt / Where everything's safe and it doesn't get worse" evolving into an imperative to "go where love is on our side."[32] [33] P!nk describes this as emblematic of human interdependence in relationships and friendships, informed by her real-world endurance through personal upheavals, which demonstrates the practical efficacy of such leaps over isolationist self-protection.[34] The song's advocacy for "believing in things unseen" amid fear underscores a realism where emotional exposure fosters resilience, contrasting with pop conventions that often indulge unchecked self-pity without probing underlying causal factors like deferred accountability.[33] Tracks like "Turbulence" extend this to marital and familial strains, urging release of fears and acceptance of inevitable disruptions as integral to progress, without minimizing the hardships involved.[35] Similarly, explorations of loss in songs such as "When I Get There" treat afterlife reflections and mourning as prompts for self-motivation, emphasizing acceptance as a radical act of self-ownership rather than passive endurance.[36] The album's optimistic refrains—evoking persistence through despair via embodied actions like dancing—position proactive mindset shifts as verifiable counters to stagnation, rooted in P!nk's documented trajectory of rebounding from relational and parental challenges through deliberate effort, rather than reliance on external validation or perpetual grievance.[14] [35] This lyrical framework highlights empirical patterns of recovery via internal locus of control, diverging from broader musical trends that normalize fragility without equivalent scrutiny of self-imposed barriers to change.Release and Promotion
Singles and Lead Tracks
The lead single "Never Gonna Not Dance Again" was released on November 4, 2022, as an energetic pop track promoting unyielding optimism and movement amid adversity, strategically selected to introduce the album's resilient spirit ahead of its full rollout. It debuted and peaked at number 19 on the UK Singles Chart, maintaining presence for 15 weeks.[37] The music video emphasizes P!nk's hands-on approach to performance, featuring her executing unassisted dance sequences on accelerating trucks and precarious setups, which highlight genuine physical commitment over simulated effects.[38] "Trustfall", the album's title track and second single, followed on January 27, 2023, functioning as an EDM-infused anthem of surrender and interpersonal reliance, chosen to anchor the record's core motif of calculated vulnerability. It achieved a peak of number 14 on the UK Singles Chart and number 7 in both Belgium and the Netherlands.[39][40] Its video incorporates high-altitude maneuvers, including leaps between structures and harness-free drops, mirroring the lyrics' "fall" imagery through verifiable stunt execution that aligns with P!nk's established pattern of integrating real peril into visual storytelling. "When I Get There" emerged as a promotional single on February 14, 2023, three days before the album's launch, as a reflective ballad addressing grief over personal bereavement—specifically P!nk's father, who died in August 2021—while envisioning continuity beyond loss, without overt commercialization of tragedy. Unlike radio-driven releases, it prioritized thematic linkage to the album's emphasis on enduring connections, forgoing aggressive chart pushes.[41]Marketing Campaigns and Tour Integration
The marketing campaign for Trustfall emphasized physical formats and experiential promotions to drive fan engagement, contributing to its debut at number one on the UK Albums Chart on February 24, 2023, with 37,570 units sold, of which over 65% were physical copies including 21,168 CDs, 3,300 vinyl LPs, and 332 cassettes.[42][43] Pre-release efforts included a guerrilla marketing activation in Toronto tying into the album's themes of vulnerability and risk, alongside traditional television spots that highlighted Pink's personal narrative to connect directly with audiences rather than relying on algorithmic social media trends.[44][45] This approach aligned with Pink's established ethos of high-energy, authentic performance over performative online signaling, fostering sales through tangible merchandise bundles and limited-edition physical releases.[46] The album's promotion extended into live performances via the Summer Carnival Tour, which ran from June 2023 to November 2024 across stadiums in North America, Europe, Australia, and New Zealand, incorporating Trustfall tracks alongside aerial acrobatics that embodied the record's central "trustfall" metaphor of leaping into uncertainty.[3] Pink performed stunts such as inverted flights and wire-suspended routines during songs like "So What" and "Try," executed with professional rigging to symbolize resilience and direct physical risk, drawing on her history of integrating such elements to maintain audience immersion without reliance on digital enhancements.[47][48] These feats, which Pink described as grounding her amid fame's isolation, boosted ticket sales exceeding 1.5 million attendees by mid-tour and reinforced the album's thematic emphasis on authentic human connection through unscripted, high-stakes spectacle.[10][49]Deluxe Edition and Subsequent Releases
