"Hustle" is a song recorded by American singer

Pink Pink is the color of a namesake flower that is a pale tint of red. 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, politeness, ...

for her eighth studio album, ''

Hurts 2B Human ''Hurts 2B Human'' is the eighth studio album by American singer-songwriter Pink. Released on April 26, 2019, by RCA Records, the album was initially planned as a standalone extended play (EP). Pursuing a sound that would be departure from her p ...

'' (2019). Pink co-wrote the song with Jorgen Odegard and

Dan Reynolds Daniel Coulter Reynolds (born July 14, 1987) is an American singer and songwriter. He is the lead vocalist of the pop rock band Imagine Dragons. Reynolds also released an EP in 2011, titled ''Egyptian – EP,'' as a duo with his former wife Aja ...

, the lead vocalist of

Imagine Dragons Imagine Dragons is an American pop rock band from Las Vegas, Nevada, consisting of lead singer Dan Reynolds, guitarist Wayne Sermon, bassist Ben McKee and drummer Daniel Platzman. The band first gained exposure with the release of their sing ...

, and also provides additional vocals on the chorus, while the production was handled by Odegard, with additional production from Reynolds. It was released on March 28, 2019 by

RCA Records RCA Records is an American record label currently owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside RCA's former long-time rival Columbia Records; also A ...

as the album's first promotional single, along with the album pre-order. An upbeat

pop Pop or POP may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * Pop music, a musical genre Artists * POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade * Pop!, a UK pop group * Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band Albums * ''Pop'' (G ...

song with

country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, while the ...

influences, "Hustle" is lyrically center around a relationship gone wrong, with Pink warning her partner that he won't be able to take advantage of her again. The song received positive reviews from music critics who applauded its anthemic nature and the singer's attitude, as well as the lyrics and instrumentation. Commercially, "Hustle" achieved top-forty positions in Scotland and the digital charts of Canada and the United States. For promotion, an accompanying lyric video was uploaded onto Pink's official

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channel simultaneously with the song's release. She also performed the song at selected dates of her

Beautiful Trauma World Tour The Beautiful Trauma World Tour was the seventh concert tour A concert tour (or simply tour) is a series of concerts by an artist or group of artists in different cities, countries or locations. Often concert tours are named to differentiate ...

(2018–2019) and on ''

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''.

Background and release

"Hustle" was written by Pink, Jorgen Odegard and

, the

lead vocalist The lead vocalist in popular music is typically the member of a group or band whose voice is the most prominent melody in a performance where multiple voices may be heard. The lead singer sets their voice against the accompaniment parts of t ...

of the American

pop rock Pop rock (also typeset as pop/rock) is a fusion genre with an emphasis on professional songwriting and recording craft, and less emphasis on attitude than rock music. Originating in the late 1950s as an alternative to normal rock and roll, earl ...

band

, while the production was solely handled by Odegard, with additional production from Reynolds. Recording took place at The Village Studios, in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

, assisted by recording engineer Gabe Burch, while mastering engineering was performed by Dave Kutch. Pink appeared on '' The Ellen DeGeneres Show'' on February 6, 2019 and stated that she will release new music, revealing that the album, titled ''

'', was believed to be released around April 2019. On March 28, 2019, Pink revealed on her social media accounts that she will release a promotional single titled "Hustle", along with the album pre-order. The track was made available for digital download and

streaming Streaming media is multimedia that is delivered and consumed in a continuous manner from a source, with little or no intermediate storage in network elements. ''Streaming'' refers to the delivery method of content, rather than the content it ...

on all platforms, along with the official lyric video on

Composition and lyrics

"Hustle" is a

song that lasts two minutes and fifty-six seconds. The upbeat composition is accompanied by an "electro-swing" in the verses, with Odegard providing the song's instrumentation, except the

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...

that was played by Reynolds.

Stephen Thomas Erlewine Stephen Thomas Erlewine (; born June 18, 1973) is an American music critic and senior editor for the online music database AllMusic. He is the author of many artist biographies and record reviews for AllMusic, as well as a freelance writer, occ ...

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

described the song as a "funky number", while Malvika Padin from '' Clash'' called the "

-tinged" instrumentals catchy and felt that they were added as an attempt to "experiment with new, more youthful" sounds. Lyrically, the song talks about a relationship that went wrong, with Pink warning her partner that he won't be able to take advantage of her again, as she signs "You took my love, mistook it for weakness/ I guarantee I won’t repeat this, no/ Don’t try to hustle me" in the opening verse, over a "jumping juke-joint groove". The track eventually reaches the chorus in which Pink belts "Don't hustle me" several times. According to the

music sheet Sheet music is a handwritten or printed form of musical notation that uses musical symbols to indicate the pitches, rhythms, or chords of a song or instrumental musical piece. Like its analogs – printed books or pamphlets in English, Ara ...

published by

Sony/ATV Music Publishing Sony Music Publishing (formerly Sony/ATV Music Publishing) is the largest music publisher in the world, with over five million songs owned or administered as of end March 2021. US-based, it is part of the Sony Music Group, which is itself owned ...

at Musicnotes.com, the track is composed in the key of

A Minor A minor is a minor scale based on A, with the pitches A, B, C, D, E, F, and G. Its key signature has no flats and no sharps. Its relative major is C major and its parallel major is A major. The A natural minor scale is: : Changes ...

with a moderate

tempo In musical terminology, tempo (Italian, 'time'; plural ''tempos'', or ''tempi'' from the Italian plural) is the speed or pace of a given piece. In classical music, tempo is typically indicated with an instruction at the start of a piece (often ...

of 97 beats per minute. Pink's vocals span a range of G₃ to G₅, while its chord progression follows a basic sequence of Am-E₇-Am.

Reception and promotion

Writing for '' The Quietus'', Nick Roseblade listed "Hustle" and other two songs from ''Hurts 2B Human'', "(Hey Why) Miss You Sometime" and "

Can We Pretend "Can We Pretend" is a song recorded by American singer Pink for her eighth studio album, ''Hurts 2B Human'' (2019). The track was initially released as the second promotional single on April 11, 2019 but later sent to radio on April 22, 2019 as t ...

", respectively, as "fun, infectious" pop songs that "made Pink a household name." Aimee Cliff from ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'' described the track as "stomping ..underdog me-against-the-world" anthem. Brandy Robidoux from Hollywood Life said that "Hustle" is a "hard-hitting, rockin' ..badass anthem for the ages", while the "Bitch please" phrase is "likely sending anyone who's ever broken her heart running for the hills." Angelica Acevedo from ''

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 advertise ...

'' felt that Pink is showing off "her country side" in the song, as well as giving "a classic bad-ass vibe". Mike Nied from Idolator described "Hustle" as a "sassy anthem" and noted how " tonly picks up steam as she moves into the explosive chorus." Pink promoted "Hustle" with several live performances. The singer included the song during her

(2018–2019) concert tour at selected dates, replacing the track " Smells Like Teen Spirit". On May 1, 2019, she appeared on ''

'' and performed "Hustle", accompanied by several backup singers and a nine-piece live band. Gil Kaufman from ''Billboard'' said that the performance was in an "old-school style", while Emily Zemler of ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...

'' felt that Pink added an "uplifting vibe" to the song.

Charts

Certifications

Release history

References

{{authority control 2019 singles 2019 songs Pink (singer) songs Songs written by Pink (singer) Songs written by Dan Reynolds (musician)