"Funhouse" is a song recorded by American singer
Pink
Pink is a pale tint of red, the color of the Dianthus plumarius, pink flower. It was first used as a color name in the late 17th century. According to surveys in Europe and the United States, pink is the color most often associated with charm, p ...
for her
fifth studio album of the same title (2008). It was written by Pink alongside its producers
Jimmy Harry
Jimmy Harry is an American songwriter, producer, and multi-instrumentalist who currently resides in Los Angeles, California. Harry has worked with artists such as Madonna, Pink, Weezer, Kylie Minogue, Kelly Clarkson, Fischerspooner, Oh Land, a ...
and
Tony Kanal
Tony Ashwin Kanal (born 27 August 1970) is a British-American musician, songwriter and record producer who is known for his work as the bassist and co-writer for the rock bands No Doubt and Dreamcar. His career outside of performing include ...
. Lyrically, the song discusses Pink's separation from
Carey Hart. It was released as the fourth single worldwide and fifth Australian single from ''Funhouse'' on July 2, 2009, by
LaFace Records
LaFace Records was an American record label based in Atlanta, Georgia, that operated as a unit of Sony Music Entertainment from 2008 to 2011 and was historically a part of Bertelsmann Music Group from 1989 to 2004. It was most active and achiev ...
.
Critical reception
''
Billboard
A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...
'' gave "Funhouse" a positive review, writing: "Pink again displays her versatility on this complex number, which calls for blues, funk and rock vocal stylings that few other pop stars could pull off. The singer delivers with full force, colliding with lively guitar licks and hints of synth" and giving it an 81% approval.
Commercial performance
In the United States, "Funhouse" failed to replicate the commercial success of its predecessors. It debuted at number 97 on the
''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart dated October 10, 2009, and peaked at number 44 in its sixth week, spending a total of 13 weeks charting.
In Canada, the song debuted at number 80 on the
Canadian Hot 100
The Canadian Hot 100 is a music industry record chart in Canada for songs, published weekly by ''Billboard (magazine), Billboard'' magazine. It was launched on the issue dated March 31, 2007 as the standard record chart in Canada; a new chart ...
chart dated September 12, peaking at number 21 in its seventh week.
In Australia, "Funhouse" became Pink's 16th top-ten single by peaking at number six on the
ARIA Top 100 Singles chart dated August 2.
The song also became Pink's fifth consecutive number-one single on the Australian Airplay Chart. In New Zealand, it debuted at number 18 on August 3, and peaked at number 15.
In the United Kingdom, "Funhouse" first appeared on the
UK Singles Chart at number 155 on July 5, and went on to peak at number 29.
Music video
The music video was directed by
Dave Meyers David Meyers may refer to:
*Dave Meyers (director) (born 1972), American music video director
*Dave Meyers (basketball)
David William Meyers (April 21, 1953 – October 9, 2015) was an American basketball player who played for the Milwaukee Buck ...
and premiered on June 20, 2009, in the United Kingdom on
4music
4Music was a British music television channel owned and operated by Channel Four Television Corporation. Launched on 15 August 2008, the original incarnation, replacing The Hits television channel, showed a mix of music and entertainment pr ...
at 11:00am.
Tony Kanal
Tony Ashwin Kanal (born 27 August 1970) is a British-American musician, songwriter and record producer who is known for his work as the bassist and co-writer for the rock bands No Doubt and Dreamcar. His career outside of performing include ...
of
No Doubt
No Doubt is an American rock band formed in Anaheim, California in 1986. For most of its career, the band has consisted of vocalist and founding member Gwen Stefani, guitarist Tom Dumont, bassist Tony Kanal and drummer Adrian Young. Keyboar ...
, also the co-writer and the producer of the song, appears in a
cameo, playing a piano. The video takes place in a barren lot that is later shown to be what's left of a house that is still burning. There are 'evil clowns' throughout the area who are picking though the rubble and playing the instruments as the band. The video begins as it pans low to the ground showing an "Elvis" grave briefly. Pink emerges from an old empty pool and begins to sing the first verse. She proceeds to kick over a toilet and picks up a framed photo. She throws it behind her. She passes a toaster and now it shows that she is in a burning fun house. She dances past a few 'evil clowns'. It shows more of the burning remains of the building. She picks up a stick and throws it down. Then an 'evil clown' turns around and the camera has a close up of its face. She counts down from 9. (She quickly shows her middle finger on '5' but on most versions of the video that is blurred out.) She moves to a table and takes a sip of some red liquid but becomes disgusted and throws it down. She jumps onto a mattress attached to a chain which two 'evil clowns' are pulling. She gets off the mattress and climbs onto the burning fun house. It shows four 'evil clowns' (Two are miming with each other, one is playing the guitar and the last is just standing on its own.) She goes over to the guitar playing clown and dances with it. She proceeds to count down from 9 again. She climbs through a doggie door to find Tony Kanal playing the piano. Pink moves to a motorcycle and puts on sunglasses and a leather jacket. In the background a voice is counting down from 9. At one she rides away on the motorcycle as the house explodes. It then shows her riding her motorcycle on a road as the song ends. In the music video, Pink wore a white tank top with white skinny jeans with black boots.
The Funhouse Freakshow Edition
As a part of the ''Funhouse Freakshow'', alternate videos for "Funhouse", "
Please Don't Leave Me" and "
Leave Me Alone (I'm Lonely)
"Leave Me Alone (I'm Lonely)" is a song recorded by American singer Pink for her fourth studio album '' I'm Not Dead'' (2006). It was written by Pink and the song's producer Butch Walker. The song was released as the fifth single from ''I'm Not D ...
" were shot.
The video for "Funhouse" directed by
Cole Walliser
Cole Walliser is a Canadian filmmaker and music video director best known as the operator of the Glambot high speed camera. He has directed videos for Miley Cyrus, P!nk, Katy Perry, and Laura Marano.
Life and career
Cole Walliser was born in V ...
shows Pink singing onstage along with a band consisting of clowns and the staff of a circus. She wears the same outfit that appears on the cover of "
Glitter in the Air". The video is entirely shot in black and white, and it's the only one, among the ''Funhouse Freakshow'' videos where Pink lip-syncs the words of the song. The video appears on the bonus DVD accompanying the deluxe edition of Pink's compilation album, ''
Greatest Hits... So Far!!!''.
Track listings and formats
CD single
# "Funhouse" (album version) – 3:24
# "Funhouse" (
Digital Dog
Digital Dog are an English remix/production duo consisting of Steve Cornish and Nick Mace. The duo also produce under the aliases Jack Rokka and Elek-Tro Junkies.
Digital Dog's 2007 collaboration with Betty Boo, "Take Off", topped the UK Indie ...
Remix) – 5:57
Digital single
# "Funhouse" (album version) – 3:24
# "Funhouse" (Digital Dog Remix) – 5:57
# "Funhouse" (Digital Dog Dub) – 6:07
Charts
Weekly charts
Year-end charts
Certifications
Release history
References
{{authority control
2009 singles
Music videos directed by Dave Meyers (director)
Pink (singer) songs
Songs written by Pink (singer)
Songs written by Tony Kanal
Songs written by Jimmy Harry
2008 songs
LaFace Records singles
Sony Music singles