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So What (Pink song)

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"So What"
Song
B-side"Could've Had Everything"

"So What" is a song written by American pop singer Pink, Max Martin and Shellback and released as the first single from Pink's forthcoming fifth studio album Funhouse. The track was also produced by Martin, who previously collaborated with Pink on her hits "U + Ur Hand", "'Cuz I Can" and "Who Knew".[1]

"So What" was performed by Pink at the 2008 MTV Video Music Awards, on September 7, 2008, and is being used to promote the 2008 MTV Video Music Awards Latin America.

On the weeks ending of September 26, 2008, Pink scored her first solo number-one hit in her native USA. It has also reached #1 in several countries, including a large part of the Anglophonic world.

Background

The song was written by Pink, in collaboration with Max Martin and Shellback. Martin also produced the track. Pink and Martin are responsible for their hit songs from Pink's previous album, including the US top-10 hits Who Knew and U + Ur Hand. Many critics and fans thought the song was about Pink's divorce in the beginning of this year. The first lines of the song say:

Guess I just lost my husband.
I don't know where he went.

An indication that the song was about the divorce. But in interviews the singer stated that the song was not autobiographic, only a few aspects of the song.[2]

The song was intended to be released to radio in the States later than its release date. Because the song leaked on the internet La Face Records decided to release the song on radio on August 18, 2008, as well as the digital version. The track was released on the American CHR on August 18, 2008.[3] It was released digitally on American iTunes on August 19th , 2008, and on September 2nd, it reached #1 on the store.[4] The track has also peaked at #1 on iTunes Canada.

The song leaked onto New Zealand radio station, The Edge on August 5,[5] but they were instructed from SonyBMG that they were not to play it due to an international embargo on the track.

Meanwhile, in Australia, the song began receiving actual radio airplay from August 7 and was instantly on high rotation across both the Austereo and DMG Radio Australia Networks. In New York, WHTZ better known as Z100 played the song on the morning show at 8:45am EST on the Elvis Duran and the Morning Zoo to great response.[6][7][8]

The song was released in the UK on September 29, 2008. The song is currently on the A-list of BBC Radio 1 playlist.[9]

It has been questioned whether Pink has something against singer Jessica Simpson, as this is the second time Simpson has been negatively referenced in a Pink single, the first being "Stupid Girls".

Music video

Dave Meyers directed the video for "So What", which he is known for having artists giving a over-the-top portrayal of celebrities or themselves. Pink previously worked with him for the videos to "U + Ur Hand" and "Stupid Girls", which earned MTV Video Music Award for Best Pop Video.[1] Pink also worked with Meyers on the videos for "There You Go", "Most Girls", "You Make Me Sick", "Get the Party Started", "Don't Let Me Get Me" and the Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle track "Feel Good Time". The video was shown on August 22 on FNMTV.[10] The video has premiered on 22nd August on the UK music site Popjustice.

Pink posted a message on her website for her fans what it was like to shoot the video:

If you EVER get a chance to drive a lawnmower down Sunset Blvd - I highly suggest it. Thanks for making my day. I'm really, really, really excited. This video was too much fun...glad you likey's and don't worry - Carey likey's too. We are insane.

— P!nk, Pink's official website[11]
A split screenshot showing a love heart carved on a tree with Pink's birth name and the name of her ex-husband. The second shows Pink cutting down the tree.

The video begins in a tattoo parlour, Pink is getting a tattoo on her arm before the scene cuts to Pink riding down Sunset Boulevard on a lawnmower and drinking alcohol. Pink is then shown entering Guitar Center browsing guitars. She pretends to play before attempting to smash it into the ground, but she is restrained by a store clerk which leads to them engaging in a fight. Pink is shown cutting down a tree engraved with her and her ex-husband's names with a chainsaw. She cries on the chainsaw, while telling herself that she is all right, right before the tree falls and nearly crushes her neighbor. After this, Pink is sitting in a bar after losing her table to Jessica Simpson, accompanied by a man who is playing the drums out of glasses.

