Beautiful Trauma
by P!nk
  • Record Label: RCA
  • Release Date: Oct 13, 2017
User Score
7.5

Generally favorable reviews- based on 256 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 192 out of 256
  2. Mixed: 32 out of 256
  3. Negative: 32 out of 256
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  1. Music_Observer
    Oct 30, 2017
    6
    Being shrouded under a blanket of metric and textural blandness, there were some surprising traits that made the music moderately enjoyable, from lively melodic lines to actual effective solo acoustics at the end, but the only real positive was the ability to keep listeners in the moment by not being too annoying and having small spots of melodic satisfaction, which was rather impressiveBeing shrouded under a blanket of metric and textural blandness, there were some surprising traits that made the music moderately enjoyable, from lively melodic lines to actual effective solo acoustics at the end, but the only real positive was the ability to keep listeners in the moment by not being too annoying and having small spots of melodic satisfaction, which was rather impressive given the complete lack of structural attraction. My Score: 108/180 (Okay) = 6/10… Expand
  2. pedrobsj
    Nov 16, 2017
    6
    During my listening sessions to P!nk’s newest album, I kept asking myself: “Since when did she become such a basic pop singer?” She has the voice, the look, the tools and, most importantly, the audience and she keeps on releasing generic Pop music. That is exactly what “Beautiful Trauma” is about: a compilation of generic pop and pop rock songs and ballads that kind of go around the sameDuring my listening sessions to P!nk’s newest album, I kept asking myself: “Since when did she become such a basic pop singer?” She has the voice, the look, the tools and, most importantly, the audience and she keeps on releasing generic Pop music. That is exactly what “Beautiful Trauma” is about: a compilation of generic pop and pop rock songs and ballads that kind of go around the same tempos, sounds and even lyrics.

    That doesn’t mean, though, that it is an atrocious piece of work. It isn’t because, at the end of the day, we all love easy hits and easy choruses to sing along, don’t we? I have got used to the record and I can sing along to almost 80% of its choruses. My main issue here is again the lack of uniqueness and risks. While I said “Beautiful Trauma” isn’t a bad work, there are a couple of atrocious songs, the main one being the collaboration with Eminem. “Revenge” is just a really, really bad song. It sounds childish, immature, wannabe and just forced. Up ‘til this day I can’t believe Eminem signed up for this. The lyrics are cringe-worthy and I seriously hope this doesn’t see the light of day as a single as I know radios are going to eat it up based on the artists. The final ballad - “You Get Me Love” - is another song that I simply can’t get into. The chorus being extremely high-pitched next to soft verses sounds weird and actually scary as one isn’t expecting that amount of screams in the middle of a nice subtle song.

    What’s left to come isn’t as bad. There’s another cheesy ballad (“Wild Hearts Can’t Be Broken”) and a few uninspired songs (“What About Us” or “For Now”) but the remaining eight songs are good. “Secrets” must be the surprise of the album. While it isn’t my favorite track, it gives me “Funhouse” vibes for being fun and out of the box; “I Am Here”, while being quite generic, gives anyone a boost of energy and self-confidence and I could never go against that. My favorite track is really “Better Life”. The minimalistic production along with the lugging chorus makes it so interesting and reminds of something the (extinct?) group fun. would do.

    At this point, you may feel like I am a hater of P!nk’s ballads, I am not. Let’s talk about “Barbies”. While sonically it may sound a bit uninteresting, lyrically it blows anyone’s mind. The song discusses the flaws of growing up… Of how we can’t avoid problems coming our way without solving them. In the song P!nk repeats: “I wish I could go back to playing Barbies in my room, they never say that you gotta grow up quite this soon”. That’s a beautiful metaphor that just blew my mind the first time I heard it.

