"Just Like a Pill" is a song by American singer Pink. It was written by Pink and Dallas Austin and produced by Austin for the singer's second studio album, Missundaztood. The lyrics of the song deal with getting out of painful relationships with a subtheme about drug abuse.[3]
The song was released worldwide as the third single from Missundaztood in June 2002 and was a commercial success, peaking at number eight on the Billboard Hot 100 in the United States. It also performed well internationally, reaching number one on the UK Singles Chart and peaking within the top 10 in 12 additional countries.
Background and composition
"Just like a Pill" was written by Pink and Dallas Austin, who also produced and arranged the song.[4] Pink said in an interview that the song shows "part of who I am", referring to her documented problems with drugs.[5]
The song was lauded by contemporary music critics. NME called it "the third best track off her killer last album".[8]Drowned in Sound's Robert Luckett commented that it is "a fascinating record...this is a record with a[n] edge, a kind of pot boiling over at any moment, ready to go off at any time vibe." He also wrote "it obeys the pop industry's well-dusted rules for a hit."[9]Stylus Magazine's Todd Burns, in his review of the album, compared "Just like a Pill" to the other singles from the album, "Don't Let Me Get Me" and "Get the Party Started", writing "The guitars... sound much more integrated into the work and the overall song works far better."[10]
In the UK, the song scored Pink her second number-one single in that country, whilst peaking at number two in Austria, Ireland and New Zealand, and within the top 10 in many countries across the world including Sweden, the Netherlands, Norway and Belgium. It peaked at number eight on the Billboard Hot 100.[12] In Australia, the song was a radio-only single in hopes of rising album sales. Although it was a number-one radio hit, a physical release never eventuated; however, it did appear as the B-side to the Australian release of "Family Portrait".[13]
Music video
The video for "Just like a Pill" was directed by Francis Lawrence for LaFace Records.[14] The video is considerably different from Pink's previous videos. "Get the Party Started" and "Don't Let Me Get Me" were lighter in nature than the dark atmosphere of "Just like a Pill", which featured Pink wearing black outfits and wearing black hair. Commenting on the different style of video, Pink said: "This one's very dark and artsy, and I have black hair, which is very fun. I loved it. It's another part that I haven't concentrated on before."[15]
In the first scene, Pink lies on the floor. In the chorus she sings in front of her band. She is also featured in another scene with white rabbits around her in a room, and in another scene, she is seen with an elephant. There are also scenes with Pink singing in front of and amongst various people. In the latter half of the video, she runs in a hall whilst lip-synching the song, before disappearing into a bright doorway atop a staircase at the conclusion of the video.[14]
After the elephant scene, Pink decided to stop using animals for her videos. In an interview, she explained: "This poor elephant...a huge elephant, it's so cute, and I could see how painful it was for it to get down on its hands and knees, ... I didn't like it. I won't do that again. [...] No more animals."[15]
↑"Just like a Pill (song) by Pink review". reviewstream.com. Retrieved March 17, 2015.
↑"Review of Pink, 'Missundaztood' (2001)". truthaboutnursing.org. Retrieved March 17, 2015.
↑Sheffield, Rob. "CD Review - M!ssundaztood". Rolling Stone. Retrieved June 12, 2009.{{cite magazine}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)
↑Soghomonian, Talia. "Archive of song reviews". all-reviews.com. Retrieved June 14, 2009.
↑"Interview: Pink". musicOMH. Archived from the original on March 31, 2009. Retrieved June 14, 2009.
12"Just Like a Pill". Musicnotes.com. June 30, 2009. MN0075141. Retrieved April 9, 2021.
↑"Just Like a Pill – P!nk – Spot On Track". www.spotontrack.com. Retrieved September 4, 2017.
↑Wells, Steven (August 22, 2002). "Track reviews - Pink: Just like a Pill". NME. Retrieved June 14, 2009.
↑Luckett, Robert (September 21, 2002). "Pink: Just like a Pill". Drowned in Sound. Archived from the original on October 3, 2012. Retrieved June 14, 2009.
↑Burns, Todd (September 1, 2003). "Pink - M!ssundaztood - Review". Stylus Magazine. Archived from the original on February 4, 2010. Retrieved June 14, 2009.
↑Wilkes, Neil (January 1, 2003). "BBC big winner in DS Awards". Digital Spy. Retrieved June 14, 2009.
↑"Offizielle Deutsche Charts" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. To see the peak chart position, click 'TITEL VON', followed by the artist's name. Retrieved October 26, 2018.
↑"Top 50 Singles" (in Greek). IFPI Greece. Archived from the original on December 1, 2002. Retrieved September 22, 2020.
↑"Archívum – Slágerlisták – MAHASZ" (in Hungarian). Rádiós Top 40 játszási lista. Magyar Hanglemezkiadók Szövetsége. Retrieved January 12, 2024.
↑"Archívum – Slágerlisták – MAHASZ" (in Hungarian). Single (track) Top 40 lista. Magyar Hanglemezkiadók Szövetsége. Retrieved January 12, 2024.
↑"Nederlandse Top 40 – week 43, 2002" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved November 30, 2018.
↑"P!nk – Just like a Pill" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved May 1, 2015.
↑"P!nk – Just like a Pill". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved May 1, 2015.
↑"P!nk – Just like a Pill". VG-lista. Retrieved May 1, 2015.
↑"Major Market Airplay – Week 05/2003"(PDF). Music & Media. Vol.21, no.5. January 25, 2003. p.27. Retrieved February 17, 2023.
↑"Arhiva romanian top 100 – Editia 50, saptamina 16.12-22.12, 2002" (in Romanian). Romanian Top 100. Archived from the original on October 12, 2004. Retrieved September 2, 2019.
↑"Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart on 28/9/2002 – Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved October 30, 2015.
↑"P!nk – Just like a Pill". Singles Top 100. Retrieved May 1, 2015.
↑"Austrian single certifications – Pink – Just Like a Pill" (in German). IFPI Austria. Retrieved September 22, 2020.
↑"Canadian single certifications – Pink – Just Like a Pill". Music Canada. Retrieved September 19, 2021.
↑"Danish single certifications – P!nk – Just Like a Pill". IFPI Danmark. Retrieved September 17, 2025.
↑"Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (P!nk;'Just Like a Pill')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie. Retrieved May 11, 2026.
↑"New Zealand single certifications – Pink – Just Like a Pill". Radioscope. Retrieved December 19, 2024.Type Just Like a Pill in the "Search:" field and press Enter.
↑"IFPI Norsk platebransje Trofeer 1993–2011" (in Norwegian). IFPI Norway. Retrieved September 22, 2020.
↑"British single certifications – Pink – Just Like a Pill". British Phonographic Industry.Select singles in the Formats field.Type Just Like a PillPink in the "Search:" field.
↑Copsey, Rob (September 22, 2022). "Official Charts Flashback 2002: Pink - Just Like A Pill". Official Charts Company. Retrieved September 23, 2022.
↑"Pink's latest greatest hit". Billboard. October 2, 2010.
↑"Radio & Records"(PDF). Worldradiohistory.com. June 7, 2002. Retrieved October 21, 2021.
↑"New Releases – For Week Starting 16 September 2002: Singles"(PDF). Music Week. September 14, 2002. p.23. Retrieved August 28, 2021.
↑"Pink: Single". click2music.dk (in Danish). Archived from the original on July 2, 2003. Retrieved November 9, 2023.
↑"Pink: Just Like a Pill". click2music.se (in Swedish). Archived from the original on August 21, 2004. Retrieved November 29, 2023.
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