The next scene goes to Pink on a motorbike, while a newly wedded couple in a car pull up beside her. Jealous and outraged at the happy newlyweds, Pink is shown throwing objects at the car and popping the wedding balloons, before climbing onto it and playfully (albeit violently) attacking the vehicle. Pink is then shown stripping on the red carpet, surrounded by photographers, she takes off her jacket to reveal her (blurred) nude body. The paparazzi all snap photos of her as she does choreography from Michael Jackson's video for Thriller naked. Then while getting her hair done, her stylist applies hairspray, as Pink turns on her lighter, accidentally setting her hair on fire. Also shown are two men urinating in bottles, which they give to Pink, however Pink passes them to two guys walking past her. They drink it and then realizing what it is, spit it out in disgust. Finally, Pink is shown surrounded by men and women in their underwear engaging in a pillow fight. The video then cuts between all the scenes shown in the video before ending with Pink poking her tongue at the camera with her ex-husband.

Pink is also shown performing the song in concert near the end. Pink's ex-husband Carey Hart makes cameos throughout the video, such as a scene where they are talking as newspaper headlines flash behind them. Producer Butch Walker also makes a cameo. Pink has stated that Hart had not heard the song prior to arriving for the video shoot.[12]

The video was released on Saturday, September 6th on iTunes, and quickly jumped to the #1 video spot on the iTunes chart in less than 24 hours of it being listed.

Scene from the video where Pink sets her hair on fire is censored on MTV UK and it's sister channels. That scene is replaced with other short clips from the video.

Critical reception

"So What" has been critically well-received, with the website Popjustice giving it a positive review. Popjustice described the song as 'very amazing'.[13]

Chris Williams of Billboard gave the track a very positive review, enjoying the "insatiable melodic verses meant for massive car singalongs and a chorus combustion followed by a fist-in-the-air refrain." He also called it "an irresistible soundscape that will transform listeners into rock stars singing their very own breakup song." [14] Ryan Dumble of Blender gave "So What" a 3 out of 5 stars, commenting, "The disses are a bit immature ("I'm just fine and you're a tool") but there's a voyeuristic allure to the track", later saying "she's going for it." [15]

UK entertainment website Digital Spy also praised the song, calling it "packed with attitude" and "terrifically catchy"[16] Guide gave a positive review saying: "A singsongy intro gives way to a martial beat and chorus that's likely to send fists pounding into the air."[17] About.com lauds the track noting that this song is a good comeback for the singer; "Pink is back and not to be ignored."[17] Wellheart Music Journal says of the song 'kick-ass spit fire tune which rank among her fiercest, and she has the charisma to pull it off and remain relevant, unlike her contemporaries who continue to wither and wash up (Avril Lavigne).'[7]

Track listings and formats

Chart performance

"So What" debuted at #9 on the Billboard Hot 100, making it Pink's highest debut to date on the chart. The song has since peaked at #1, making it her first solo #1, and second overall after "Lady Marmalade," a collaboration with Christina Aguilera, Mya, and Lil' Kim. It is Pink's ninth top ten hit on the chart, and her third consecutive. In its first week the song debuted at #4 on the Hot Digital Songs chart with sales of 116,611 downloads, moving up to #2 on the chart the following week. It has reached a total of 1,431,541 legal downloads. For the week ending 3 October, 2008, "So What" jumped to claim the top spot on the Hot 100 knocking off T.I's single Whatever You Like from the top spot. It also peaked at #1 on the Digital Track Chart and the Digital Songs Chart.[22][23][24] The song has also been a huge success in Canada where it has peaked at #1.[25] Where it also got to #1 on the Digital Chart of Canada and on the airplay chart it is currently at #12.[26][27]

The track set an iTunes record in Australia where it debuted at number one only eight minutes after release.[28] The following week it went to #1 on the ARIA Digital Chart[29] and debuted at #4 on the ARIA Singles Chart, reaching # 1 on September 21.[30] It has also been certified Platinum with 70,000 in sales. It is Pink's 4th #1 in Australia.[31]

In Sweden it had Pink's highest debut there, at #9, and has climbed to #2, making it her highest charting single there[25]. In other Scandinavian countries it also debuted, in Denmark it debuted at #14 and in Finland it debuted at #13.[25] In the Netherlands, the song debuted at #28 on the official Dutch Top 40, where it has peaked at #10 so far.[25] In Belgium So What debuted at #48 in Flanders and at #32 in Wallonia, and in the combined chart at #36.[25] The next weeks So What climed to a number 4 in Flanders. Also in Austria it debuted at number #14 on Austrian Top 75, but dropped out the chart in the second week.[25]

The song was released to the iTunes Store in New Zealand on August 19, 2008 where it peaked at number one later that day. It has reached #1 on the official New Zealand RIANZ chart becoming her first number one since Don't Let Me Get Me in 2002[32] and the first country that "So What" became number one in. "So What" spent five consecutive weeks at number one in New Zealand and was certified Gold after eight weeks with sales of 7,500+.