    To conclude, the record is built off two other great (though generic) Pop Rock songs such as “Whatever You Want” and “Where We Go”. While being P!nk’s most familiar sound, unfortunately it just fits her so well and become impossible not to sing along or wanting to repeat the play… And overall, it is impossible to hate on P!nk, she fought so hard to be where she is, to get the respect she deserved and to become the role model she had to be, she is definitely one of my generation’s most successful pop singers and she leaves us proud.    … Expand
  3. Ceguinho
    Oct 18, 2017
    6
    Pink has a lot of potential (an amazing voice) but seems to be stuck in this field where she can't do anything musically interesting or innovative. But I mean, personally, I never went for Pink looking for anything innovative. She uses to bring us those little cute pop rock bops with a lot of attitude and we all love it. But the thing with this album is that is doesn't have much of that.Pink has a lot of potential (an amazing voice) but seems to be stuck in this field where she can't do anything musically interesting or innovative. But I mean, personally, I never went for Pink looking for anything innovative. She uses to bring us those little cute pop rock bops with a lot of attitude and we all love it. But the thing with this album is that is doesn't have much of that. The first single is very uninspired, some songs don't go anywhere (Whatever You Want is incredibly monotonous, Revenge's chorus is a huge let down), and there are too many snoozey ballads. Still, I don't think it's a bad album. Just kinda boring, and not something I'd listen to again in full. A shame, because I replayed The Truth About Love a thousand times. From this one, I liked the opener, Secrets, and the track that comes after it. The rest goes from ok to very boring.… Expand
  4. AnalyDewa
    Oct 16, 2017
    4
    O que é bom merece continuação? A P!nk é a prova de que nem sempre. Não é de hoje que ela é uma artista totalmente reciclada e que trabalha seus álbuns em fórmulas que já deram certo, mas hoje em dia soam totalmente genéricas e sem o mesmo brilho do seu auge. "Beautiful Trauma" traz seus parceiros de longa data Max Martin e Shellback, mas dessa vez sem Dr. Luke que foi cortado de qualquerO que é bom merece continuação? A P!nk é a prova de que nem sempre. Não é de hoje que ela é uma artista totalmente reciclada e que trabalha seus álbuns em fórmulas que já deram certo, mas hoje em dia soam totalmente genéricas e sem o mesmo brilho do seu auge. "Beautiful Trauma" traz seus parceiros de longa data Max Martin e Shellback, mas dessa vez sem Dr. Luke que foi cortado de qualquer trabalho relevante após as acusações de abusar sexualmente e psicologicamente de Kesha. O álbum ainda traz Jake Antonoff, parceiro de Nate Ruess na sua banda fun. e que colaborou no smash hit ("Just Give Me a Reason") do último disco de P!nk até então, o "Truth About Love" (2012). As letras do álbum retratam P!nk falando de relacionamentos tóxicos, coisa que ela já fez outras vezes na carreira e com mais personalidade, mas além do comum, ela tenta mudar o estilo como no seu carro chefe "What About Us", o morno e totalmente batido tropical house que faz aquela crítica "social foda" que só uma das artistas mais hipócritas de toda a música pop poderia nos proporcionar. Nem mesmo a colaboração com Eminem ("Revenge") é uma novidade ou um gás no disco, parceria que ela repete pela 3a vez. O único acerto talvez seja na ótima "Secrets". Em meio a tantas mudanças de mercado, P!nk que sempre se garante fazendo o seu mais do mesmo, garante aqui, novamente, bons números, como o álbum feminino mais vendido na estreia em 2017 até então, mas é uma pena que o seu conteúdo passe longe de ser tão marcante quanto suas vendas.… Expand
  5. Wael
    Oct 17, 2017
    4
    Even though the pre-released singles and buzz tracks promised a huge record ('What About Us' and 'Beautiful Trauma' are just gorgeous songs, and Max Martin-produced 'Whatever You Want' is just old-school kick-ass P!nk), the album comes off as a bit of disappointment. A lot of tracks felt like fillers ('Secrets' and 'For Now' are not exactly essential to the record), and a lot of the othersEven though the pre-released singles and buzz tracks promised a huge record ('What About Us' and 'Beautiful Trauma' are just gorgeous songs, and Max Martin-produced 'Whatever You Want' is just old-school kick-ass P!nk), the album comes off as a bit of disappointment. A lot of tracks felt like fillers ('Secrets' and 'For Now' are not exactly essential to the record), and a lot of the others felt enjoyable, yet forgettable right after the first listen ('Where We Go' and 'Barbies'). The Eminem-assisted 'Revenge' felt annoying at first, but it is a grower. However, there are beautifully-sung and produced ballads to make up for that: 'Wild Hearts Can't Be Broken' is just beautiful, and closer 'You Get My Heart' is P!nk reminding us that she is, before anything else, a vocalist.
    The album is disappointing, but P!nk's persona will always legendary, and it shows on every single song.    … Expand
  6. rozzabsol13
    Oct 16, 2017
    4
    The first effort since her last album doesn't make it worth it. 'Beautiful Trauma' is a predictible album with cliché lyrics and weak arrangeaments. Her collaboration with Eminem is one of the worst tracks in her entire career, while the ballads are awful and sleepy. There's no emotion in the whole album. P!nk certainly could do better.
  7. Maurus
    Oct 18, 2017
    4
    In one word: uninteresting.

    I am really disappointed. This is the first time Pink delivers a "just ok" project. She explored more of a dance-pop sound, without leaving pop-rock influences aside, but that's the only relevant "thing" about it. It has her style, her characteristics ... but it's lukewarm, with no surprises. It has some nice lyrics, and her vocals are as good as always. But    In one word: uninteresting.

