In the 23 years since P!nk released her debut album ‘Can’t Take Me Home’, she’s become one of the biggest pop stars in the world. With nine studio albums under her belt (most recently ‘Trustfall’ which was released earlier this year) and over 40 million albums and 50 million singles sold worldwide, she’s also renowned for her live shows, featuring stunning acrobatics and incredible vocals. Last night she brought her latest tour, Summer Carnival, to BST Hyde Park in London after a run of shows in arenas across the UK and Europe – her first trip here since 2019.
After an opening video montage featuring an avatar of P!nk telling the audience “welcome to the here and now”, she appeared at the top of the Great Oak Stage standing in a cartoon mouth, before dropping from the ceiling and tumbling over and over whilst singing ‘Get The Party Started’ (because really, what else do you open the show with?) and then being caught by a pair of her dancers who were perched on a set of giant sunglasses. Even knowing what to expect, seeing it in person is still an absolutely jaw-dropping moment and I was genuinely stunned that not only was she able to pull off the trick perfectly, her vocals remained absolutely impeccable and she brought amazing energy to the song, along with her troupe of incredible dancers who channelled the 90s in their neon outfits. It really set the bar high for the next two hours and not only lived up to my expectations, but more than exceeded them.
As expected tracks from ‘TRUSTFALL’ took up a particular chunk of the set. The fun, upbeat ‘Runaway’ channeled 80s workouts in the choreography and costumes, whilst ‘TRUSTFALL’ featured thunder and rain sound effects and some incredible trampoline tricks from P!nk’s dancers as she herself was catapulted to a platform at the top of the stage – all whilst still singing. ‘Turbulence’ was also an early highlight, featuring a stunning aerial rope routine from P!nk and one of her dancers that had a beautiful balletic quality to it and perfectly complemented the delicate, touching message of the song.
That said, there were still plenty of great moments from songs across P!nk’s career as well. From ‘Raise Your Glass’, which featured a riot of colour on the screens with its mohawked dolphins and bananas dropping from the ceiling, to a dance remix of ‘What About Us’ that paired smoke effects with a ribbon dance routine, it was clear that P!nk really wanted to bring the party to Hyde Park. However, she also shone on some of the slower numbers, like the touching ‘Who Knew’, the uplifting, anthemic ‘Perfect’ and ‘Try’ and ‘Just Give Me A Reason’, which featured duet partner Nate Ruess on the big screens. The crowd sang along to every word – particularly on ‘Just Like A Pill’, which saw P!nk spinninbg down the catwalk before dropping to the floor to sing with guitarist Justin and her backing singers – and I’m pretty sure you could have heard us all from the planes that frequently passed overhead. ‘Just Like Fire’ was another standout, with rockier production than the studio version and featuring jets of flame at the back of the stage as P!nk mashed up the song with Pat Benatar’s ‘Heartbreaker’ whilst waving a Pride flag aloft.
One thing which really struck me throughout the set was P!nk’s connection with the audience. She regularly broke off to crack jokes and chat with them – including singling out a couple who got engaged just before her gorgeous piano rendition of Bob Dylan’s ‘Make You Feel My Love’ – and could be frequently spotted waving at them too. They reciprocated by throwing her items including stuffed toy frogs (a reference to one of her tattoos), Maltesers (her favourite sweets, which she also got a bag of for correctly guessing the intro played by her pianist Jason as ‘Family Portrait’ – and then promptly gave them away to an audience member who helped), a wheel of cheese and a custom-made denim jacket which she traded for her own pink feathered one during ‘Kids In Love’. You could feel the warmth radiating off her throughout and it’s very clear that she loves her fans as much as they do her.
For me one of the best parts of the show was the acoustic section around halfway through. It opened with P!nk performing ‘Please Don’t Leave Me’ with her backing singers, featuring an acapella intro and some utterly lush harmonies, before going into a sweet rendition of ‘Cover Me In Sunshine’ with her daughter Willow (who got an enormous cheer from the audience!). Elsewhere, ‘I Am Here’ saw P!nk rocking out in her frog slippers – another gift from a fan – and giving the song an almost country influence as the crowd clapped along, whilst ‘Irrelevant’ featured images of protest and had a steely defiance that practically begged for you to punch the air. The strongest song of the group for me though was ‘When I Get There’, which P!nk wrote for her late father. Her soft delivery was incredibly moving and I’m not ashamed to admit I had a little cry during that one.
P!nk closed the show with ‘Blow Me (One Last Kiss)’ which saw her introduce her band – props to keyboardist Adriana for her riff on Europe’s ‘The Final Countdown’! – alongside dancers dressed as giant pairs of lips before being carried aloft across the stage. She then went into ‘Never Gonna Not Dance Again’, which featured as her dancer intro and saw her practically leaping down the catwalk with them as she clapped along, before delivering the song’s acapella outro. Throughout the track she had an enormous smile on her face and you could just feel the joy projecting off her. After a quick outfit change, she played ‘Last Call’ from ‘TRUSTFALL’ before telling the crowd “I’m coming to see y’all in the back” and flying over the crowd as she sang ‘So What’. It was an utterly spectacular moment watching her sweep across Hyde Park like a superhero as she somersaulted through the air, did handstand press ups and dramatically dropping down to the stage – all whilst not missing a note and with the entire audience singing back to her as a cloud of confetti descended on them. As she landed, she declared “I love you so much, you’re amazing” before the stage lit up with rainbow lights and fireworks exploded overhead. It was an utterly perfect ending and an example of her brilliant showmanship and athleticism.
Overall Pink put on an absolutely outstanding show that highlighted just why she’s earned her well-deserved reputation as one of the best live performers of the modern era. Combining her acrobatic skills with stunning vocals, great dance moves, enough energy to power the National Grid and the whole gamut of emotions, she really delivered and sent the entire crowd away absolutely buzzing. It might have been my first time seeing her live, but I absolutely cannot wait until she’s back in the UK and will definitely be first in line for tickets – here’s hoping it’s sooner rather than later!
Set list: 1. Get The Party Started 2. Raise Your Glass 3. Who Knew 4. Just Like A Pill 5. Try 6. What About Us 7. Turbulence 8. Make You Feel My Love (Bob Dylan cover) 9. Just Give Me A Reason 10. Perfect 11. Just Like Fire/Heartbreaker (Pat Benatar cover) 12. Please Don’t Leave Me 13. Cover Me In Sunshine (with Willow Sage Hart) 14. Kids In Love 15. When I Get There 16. I Am Here 17. Irrelevant 18. No Ordinary Love (Sade cover) 19. Runaway 20. Trustfall 21. Blow Me (One Last Kiss) 22. Never Gonna Not Dance Again 22. Last Call 23. So What Performance date: 24th June 2023
P!nk’s latest album, ‘Trustfall’, is out now on RCA Records/Sony Music Entertainment.
American Express presents BST Hyde Park 2023 is taking place in Hyde Park in London from 23 June to 9 July. For more information and tickets visit https://www.bst-hydepark.com/.