The song was added to the iTunes Store in the United Kingdom on September 26, 2008. The following day it peaked at number one, replacing Kings of Leon's "Sex on Fire".

On September 28, 2008, the song entered the UK Singles Chart at #38 on downloads alone based on two days worth of sales. After the songs physical release, the following week "So What" knocked Kings of Leon's "Sex On Fire" from number one, beating the comeback singles from Oasis ("The Shock of the Lightning") and Boyzone ("Love You Anyway").[33] "So What" is Pink's second solo number one single in the UK, the first being "Just Like a Pill" and third overall, including "Lady Mamalade". It also sets the record for the biggest jump to number one within the top 40 as it jumped 37 places to number one, beating last year's 34 place jump by Sugababes with "About You Now". It sold 4,096 units when it debuted at number 38 after one day of download sales. It sold in its first full week 53,264 copies which is the third-biggest #1 sales in the UK in the year 2008. Only Duffy sold more with "Mercy" (53,594) and Estelle with "American Boy" (60,497). In its second full week it sold 44,037 copies. It its third full week and fourth overall, its sales increased marginally to 44,982, bringing its total sales up to 146,379 so far.

It has also become Pink's biggest UK single to date.

"So What" entered the German Singles Chart at #1 on the October 11, 2008 chart, making it Pink's first solo #1 there as well. It has also knocked off Katy Perry's "I Kissed a Girl" on the United World Chart.

On October 19, 2008, "So What" was announced #1 for a third week in a row in the UK top 40 singles chart.

Charts

Chart (2008) Peak
position
ARC Weekly Top 40[34] 1
Argentina Singles Chart[35] 87
Australian ARIA Singles Chart[30] 1
Austrian Media Control Singles Chart[36] 2
Belgian Ultratop Singles Chart[37] 4
Canadian Hot 100[37] 1
Cyprus Singles Chart[38] 2
Danish Singles Chart[37] 4
Dutch Top 40[25] 10
Estonia Singles Chart[38] 8
Europe Billboard Hot 100[39] 2
Finnish Singles Chart 4
France Singles Chart[37] 5
German Media Control Singles Chart[37] 1
Irish Singles Chart[25] 1
Israeli Singles Chart[40] 8
Italian FIMI Singles Chart[25] 20
Japan Hot 100 28
Luxembourg Singles Chart[25] 1
New Zealand RIANZ Singles Chart[25] 1
Norwegian Singles Chart[25] 3
Polish Singles Chart[25] 26
Swedish GFP Singles Chart[25] 2
Switzerland Media Control Singles Chart[25] 1
Turkey Top 20 Chart[41] 2
UK Singles Chart 1
U.S. Billboard Hot 100[42] 1
U.S. Billboard Pop 100[43] 1


Certifications and sales

Country Certification Sales
Digital Singles
Australia Platinum +70,000[30]
Germany +100.000
New Zealand Gold +7,500
United Kingdom +146,379
United States Platinum
1,431,541[22]

Chart procession and succession

Preceded by Canadian Hot 100 number-one single
September 27, 2008 - October 25, 2008 		Succeeded by
Australian ARIA Singles Chart number-one single
September 22, 2008 - October 19, 2008 		Succeeded by
Preceded by New Zealand RIANZ Singles Chart number-one single
September 8, 2008 -October 6, 2008 		Succeeded by
U.S. Billboard Pop 100 number-one single
October 4, 2008 - October 25, 2008 		Succeeded by
incumbent
Preceded by U.S. Billboard Hot 100 number-one single
September 21, 2008 - September 27, 2008 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Irish Singles Chart number-one single
October 2, 2008 		Succeeded by
incumbent
UK Singles Chart number-one single
October 5, 2008
Preceded by Switzerland Singles Chart number-one single
October 12, 2008
Preceded by Number-one hits of 2008 (Germany) number-one single
October 11, 2008

