Pink

Pink was born in Doylestown, Pennsylvania to Vietnam veteran James Moore and nurse Judy Kugel. She is of Jewish ancestry on her mother's side, and is German on her father's side. Pink has identified herself as a Jew. She grew up in Doylestown, Pennsylvania, where she attended Central Bucks West High School. Her father played guitar and sang songs for her, and from an early age she aspired to be a rock star. When in high school, Pink joined her first band called Middleground, which never gained popularity beyond local status. According to Pink, her biggest influences are Janis Joplin, Steven Tyler, Bad Religion, Mary J. Blige, Bob Marley, Billy Joel, Indigo Girls, Don McLean, 2Pac, and The Notorious B.I.G.

Pink developed her voice early in life. Although a healthy baby at birth, she quickly developed asthma that plagued her through her early years. When she was a young teenager, Pink wrote lyrics as an outlet for her feelings, and her mother commented, "Her initial writings were always very introspective. Some of it was very black, and very deep, almost worrisome." She began performing in Philadelphia clubs when she was fourteen years old. At sixteen, she joined the R&B Atlanta-based trio Choice, which included Chrissy Conway of the Christian girl group ZOEgirl. The group signed with LaFace Records and contributed "Key to My Heart" to the soundtrack of the 1996 film Kazaam. Choice eventually disbanded after recording an unreleased album; Pink remained at LaFace as a solo act under the stage name Pink. Daryl Simmons took her to recordings where she sang backing vocals for artists such as Diana Ross, 98 Degrees, Kenny Lattimore and Tevin Campbell. Pink's debut single, the dance track "Gonna Make Ya Move (Don't Stop)", was released in the UK in 1998 by Activ Records and appeared on the UK top 200.