F---in Perfect
by Pink

Album: Greatest Hits… So Far!!! (2010)
Charted: 10 2
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • This ballad is the second single by pop singer Pink from her greatest hits collection, titled Greatest Hits… So Far!!!. The track was released onto Pink's official website on November 3, 2010.

    According to Pink, she started writing the song about her husband (Carey Hart), but it shifted meaning to her fans, and little girls and eventually "it was about this thing inside of me that I didn't even know yet," she told Entertainment Weekly. "It's just all of it."
  • The track opens with Pink declaring that despite all her flaws, she's "still around." Once she gets to the chorus, the potty-mouthed singer comes over all motivational and tells the listener that they should look past their imperfections and see themselves as "F---in' Perfect."
  • The song was produced by Swedish songwriter/producer Max Martin. The Scandinavian hitmaker has collaborated with Pink on several of her previous hits including "So What," "Please Don't Leave Me," and "Raise Your Glass."
  • The clean version recorded for radio is titled "Perfect."
  • The song's music video was directed by Dave Meyers, who has previously collaborated with Pink on many occasions before including her VMA winner "Stupid Girls." The clip tells the story of a woman who from an early age battled an eating disorder and cutting. She is eventually able to deal with her personal demons and becomes a successful artist. Pink commented on her website: "Cutting, and suicide, two very different symptoms of the same problem, are gaining on us. (the problem being; alienation and depression. the symptoms; cutting and suicide). I personally don't know a single person who doesn't know at least two of these victims personally."

    The lead role was played by American actress Tina Majorino, who is best known to many as the character of Deb in the 2004 film Napoleon Dynamite.
  • An a cappella cover of the track by the Rockabellas was recorded for a Covergirl commercial. (Pink is a Covergirl spokesperson herself). The ad was part of a campaign for a makeup line tied to the Pitch Perfect 2 movie.
  • Pink's support for the underdog was in part inspired by her sibling. She told The Sun:

    "My brother was the most bullied kid I've ever seen with my own eyes and it turned me into a fighter and a person that sticks up for other people. I think people should live and let live and for all of these reasons and for my daughter just trying to figure out what it means to be a girl and what it means to be a human in 2017.

    I want her to be one of the voices in her world. I want her to be one of the voices in her head. It's a line I wrote in 'Perfect,' change the voices, make them like you instead. It's lifetime work for me. I've been doing it all my life, I'm trying to get the voices in my head to like me."
  • Pink loves a good F-bomb. In the early '00s she had a dog named F--ker, because he was a "cute little f--ker." When her dad took the dog, he renamed him Fred.
  • This was used on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit in the 2019 episode "The Darkest Journey Home." It was also featured in the 2017 romantic comedy The Layover.
  • Chris Colfer and Darren Criss performed this in the Glee episode "I Kissed A Girl" (2011).

Comments: 1

  • Karen from Manchester, NhAlthough generally not a fan of P!nk (don't hate her; don't love her), I was curious about this song. The video for this song had me sobbing like a baby. Having spent my teen years with an incredibly low self-esteem, battling a bit like the girl in the video, I felt it keenly. I think this video should be mandatory viewing for all teenaged girls (yeah, boys, too). I know I'm making it a point to show it to my daughters when they're closer to their teen years (they're 8 and 10, so it won't be too long). Kudos.
see more comments

Editor's Picks

Macabre Mother Goose: The Dark Side of Children's Songs

Macabre Mother Goose: The Dark Side of Children's SongsSong Writing

"London Bridge," "Ring Around the Rosie" and "It's Raining, It's Pouring" are just a few examples of shockingly morbid children's songs.

Jesus Christ Superstar: Ted Neeley Tells the Inside Story

Jesus Christ Superstar: Ted Neeley Tells the Inside StorySong Writing

The in-depth discussion about the making of Jesus Christ Superstar with Ted Neeley, who played Jesus in the 1973 film.

Francesca Battistelli

Francesca BattistelliSongwriter Interviews

The 2011 Artist of the Year at the Dove Awards isn't your typical gospel diva, and she thinks that's a good thing.

Is That Song Public Domain?

Is That Song Public Domain?Fact or Fiction

Are classic songs like "Over The Rainbow" and "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" in the public domain?

Todd Rundgren

Todd RundgrenSongwriter Interviews

Todd Rundgren explains why he avoids "Hello It's Me," and what it was like producing Meat Loaf's Bat Out of Hell album.

Ian Anderson of Jethro Tull

Ian Anderson of Jethro TullSongwriter Interviews

The flautist frontman talks about touring with Led Zeppelin, his contribution to "Hotel California", and how he may have done the first MTV Unplugged.