Pink covers the newest issue of Billboard Mag. She’s promoting three things – one, her new album, which comes out in a few weeks. Two, her new endorsement deal with Cover Girl, and three, she has some kind of deal with Target. Target is going to help promote her new album in exchange for…? Whatever. I don’t really consider that “selling out” for Pink – although she’s kind of punk chick, her music has always been pop, and I think Pink is smart to work out all of these deals to help her sell her music. Anyway, the Billboard interview is pretty interesting – Pink talks about her career, her decade within the music industry, and a little bit about her marriage:

Her new album: “I felt like I was in this videogame and I collected all the gold coins and talismans you could collect — I had to either move to the next level or quit. There’s this whole techno takeover going on right now that just does my head in, and I knew I didn’t want to do that. I’d rather dance around and sing goofy songs.”

Reaction to her Cover Girl contract: “I always read the responses from the fans. It was 99% positive, but I’ll always have that 1% that’s negative. And my favorite comment was, “Too bad they can’t Photoshop the bitch off your face.” [laughs] That’s actually pretty good.”

Her career faltering in the mid 2000s: “I never looked at it that way. I was always on the road in the U.K. and Australia, and things were really great over there. Then I got to come home and be left alone. And you know what? It gave me lot of time to create my show and to become a performer. I would go on 22-month tours and work my ass off, and it’s been the biggest blessing of my life that now I am a touring artist. It got me out of the popularity contest that music can be sometimes and gave me time to hone my craft as a stage performer. I’m also grateful, and I got to come back and do the Grammys [in 2010]. That was my ‘A-ha.’”

Lessons from a decade in the music industry: “I’ll have 18-, 19-year-old artists who just got signed who’ll come to me asking for advice and I don’t know what to tell people anymore-it’s just so different now. There’s no record company budgets or big pop tours or million-dollar videos. People have to just get creative and figure it out. The music business has changed so much and I credit [weathering] that transition to my manager [Roger Davies] and to hard work. The joke was my first tour opening for ‘N Sync and my 10th tour was opening for Justin [Timberlake]. You have to be humble. I would go and do sold-out arena shows back to back all over Germany, then come and do 800-capacity clubs in Washington, D.C. You don’t ever get done paying your dues.

Whether her new songs reflect any real marital problems she’s facing: “It’s funny. I wrote “Family Portrait” when I was 21 and my parents divorced when I was 9, so I tend to hold onto things. I’m still exorcising some of those demons. And look, I’m in a relationship that I’ve been in for 10 years and it’s never going to be perfect. Carey always jokes, ‘You’re always just mad enough at me to write a song.’ ‘Yep. Thanks, baby, you’re my muse.’”

[From Billboard]

I think Pink is speaking realistically about her relationship – it’s like she’s saying, “Dude, nothing’s perfect. Don’t expect it to be.” I also like that she’s talking about how she seems to be much more popular overseas than in America, and she’s basically making her money off touring. I guess she’s going to tour to support this new album too? I wonder how that’s going to work with Willow. Last thing: Pink is due to perform at the VMAs!

Photos courtesy of Billboard, WENN, Fame/Flynet.