On October 13, 2023, Pink announced the Trustfall Tour Deluxe Edition, scheduled for release on December 1, 2023, via RCA Records.[50] [51] This expanded version retained all 13 tracks from the standard album while adding two previously unreleased studio recordings—"Irrelevant," a track critiquing cancel culture through lyrics asserting indifference to public backlash, and "Dreaming" (featuring Sting and Marshmello)—alongside six live performances captured during her 2023 Summer Carnival Stadium Tour.[52] [11] The live inclusions, such as renditions of "When I Get There," "TRUSTFALL," and "Long Way to Go" (with the Lumineers), directly tied the deluxe edition to the tour's momentum, which by late 2023 had sold nearly 3 million tickets across stadium venues, demonstrating empirical extension of the album's lifecycle through performance documentation rather than studio novelty alone.[11] [53] Subsequent to the deluxe release, no additional album editions materialized through 2025, with Pink prioritizing tour extensions—including European dates announced alongside the deluxe—and individual track milestones.[11] The title track "Trustfall" attained Platinum certification from the British Phonographic Industry on May 9, 2025, for exceeding 600,000 equivalent units in the UK, reflecting persistent streaming and sales traction amid ongoing live integrations.[54] [55]Reception and Analysis
Critical Reviews: Praise and Achievements
Critics commended Trustfall for its raw vulnerability and emotional authenticity, with PopMatters highlighting P!nk's portrayal as "the most vulnerable pop star [she has] been in years in a way that doesn't sound formulated but rather honest and reflective." This approach resonated through introspective tracks that balanced personal reflection with resilience, earning praise for lyrical depth without contrivance.[56] The album's debut at number one on Billboard's Top Album Sales chart on March 4, 2023, marked P!nk's third such achievement, underscoring her enduring commercial draw rooted in substantive songcraft rather than fleeting trends.[6] Similarly, Trustfall secured her fourth number-one position on the UK Albums Chart in February 2023, a milestone affirming sustained artistic relevance over two decades.[57] Reviewers lauded the record's adept fusion of upbeat dance tracks and poignant ballads, as in Rolling Stone's appreciation for vocal synergies on duets that added gravitas to relational tensions.[2] This versatility evidenced P!nk's evolution since her early 2000s breakthrough, maintaining pop vitality through consistent innovation rather than stylistic mimicry.[58] Such balance was seen as a testament to merit-driven longevity in an industry prone to ephemeral hype.Critical Reviews: Criticisms and Shortcomings
Critics have faulted Trustfall for its inconsistent cohesion, with the album's genre-spanning approach—from dance-pop to folk-infused rock and ballads—creating a sense of fragmentation rather than unity. HIVE Magazine observed that after the title track, the record devolves into a "varied mix of genres, from generic pop songs" that lacks a binding thread, contributing to an uneven flow.[59] Similarly, Music Matters Media described the overall effort as "undercooked" and missing the sharp edge of P!nk's earlier work, suggesting the stylistic shifts dilute impact without innovative payoff.[60] The album's pop elements drew complaints of corniness and formulaic execution, particularly in upbeat singles emphasizing relentless positivity. Reviewers highlighted tracks like "Never Not Gonna Dance Again" as emblematic of this, with its motivational hooks perceived as overly simplistic and contrived amid broader pop standards. The Guardian characterized the material as adhering to a "tried-and-tested formula," where P!nk's vocal prowess overshadows lyrics that feel rote and predictable, resulting in a hit-and-miss collection.[61] P!nk's overt optimism, woven into personal themes of resilience and relationships, faced scrutiny for lacking depth, appearing as recycled empowerment tropes rather than fresh insight. Some analyses noted the ballads trailing into "formulaic territory," questioning whether the album's life-affirming messages truly evolve beyond surface-level reassurance. This aligns with broader critiques of her polarizing discography, as P!nk herself acknowledged in a Vulture interview, citing divisive tracks like "Just Give Me a Reason" that split audiences through earnest sentimentality—a dynamic echoed in Trustfall's intimate yet conventional explorations.[62][18]Commercial Performance and Metrics