Release history

Region Date Format Label
New Zealand August 15, 2008 Digital download, airplay Sony BMG
Australia August 16, 2008 Digital download, airplay
United States August 19, 2008 Digital download, airplay LaFace, Zomba
Canada August 19, 2008 Digital download, airplay
Australia September 20, 2008 CD single Sony BMG
Germany September 26, 2008 CD single, digital download
Switzerland CD single, digital download
United Kingdom September 26, 2008 Digital download
United Kingdom September 29, 2008 CD single
Japan[44] September 30, 2008 CD single, airplay, digital download

References

  1. ^ a b P!nk Returns With New Single 'So What' Sony BMG Australia. Retrieved July 24, 2008.
  2. ^ NEW P!NK INTERVIEW - CNN INTERVIEW AT MAKING OF SO WHAT Youtube and CNN. Retrieved August 31, 2008.
  3. ^ Latest Breaking Radio and Music News All Access. Retrieved August 9, 2008.
  4. ^ iTunes top 10 songs iTunes.Retrieved August 10, 2008.
  5. ^ NEW Pink - So What (2008) Youtube. Retrieved August 5, 2008.
  6. ^ Nova Plays New Music First Nova. Retrieved August 7, 2008.
  7. ^ So What Has Leaked! Pink's Official Forum. Retrieved August 5, 2008.
  8. ^ Pinkperth Nova. Retrieved August 5, 2008.
  9. ^ Radio 1 Playlist A-List BBC Radio. Retrieved August 28, 2008.
  10. ^ Pink "So What" Premiere on FN MTV! Pinkspage Pink's Official Website. Retrieved July 24, 2008
  11. ^ The Wait Will Soon Be Over For Pink Fans Connie Talk. August 7, 2008. Retrieved August 29, 2008
  12. ^ "Pink tricked her ex-husband into acting". ndtv.com. 2008-09-18. Retrieved 2008-09-21.
  13. ^ Song of the Day: Pink - So What Popjustice. Retrieved August 7, 2008.
  14. ^ So What Review, Billboard. Retrieved August 29, 2008.
  15. ^ Pink Flips Off her Ex-Husband, Blender. Retrieved August 29, 2008.
  16. ^ Pink's new single has landed Digital Spy. Retrieved August 7, 2008.
  17. ^ a b Pink- "So What" About.com. Retrieved August 31.
  18. ^ http://eil.com/shop/moreinfo.asp?catalogid=446179
  19. ^ http://pink.shread.net/forum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=170520
  20. ^ http://pink.shread.net/forum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=172001
  21. ^ http://pink.shread.net/forum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=170209
  22. ^ a b Digital Track Chart. Billboard. Retrieved August 27, 2008.
  23. ^ Pink Kind A Big Deal Pink's official website. Retrieved September 20, 2008.
  24. ^ Pink's 'So What'#1 Single in the Country The Earth Times. Retrieved September 18, 2008.
  25. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o [1], October 4, 2008.
  26. ^ Canada Airplay Chart Nielsen. Retrieved September 20, 2008
  27. ^ Canada Digital Chart Nielsen. Retrieved September 20, 2008.
  28. ^ [2].
  29. ^ [3]
  30. ^ a b c [4] Cite error: The named reference "ARIA" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  31. ^ http://australian-charts.com/showitem.asp?interpret=P!nk&titel=So+What&cat=s
  32. ^ P!nk: Don't Let Me Get Me New Zealand Charts. retrieved September 20, 2008.
  33. ^ Pink's "So What" beats Oasis to top UK pop chart Reuters. retrieved October 6, 2008.
  34. ^ [5]
  35. ^ [6]
  36. ^ http://austriancharts.at/showitem.asp?interpret=P%21nk&titel=So+What&cat=s/
  37. ^ a b c d e Pink: So What World Peak II Swisscharts.com. Retrieved September 19, 2008. Cite error: The named reference "WOrld PeaksII" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  38. ^ a b Euro Nation wide top 10 APC. Retrieved October 18, 2008.
  39. ^ Europe Hot 100 Billboard. Retrieved October 5, 2008.
  40. ^ Israeli Singles Chart
  41. ^ Turkish top 20 Billboard. Retrieved October 5, 2008.
  42. ^ Billboard Hot 100 Billboard. Retrieved August 17, 2008
  43. ^ Billboard Pop 100 Billboard. Retrieved August 17, 2008
  44. ^ Pink:So What HMV (Japan). Retrieved August 26, 2008.

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