Although she was initially viewed as yet another face in the late-'90s crowd of teen pop acts, Pink quickly showed signs of becoming one of the rare artists to transcend and outgrow the label. Born Alecia Moore on September 8, 1979, in Doylestown, PA (near Philadelphia), Pink received her nickname as a child (it had nothing to do with her later shade of hair dye). She grew up in a musical family and by age 13 was a regular on the Philadelphia club scene, first as a dancer, then as a backing vocalist for the local hip-hop group Schools of Thought. At 14, she began writing her own songs; the same year, a local DJ at Club Fever began allowing her on-stage to sing a song every Friday. Pink was spotted one night by an executive for MCA, who asked her to audition for an R&B group called Basic Instinct; although she got the gig, the group imploded not long after. She was quickly recruited for a female R&B trio called Choice, which signed to L.A. Reid and Babyface's LaFace label on the strength of their demo; however, they too disbanded due to differences over musical direction. During Choice's brief studio time, producer Daryl Simmons asked Pink to write a bridge section for the song "Just to Be Loving You"; impressed with the results, Pink rediscovered her songwriting muse and an equally impressed L.A. Reid soon gave her a solo deal with LaFace.

Pink recorded her solo debut, Can't Take Me Home, with a variety of songwriting partners and dance-pop and R&B producers. Released in 2000, the album was a double-platinum hit; it spun off three Top Ten singles in "There U Go," "Most Girls," and "You Make Me Sick." She toured that summer as the opening act for *N Sync, but soon found herself tired of being pigeonholed as strictly a teen act, despite her sassy, forthright persona. As she set about working on her follow-up album, Pink took part in the remake of Patti LaBelle's "Lady Marmalade" featured on the Moulin Rouge soundtrack, which also featured powerhouse divas Christina Aguilera, Mya, and Lil' Kim. The song was a massive hit, topping the charts in both the U.S. and U.K. Toward the end of the year, Pink released her next single, "Get the Party Started"; it became her biggest, most inescapable hit to date, climbing into the Top Five. Her accompanying sophomore album, M!ssundaztood, quickly went double platinum; it boasted a more personal voice and a more eclectic sound, plus heavy contributions from ex-4 Non Blondes singer Linda Perry, who helped bring some more rock muscle to Pink's sound (as did guest appearances by Steven Tyler and Richie Sambora). M!ssundaztood attracted positive critical notices as well, and its second single, "Don't Let Me Get Me," became another fast-rising Top Ten hit.