Pink: “I believe in karma”

Pink is the January 2009 cover girl for Inked Magazine. In the most candid interview, the 29-year-old singer talks about her new fifth album Funhouse, ex husband Carey Hart, her tattoos and much more.

On Funhouse producer Butch Walker: “I fell down the stairs carrying my glass of wine back to the room to write and busted my kneecaps, but didn’t spill a drop of wine. That further instilled in me that my priorities were correct and Butch and I should be best friends.”

On people using her as an excuse to let loose: “I’m so tired of hearing, God, I smoke so much more around you. Or, I haven’t drank that much ever with anyone else. Or, Oh, it’s you, I’ll have another tequila. I’m like, why are you using me as an excuse to party?!”

On Funhouse song-writing after the split from Carey: “When I’m writing the songs it’s just where I’m at. What I’m doing, what I’m reading, what I’m thinking about. This one was different for me. I’ve not been here before in this way… These songs are like wounds… It was too easy to write. There is no edit button. Maybe there should be, but there isn’t with me.”

On I Don’t Believe You, the album’s ballad: “It’s the hardest song I’ve ever had to sing. It’s the most vulnerable sad song I’ve ever written in my life.”

On Mean, a track from Funhouse: “Every relationship, whether it ends or not, does that. How did we get so mean? How did I just say that to you? Let’s sit down and come to the love table and be friends again. I don’t know that anyone will be able to give me what I think I need. And, I think I’m a much better friend than anything else.”

On So What, the album’s first single: “The last [album] was like ‘U and UR Hand‘ and ‘Who Knew.’ I had time to process it and be OK with it. It’s all how I feel, but it’s not, Hi, have you seen my heart bleeding? Can I rip open my chest and show you? It’s really exposed and really new and I love Carey so much and we’re not resolved and it’s just really weird. It’s my fault because I wrote this fucking song ["So What"] and I knew what I was doing and I did it as a joke…It’s just all a bit bizarre. It’s like ‘Family Portrait,’ but my own. Unfortunately…or fortunately…I’m not sure yet.”

On removing her tattoos: “That’s the most disrespectful thing in the entire world. There was a rumor going around that Carey got his tattoos covered and I called him and was like, ‘What are you doing?!’ he’s like, ‘Baby, I didn’t cover the tattoos. I’m never covering the tattoos. It’s all good. What are you doing today?”

On her obsession with Japanese art: “I was always really obsessed with Japanese art. My parents have these sake bottles from Japan that are ancient and are so intricately carved and painted. They also had all this Japanese art. It’s the most beautiful culture. I’ve checked them and checked them and checked them. My friend has big ones on her arm that mean ‘cleansing.’ She had her arm out the window and this Japanese woman yelled over ‘Tampon! You have tampon on your arm!’ She yelled back, ‘It’s cleansing!’ ‘Yeah. feminine cleansing. Tampon.’ She’s like…great.”

On her favorite tattoo: “It’s my only truth that never changes. I believe in karma. I believe that it comes around in both ways. I’ve watched really good people have really hard times and then all of a sudden something beautiful happens. I’ve seen instant karma and I’ve seen karma that I think takes lifetimes and I’ve felt a lot of it.”

On her beef with the L.A. Ink star Kat Von D: “I’ve heard some things that she’s said about Carey in interviews and I don’t fucking like it. She doesn’t fucking know him so she can keep his fucking name out of her mouth as far as I’m concerned. I wouldn’t let her tattoo me. I know that’s probably putting my foot in my mouth because a lot of people like her, but I’m very loyal and I don’t like it when people who don’t know what they’re talking about talk about other people. Especially my husband. I think it was just the TV shows and Inked and there’s room for everybody. That’s what I learned a long time ago in the music business.”

On future plans: “I want to disappear for a while. Pull a Houdini. But, no, I just want to laugh more. Have more fun. I get, ‘If you snarl in one more picture… I swear to god, you have such a pretty smile.’ Mom! It’s going to be alright. I won’t snarl on this album.”