Trustfall debuted at number one on the ARIA Albums Chart in Australia, marking Pink's seventh chart-topping album there.[63] In the United Kingdom, it entered the Official Albums Chart at number one with 37,500 equivalent units, of which over 65 percent derived from physical formats including 21,168 CDs, 3,300 vinyl LPs, and 332 cassettes.[64] The album also achieved number one status on the United World Chart with 166,000 equivalent album units in its first week globally.[65] In the United States, Trustfall launched at number one on the Billboard Top Album Sales chart, Pink's third such debut, driven by 59,000 pure album sales comprising 28,000 physical units (22,000 CDs and 6,000 vinyl) and 31,000 digital downloads.[6] This pure sales figure represented the largest opening week for any album in the U.S. that year up to that point, highlighting a reliance on traditional formats amid broader industry shifts toward streaming.[42] The set entered the Billboard 200 at number two with approximately 66,000 total equivalent album units, underscoring consistent performance aligned with prior releases like Hurts 2B Human, which similarly prioritized physical and download sales over streaming equivalents.[66] Subsequent metrics reflect sustained demand, with the album accumulating 153,658 sales equivalents in the UK during 2023 alone.[67] Certifications include gold status in Germany for the album in August 2024, denoting shipment thresholds met, and gold in New Zealand with 7,500 units.[68] These awards, alongside strong initial physical sales shares exceeding 65 percent in key markets, indicate enduring consumer preference for tangible products, potentially linked to integrated tour promotions that boosted catalog visibility without reliance on viral streaming metrics.[69] Global equivalent sales for Trustfall remain in the mid-tier range relative to Pink's discography, averaging below her peak earners like Missundaztood but maintaining stability through verified retail channels.[70]Track Listing and Credits
Standard Track Listing
The standard edition of Trustfall, released on February 17, 2023, comprises 13 tracks with a total runtime of 43 minutes and 44 seconds.[71][72] P!nk is credited as a co-writer on all tracks, collaborating with songwriters such as David Hodges, Fred again.., Johnny McDaid, Max Martin, and Shellback.[21]| No. | Title | Featured artist(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "When I Get There" | 3:20 | |
| 2 | "TRUSTFALL" | 3:57 | |
| 3 | "Turbulence" | 3:26 | |
| 4 | "Long Way to Go" | The Lumineers | 3:09 |
| 5 | "Kids in Love" | First Aid Kit | 3:40 |
| 6 | "Never Gonna Not Dance Again" | 3:45 | |
| 7 | "Runaway" | 4:00 | |
| 8 | "I'm a Mess" | 3:18 | |
| 9 | "Just Say I'm Sorry" | Chris Stapleton | 3:32 |
| 10 | "Birds of a Feather" | 3:24 | |
| 11 | "Gone Away" | 3:30 | |
| 12 | "Hookelele" | 3:02 | |
| 13 | "Hate Me" | 2:16 |
Personnel and Production Credits
P!nk (Alecia Moore) performed lead vocals and provided backing vocals on multiple tracks.[19][73] Production was overseen by a core team including Greg Kurstin, who also contributed keyboards, drums, percussion, bass, electric guitar, and synthesizers; FRED (Fred Gibson), who handled production, engineering, bass, drums, guitar, keyboards, and programming; Johnny McDaid, who co-produced and played guitar; Shellback, responsible for programming, drums, percussion, guitar, bass, and keyboards; Max Martin, who contributed programming and keyboards; David Hodges, who produced, recorded, and played piano and guitar; Billy Mann, who produced, arranged, and played acoustic guitar and bass; and additional producers such as Matthew Koma, Sam de Jong, Harlœ, and Jesse Shatkin.[19][73] Engineering involved David Hodges, FRED, Johnny McDaid, Graham Archer (vocal production and engineering), Bryce Bordone, David Baron, Sam Holland, Julian Burg, Matt Tuggle, and Jesse Shatkin, with assistant engineers including Matt Wolach, Will Reynolds, and Renee Hikari.[19][73] Mixing was conducted by Serban Ghenea and Mark "Spike" Stent, supported by assistants such as Matt Wolach and Bryce Bordone.[19][73] Mastering was performed by Randy Merrill at Sterling Sound.[73] Additional instrumentation featured contributions from musicians including Justin Derrico (electric guitar and mandolin), Aaron Sterling (drums), Stephen Wrabel (piano), Jeremiah Fraites (piano, drums, percussion, electric guitar, synthesizer), Byron Isaacs (bass and backing vocals), and Chris Stapleton (electric guitar and backing vocals).[19][73] String arrangements and editing were handled by Mattias Bylund, with orchestral elements on select recordings.[19] Recording primarily occurred at Los Angeles studios such as Village Studios and EastWest Studios.[19]Charts and Certifications
Weekly and Year-End Charts
Trustfall debuted at number two on the US Billboard 200 chart dated March 4, 2023, marking P!nk's fifth consecutive top-two entry on the ranking.[6] In the United Kingdom, the album entered the Official Albums Chart at number one on March 2, 2023, becoming P!nk's fourth chart-topping album there and accumulating 34 weeks on the Top 100 overall, with re-entries noted into July 2024.[74] It also reached number one on Australia's ARIA Albums Chart in the week ending February 24, 2023, securing P!nk's seventh leader in the territory.[63] In Germany, Trustfall topped the Official German Albums Chart upon its entry dated February 24, 2023, and sustained presence on the Top 100 for 47 weeks.[75] The following table summarizes key weekly chart metrics for select regions:| Chart | Peak Position | Debut/Entry Date | Weeks on Chart |
|---|---|---|---|
| US Billboard 200 | 2 | March 4, 2023 | Multiple (specific total unavailable in primary sources)[6] |
| UK Official Albums | 1 | March 2, 2023 | 34 [74] |
| Australia ARIA Albums | 1 | February 24, 2023 | At least 9 (extended longevity implied by regional sales)[63] |
| Germany Official Albums | 1 | February 24, 2023 | 47 [75][68] |