Fuckin' Perfect

"Fuckin' Perfect" is a song by American singer Pink from her first greatest hits album Greatest Hits... So Far!!! (2010). Written by Pink along with its producers Max Martin and Shellback, the track is a rock pop power ballad that encourages people to accept each other for their true identities. Pink has stated that the main inspiration behind the track is her husband, Carey Hart.

"Fuckin' Perfect"
Single by Pink
from the album Greatest Hits... So Far!!!
Released	December 14, 2010 (2010-12-14)
Studio	Woodshed Recording (Malibu, California)
Length	3:33
Label	LaFace Jive
Songwriter(s)	Pink Max Martin Karl Johan Schuster
Producer(s)	Max Martin Shellback
Pink singles chronology
"Raise Your Glass" (2010) "Fuckin' Perfect" (2010) "Bridge of Light" (2011)
Music videos
"Fuckin' Perfect (Explicit)" on YouTube "Perfect" on YouTube

"Fuckin' Perfect" was released on December 14, 2010, by Jive Records as the album's second single. It peaked at number two on the US Billboard Hot 100, becoming Pink's eleventh top-10 single in the United States. The song also peaked at number two in Canada, Hungary, New Zealand, and Poland. Its music video, directed by longtime collaborator Dave Meyers, delivers a message against depression, self-harm, and suicide. In November 2011, the song garnered a Grammy Award nomination for Best Pop Solo Performance but lost to Adele's "Someone like You" (2011).

Background and composition

"Fuckin' Perfect" was written by Pink, Max Martin and Shellback and produced by Martin and Shellback.^[1] The Swedish pair has collaborated with Pink on several of her previous hits including "So What", "Please Don't Leave Me", and "Raise Your Glass".^[2] The song is a pop rock^[3] and soft rock ballad track containing elements contemporary R&B.^[4] It is written in the key of G major in common time with a tempo of 92 beats per minute, featuring guitar, crashing cymbals, simple synth drum beats and a reverberating string section.^[4] The song follows the I–V–vi–IV progression (G–D–Em–C), and Pink's vocal range spanning from G₃ to D₅.^[5][6] A clean version recorded for radio is titled "Perfect".^[2]

Critical reception

The song received critical acclaim from music critics. Bill Lamb of About.com gave the song 4.5 out of 5 stars, praising the "Serious but uplifting lyrics", commenting: "It has just enough edginess to move Pink away from bland middle of the road territory. Finally, the melody and arrangement make the song instantly memorable and familiar."^[1]

Chart performance

On the issue dated February 2, 2011, "Fuckin' Perfect" reached number two on the Billboard Hot 100, behind "Grenade" by Bruno Mars. It became Pink's eleventh top 10 hit in the United States.^[7][8] The song reached number 1 on the Hot Digital Songs chart, with 241,000 copies sold, making it her second song to top that chart, after "So What" in 2008.^[9] Despite the false predictions for the February 19 issue and the song's descent on the Hot 100, Billboard chart experts considered the song a nominee to become the chart's 1,000th number 1 song in its 52-year history, it competed against Lady Gaga's "Born This Way" and the Glee Cast's, who also covered the song later, nine tracks that were released digitally following the February 6 and February 8 episodes.^{[citation needed]} The February 26 issue of the Hot 100 revealed that "Born This Way" earned the milestone, debuting atop the chart and becoming its 1,000th number 1 song.^{[citation needed]} On the Billboard chart week of March 26, 2011, "Fuckin' Perfect" reached number one on both the Pop Songs and Adult Pop Songs charts, which at the time, gave Pink the record for most number ones on both charts. On Pop Songs, Pink ties Lady Gaga for second most number 1's with seven, while on Adult Pop Songs she ties Nickelback for the most, with five number 1 hits.^[10]

The song held the Digital Gainer certification for three consecutive weeks, the longest streak since Leona Lewis' "Bleeding Love" (2008). It continues its Airplay chart ascent and has so far peaked at number 4 with 55 million impressions and has so far collected more than two million digital units in the USA.^[11] In the week ending March 12, 2011, the song jumped from number 6 to number 4 making it the first time that two songs including the word "fuck" in their titles are in the top 5 as "Fuck You" by Cee Lo Green was number 2 in that week, too.^[12][13] The song has sold over 3 million downloads as of May 2013.^[14]

On November 28, 2010, the song debuted at number ten in Australia, coinciding with the release of her greatest hits album, Greatest Hits... So Far!!!.^[15] The song's charting gave Pink her eighteenth top ten single in the country. It has since been certified gold by the Australian Recording Industry Association for sales of 35,000 units.^[16] In the United Kingdom, the song debuted at number 71 on the chart issued on November 27, 2010. The next week the song dropped out of the chart, but re-entered at number 21 with the release of its music video and before peaking at number 10 on February 27, 2011.^{[citation needed]} The song topped German airplay charts, becoming Pink's eighth consecutive single to do so and increasing her previously broken record for the most consecutive number one singles in Germany.^[17]

Music video

Background

Filming of the music video began on December 5, 2010, during Pink's first few weeks of pregnancy. The music video focuses primarily on the life of a woman who overcame several struggles to become a successful artist. The lead role was played by Tina Majorino, as confirmed by Pink via Twitter and Facebook, describing her as "insanely talented".^[18]

"Fuckin' Perfect" was directed by Dave Meyers, who worked with Pink on twelve videos before, including her VMA winner "Stupid Girls".^[19] It premiered on January 19, 2011, on MTV and Pink's official channel.

