AEROSMITH - PINK

Released: November 18, 1997

Charts: US: #27    UK: #13 

"Pink" is a song released as the third single from the 1997 album “Nine Lives”. The song won the Grammy for Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal in 1999, marking the band's fourth win in that category. 

It was written by Steven Tyler, along with Richie Supa and Glen Ballard, making it one of the few Aerosmith songs not co-written by guitarist Joe Perry. Supa had previously co-written the hit "Amazing," while Ballard co-wrote another “Nine Lives” track, "Falling in Love (Is Hard on the Knees)." During the recording of the album the band was sober and fueled by espresso, according to Ballard.

The song features a distinctive harmonica intro played by lead singer Steven Tyler, paired with a strong bass rhythm and a blend of acoustic and electric guitars. Many of the lyrics in the verses revolve around the word "pink," with lines such as "Pink, it's my new obsession" and "Pink, on the lips of your lover." The song is filled with playful and suggestive innuendos, hinting at the admiration of sexual and intimate aspects of a relationship. The fascination with the color pink is symbolic, with subtle references to both male and female anatomy. 

The music video featured innovative CGI effects, showing various characters' faces morphing into different bodies as they moved toward the camera. Band members, including Joe Perry, Brad Whitford, and Steven Tyler, were transformed into fantastical versions of themselves, such as a centaur, a little boy, a skeleton, and more. Directed by Doug Nichol, the video premiered on November 11, 1997.

Two versions of the video exist: an uncensored one that shows brief nudity in two scenes, where a woman’s breast is exposed and another woman, painted blue and green, is shown spinning. The uncensored version sparked minor controversy, leading some networks to require a censored version for daytime airings. In the edited version, these moments were either removed or altered, and an additional scene featuring Tyler and Perry as a two-headed man was included to cover up the nudity.