In the early 2000s, Pink, Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera were constantly being compared to each other and pitted against each other. But Pink tells People that it was a media invention that upset all three of them.
“It was so unfair to all the girls,” Pink, 41, says about the manufactured rivalries. “None of us wanted that.” She particularly resented that she was sometimes positioned as the “anti-Britney.”
“I love Britney — she used to carry around my album,” notes Pink. “I was like, ‘Dude, I’m a street punk, I just skateboard. That doesn’t have to be the anti-Britney. I don’t want to fight anybody.'”
Pink reveals that one of the best pieces of advice she ever got on that topic came from record executive and artist L.A. Reid, who she namechecked in her hit “Don’t Let Me Get Me” — that’s the song that includes the line, “Tired of being compared to damn Britney Spears.”
“What [L.A. told me] was that this music business is big enough for everybody to win at the same time,” Pink recalls. “There’s no such thing as competition. I think we navigated through it as good as a 20-year-old girl can. Now I think it’s totally different. Girls supporting girls is rad — I love to watch it.”
One girl who Pink is supporting these days is Olivia Rodrigo.
“I love singing ‘Drivers License’ with my daughter,” Pink tells People. “Her and her little 12-year-old friends gave me the whole lowdown on what happened between the three of them in all the songs!”
Pink’s referring to the rumor that “Drivers License” — as well as subsequent songs by singer/actor Joshua Bassett and singer/actress Sabrina Carpenter — were all inspired by a love triangle, which has never been confirmed.
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