Reception

Billboard talked about the video in two different, and largely positive, reviews and described it as "controversial", saying, "Choosing to title her new single 'Fuckin' Perfect' and then open its video with graphic depictions of sex and bloody scenarios of cutting and suicide, P!nk knew her latest projects would ignite controversy. And that's just the way she wants it, because in this particular case, the 31-year-old singer's in-your-face approach is to ensure the message in the music isn't lost or ignored."^[20]

In the second review, Monica Herrera begins saying, "If P!nk's new music video for 'Fuckin' Perfect' doesn't make you cry or cringe at some point, you've got thicker skin than we do."^[21] She also commented on a particular scene in the video, adding, "Pink video's story directly just once, when she toasts to the girl's newfound happiness from across a crowded room...and it's enough to make you want to raise your glass right along with them."

MTV praised the video, giving a "hats off" to Pink, while saying the video was a "moving call to awareness about a growing problem surrounding depression, numbness and powerlessness that leads to cutting and suicide. Her intention, as usual, is to ruffle a few feathers and shake a few sleepers as she points out 'You can't move mountains by whispering at them.'"^[22] The video was nominated for Best Video with a Message at the 2011 MTV Video Music Awards, but eventually lost to Lady Gaga's "Born This Way".

Track listings

All tracks written by Pink, Max Martin, and Shellback.^[23]

Digital single^[24]

No.	Title	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"F**kin' Perfect"	Max Martin Shellback	3:23
2.	"Whataya Want from Me"	Martin Shellback	3:46
3.	"Perfect" (clean version)	Martin Shellback	3:33

Australian digital download EP^[25]

No.	Title	Length
4.	"F**kin' Perfect" (music video)	4:07

German CD single^[26]

No.	Title	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"F**kin' Perfect"	Martin Shellback	3:23
2.	"Whataya Want from Me"	Martin Shellback	3:46

Personnel

Credits lifted from the liner notes of "Fuckin' Perfect."^[23]

Vocals, songwriting – Pink, Max Martin, Shellback Production and recording – Max Martin, Shellback Keyboards – Max Martin Drums, guitar and bass – Shellback

Assistant recording – Sal "El Rey" Ojeda Mixing – Serban Ghenea Mix engineer – John Hanes Assistant mix engineer – Tim Roberts

Charts

Weekly charts Weekly chart performance for "Fuckin' Perfect" Chart (2010–11) Peak position Australia (ARIA)[15] 10 Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[27] 9 Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[28] 16 Belgium (Ultratop 50 Wallonia)[29] 29 Brazil (Billboard Hot 100)[30] 21 Brazil (Billboard Hot Pop Songs)[31] 14 Canada (Canadian Hot 100)[32] 2 CIS Airplay (TopHit)[33] 14 Czech Republic (Rádio – Top 100)[34] 6 Denmark (Tracklisten)[35] 4 France (SNEP)[36] 24 Germany (GfK)[37] 7 Greece (IFPI)[38] 29 Hungary (Rádiós Top 40)[39] 2 Ireland (IRMA)[40] 15 Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[41] 6 Netherlands (Single Top 100)[42] 31 New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[43] 2 Poland (ZPAV)[44] 2 Portugal Digital Song Sales (Billboard)[45] 6 Russia Airplay (TopHit)[46] 14 Scotland (OCC)[47] 7 Slovakia (Rádio Top 100)[48] 6 Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[49] 23 Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[50] 15 UK Singles (OCC)[51] 10 Ukraine Airplay (TopHit)[52] 46 US Billboard Hot 100[53] 2 US Adult Contemporary (Billboard)[54] 2 US Adult Pop Airplay (Billboard)[55] 1 US Pop Airplay (Billboard)[56] 1 US Rhythmic (Billboard)[57] 35

Year-end charts 2010 year-end chart performance for "Fuckin' Perfect" Chart (2010) Position Australia (ARIA)[58] 93 2011 year-end chart performance for "Fuckin' Perfect" Chart (2011) Position Canada (Canadian Hot 100)[59] 13 Denmark (Tracklisten)[60] 42 Germany (Official German Charts)[61] 94 Hungary (Rádiós Top 40)[62] 27 Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[63] 30 New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[64] 45 Russia Airplay (TopHit)[65] 68 Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[66] 70 Ukraine Airplay (TopHit)[67] 66 UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[68] 69 US Billboard Hot 100[69] 19 US Adult Contemporary (Billboard)[70] 5 US Adult Top 40 (Billboard)[71] 3 US Mainstream Top 40 (Billboard)[72] 14 2012 year-end chart performance for "Fuckin' Perfect" Charts (2012) Position US Adult Contemporary (Billboard)[73] 26

Certifications

Certifications for "Fuckin' Perfect"

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[74]	5× Platinum	350,000‡
Brazil (Pro-Música Brasil)[75]	Platinum	60,000‡
Canada (Music Canada)[76]	4× Platinum	320,000‡
Denmark (IFPI Danmark)[77]	Gold	15,000^
Germany (BVMI)[78]	Gold	150,000‡
Japan (RIAJ)[79]	Gold	100,000*
New Zealand (RMNZ)[80]	Gold	7,500*
Sweden (GLF)[81]	Platinum	40,000‡
United Kingdom (BPI)[82]	Platinum	600,000‡
Streaming
Denmark (IFPI Danmark)[83]	Gold	900,000†
* Sales figures based on certification alone. ^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. ‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone. † Streaming-only figures based on certification alone.

Release history

Radio adds Release dates and formats for "Fuckin' Perfect" Region Date Format Ref. Australia November 12, 2010 Contemporary hit radio [84] United States January 4, 2011 Top 40 [85] Brazil January 28, 2011 Mainstream [86]

Purchasable release Release dates and formats for "Fuckin' Perfect" Region Date Format Label Ref. United States December 14, 2010 Digital download LaFace Records [87] Canada December 24, 2010 Digital EP [24] Germany February 18, 2011 CD single digital download [88] United Kingdom February 21, 2011 [89]

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