With three Grammys, 15 chart-topping singles, more 50 million records sold, and an endless string of sold-out arena tours throughout the planet over the course of a career that’s now spanned two full decades, P!nk has nothing left to prove. As many of her early-aughts pop star contemporaries have seen their careers decline and countless new faces have come and gone along the way, P!nk has quietly amassed an incredible and influential body of work with a level of quality and cultural significance that doesn’t appear to be receding in the least.
Thursday night, less than a week after the pop music touchstone and radio rotation regular released her seventh studio album, Hurts 2B Human (which, yes, debuted at number one), P!nk came to Fiserv Forum as part of her Beautiful Trauma World Tour. Following nearly two hours that consisted of over 20 songs, 10 wardrobe changes, a steady diet of amazing aerial acrobatics, and an overwhelming aura of positivity and empowerment, the long-tenured star showed a sold-out arena full of folks who braved the bleak, dreary conditions outside why she’s remained relevant for 20 years and counting.
Before the guest of honor took the stage, though, entertainment duties were tasked to Kid Cut Up. Though the DJ and master-scratcher has joined P!nk on the entirety of this tour, the Fiserv Forum concert was a homecoming show for the Milwaukee-born and -raised Cut Up. To mark the special occasion, Mayor Tom Barrett came out after the DJ’s first of two sets and honored “our homeboy” with an official Proclamation that May 2 was officially Kid Cut Up Day in Milwaukee.
Once the mayor and the local point of pride departed, opener Julia Michaels—who revealed she was the first artist to ever perform at the new arena twice, as she opened for Maroon 5 last year, too—played a short-but-altogether-enjoyable set that was largely populated with material from her 2017 debut, Nervous System, in addition to acoustic cuts of other artists songs that she helped write. When Michaels was done, Kid Cut Up returned to keep the energy up with impressive musical mergers, including a Violent Femmes and Missy Elliott pairing and a set-ending mash-up of Oasis’ “Wonderwall” and Blackstreet’s “No Diggity.”
With spirits high in the brimming arena at showtime, a bright pink curtain finally parted and revealed P!nk hanging from a gigantic chandelier as she—full band and background dancers in tow—got the party started with, well, “Get The Party Started” before chasing the rousing opener with the title track from her 2017 record and tour namesake, Beautiful Trauma. Though touring in support of a days-old album, any concerns that P!nk would withhold hits in favor of new material were quickly set to rest when she wasted almost no time before treating the captivated crowd to a rendition of “Just Like A Pill” and 2006 favorite “Who Knew.”
Of course, P!nk made sure to take advantage of the state-of-the-art facility’s production capabilities over the course of the performance with dazzling airborne choreography (oftentimes without the aid of a protective harness), amazing visuals on a video board, vibrant costumes, a gigantic inflatable rapper, and entertaining accents like flames and fireworks that carried already-astounding versions of “Just Give Me A Reason” and “Just Like Fire” to even higher ground. Between some songs (and during wardrobe/set changeovers), the video board screened things that varied from humorous claymation shorts to an uplifting career retrospective and a positive message to her daughter. “We’re all pink on the inside,” P!nk said in one video, which was met with ample cheers.
After true-to-album takes on “Raise Your Glass” and “Blow Me (One Last Kiss)” brought the high-energy performance close to completion, P!nk strapped into a harness and was shot through the Fiserv Forum on a cable as she led a “So What” singalong from hundreds of feet in the air, sporadically landing on platforms and greeting fans in the process. When she made her way back to the stage and confetti rained down on the arena below, P!nk brought the unforgettable show to a close with “Glitter In The Air,” a heartfelt ballad that helped ease the thoroughly satisfied crowd back out into the dark, damp, and desolate world outside the Fiserv Forum. After the uplifting, acrobatic, and immensely entertaining experience we were treated to, things didn’t seem so gloomy anymore.
Set List
Get The Party Started
Just Like A Pill
Beautiful Trauma
Who Knew
Revenge
Fun House (with “Just A Girl” cover in interlude)
Hustle
Secrets
Try
Just Give Me A Reason
Walk Me Home
Just Like Fire
What About Us
For Now
Barbies
I Am Here
Fuckin’ Perfect
Raise Your Glass
Blow Me (One Last Kiss)
Encore
So What
Glitter In The Air