    I am really disappointed. This is the first time Pink delivers a "just ok" project. She explored more of a dance-pop sound, without leaving pop-rock influences aside, but that's the only relevant "thing" about it. It has her style, her characteristics ... but it's lukewarm, with no surprises. It has some nice lyrics, and her vocals are as good as always. But that's not what we should expect or expect from Pink, since she always released a wonderful material.    … Expand
  8. RK13
    Jan 19, 2018
    6
    After listening to the album over and over again, this is one of P!nk's enigmatic albums. There is a clear divide between the best and worst songs. I Am Here, Beautiful Trauma and What About Us are outstanding, but then you find songs like Revenge that make you pounce for the skip button
  9. usukhu
    Feb 10, 2020
    5
    Not good. Just average. Nothing good except the singles and title track. "Beautiful Trauma", the song deserves to be a hit. Then nothing more.
  10. NolanLundgaard
    Apr 11, 2020
    5
    Beautiful Trauma by P!nk: 4.53

    Beautiful Trauma: 0.5 Revenge: 0.25 Whatever You Want: 0.75 What About Us: 1 But We Lost It: 1! Barbies: 1! Where We Go: 1 :) For Now: 0.75 Secrets: 0.5 Better Life: 0.5 I Am Here: 0.5 Wild Hearts Can’t Be Broken: 0.75 You Get My Love: 0.25 8.75/13 ~ .673 -> 4.53 P!nk’s seventh album, Beautiful Trauma, is a little bit of a    Beautiful Trauma by P!nk: 4.53

    Beautiful Trauma: 0.5
    Revenge: 0.25
    Whatever You Want: 0.75
    What About Us: 1
    But We Lost It: 1!
    Barbies: 1!
    Where We Go: 1 :)
    For Now: 0.75
    Secrets: 0.5
    Better Life: 0.5
    I Am Here: 0.5
    Wild Hearts Can’t Be Broken: 0.75
    You Get My Love: 0.25

    8.75/13 ~ .673 -> 4.53

    P!nk’s seventh album, Beautiful Trauma, is a little bit of a disappointment. I like listening to P!nk because she makes really good rock music that is fun in its own unique way. Here, she trades that for slower electronic pop, which I don’t necessarily have a problem with, it’s just quite a big leap to go to this from fast, upbeat rock in the time span of one album. At least in Beautiful Trauma, the average power is increased per song compared to P!nk’s earlier work. Beautiful Trauma was a fair opening song that was nice and upbeat, but lyrics were only okay and it was chock full of unnecessary strong language. Revenge was more electronic and repetitive than I would have liked it to be, and it contained a lot of language as well. I thought Whatever You Want was a good song, and the acoustic guitar felt good compared to the electronic music of the previous two songs. What About Us had powerful lyrics married to well done music, a hit. But We Lost It and Barbies were both such good songs. They both had very powerful lyrics, which I always enjoy. Plus, they were both accompanied by great music, and I loved the piano in But We Lost It. Where We Go is arguably one of the best songs on the album, with amazing upbeat music and powerful lyrics. For Now was overall a good song, since it had good lyrics, even if the timing was trippy sometimes. I’m not sure why but I did not enjoy Secrets as much as the other songs. Perhaps it was too echoed, and it felt a little repetitive. Better Life had good electric piano, but it was slower without increasing lyric power. It marked the point where I started missing the old P!nk stuff more. I Am Here, unfortunately, was a bit repetitive and there were a couple music transitions that I felt could have been executed in a smoother way, though I did really enjoy how upbeat it was. I thought Wild Hearts Can’t Be Broken was a very good song. It was powerful as well as having really good accompaniment, though the tame acoustic style was starting to get tiring, as most of the album had this style. I was hoping that You Get My Love would be a little more “poppy”, but sadly I was just all “acousticked out” by this point. Its lyrics were okay but it was full of emotion. Overall, I was a little let down by P!nk’s seventh release. It ups the power factor at the cost of the musicality of the album. If only the best of both worlds could have been met in Beautiful Trauma. That being said, this album still did well enough to score in the green, and I’m curious to hear what P!nk’s latest album sounds like, as Beautiful Trauma was really different from P!nk’s other work. Highlights: What About Us, But We Lost It, Barbies, and Where We Go.    … Expand
  11. desantis34
    Oct 20, 2018
    5
    P!nk (not to be confused with Pink Floyd) is talented and all, but she needs to do something different. Gymnastics and adult contemporary pop-rock can only get you so far.

Awards & Rankings

24
#24 Most Discussed Album of 2017
73
#73 Most Shared Album of 2017

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
62

Generally favorable reviews - based on 9 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 2 out of 9
  2. Mixed: 7 out of 9
  3. Negative: 0 out of 9
  1. Q Magazine
    Oct 24, 2017
    60
    An album with dirgeful ballads, though they do at least let her show off her excellent voice. [Dec 2017, p.109]
  2. Drowned In Sound
    Oct 23, 2017
    70
    With Beautiful Trauma then, Moore proves that she’s both still relevant, and a vital, confident female voice on the pop circuit who has impressively never really succumbed to the pressures of the overly-sexualised pop machine.
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  3. The Independent (UK)
    Oct 19, 2017
    60
    Secure behind the protective pop wall erected by producers such as Max Martin and the ubiquitous Greg Kurstin, there’s little room for originality here. Which may be for the best, given the mid-album limpness imposed by the gratingly wistful, cello-draped childhood yearning of “Barbies”, which oozes insincerity. Pink’s on safer ground riding the pumping pop-funk of “Secrets” and the title-track.
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