On This Day in Pink History… 29th October 2012, Try was released

Try is the second single to be released from Pink’s 2012 album, The Truth About Love. The song was originally sung by GoNorthToGoSouth, a band fronted by Ben West and Michael Busbee.

The song received mostly positive reviews from music critics, who praised its production. Andrew Hampp of Billboard commented “With a melody reminiscent of ‘Whataya Want from Me,’ the 2009 hit she penned for Adam Lambert, the single already pairs well sonically with Pink’s catalog. Josh Langhoff of PopMatters called it “an ode to romantic persistence over crisp ‘Hysteria’ guitars.” John Murphy of musicOMH wrote that ‘Try’ “demonstrates that she has a voice that not enough people give her credit for. For want of a better phrase, it’s a full-on power ballad, with yet more references to love going wrong, and the sort of thing you can imagine someone like Kelly Clarkson pulling off in her sleep.” Amy Sciarretto of Pop Crush also saw similarities with Clarkson, writing, “It’s a belter with a soulful voice, and she sounds like Kelly Clarkson with this song. The midtempo track finds Pink mourning, lamenting and musing on a relationship that is breaking down at its core. It hurts, but this song is a salve over the wound.”

Dean Piper of Mirror Online wrote: “The stand out track and an obvious international radio hit is ‘Try.’ Think how big and fabulous ‘Who Knew’ was – ‘Try’ is on the same wavelength.” Sarah Rodman of Boston Globe called it a “keeper and an urging-to-victory battle cry,” Robert Copsey of Digital Spy described it as “a ballad of the stadium-filling, lighter-waving variety.” while Caryn Ganz of Spin called it a “breakup salve.” Lewis Corner of Digital Spy gave the song 4 out of possible 5, writing: “Although she may not be treading new ground sonically, her passionate tones and solid determination will continue her chart presence – and rightly so.” However, Sal Cinquemani of Slant Magazine was less positive, writing that “the midtempo ‘Try’ doesn’t push Pink forward either, and it’s marred by singsong lyrics.” Greg Kot of Chicago Tribune also shared the same thought, writing: “No one, not even Pink, can save lyrics such as these.”

Pink stated that the video is one of the most beautiful music videos of her career. Read more about the music video here.

The single was released with the b-side My Signature Move.

Charts/Peak Positions

• Australia ARIA – 6
• France SNEP – 15
• Germany – 2
• UK Singles Chart – 8
• US Billboard Hot 100 – 9