Grammy-winning country singer-songwriter Chris Stapleton contemplated the limits of love with pop star Pink in her 2019 track “Love Me Anyway” from her eighth studio album Hurts 2B Human.
Written by Pink herself along with the masterminds behind Miranda Lambert’s number-one hit “The House That Built Me,” Allen Shamblin and Thomas Douglas, the song delves deep into the human experience and narrates a soulful conversation between two people: At what point could you still love a person? How many even-ifs can you take and say, “I just love them anyway?”
It opens with Pink stripping down to her vulnerable self, singing and questioning Stapleton’s commitment and love for her, “Even if you see my scars, even if I break your heart / If we’re a million miles apart, do you think you’d walk away?” She even goes extreme, asking if he could still love her, even if she flirts with all the boys.
Stapleton joins in around the one-minute mark, doing subtle harmonies as Pink still tries to test him: “Even if I scandalize you / Cut you down and criticize you / Tell a million lies about you / What would you say?” And then, the country vocalist duets her in full as the song’s end nears. This time, he asks her too, if she would catch him when he falls, will they rise above it all, and will she hold him when it hurts. Pink then signs off, “Like it’s the end of the world.”
For You
This collaboration wasn’t Pink’s first foray into the genre. In 2016, she worked with Kenny Chesney in a wistful duet of California Summer in the track “Setting the World on Fire” from his album Cosmic Hallelujah, which became a number-one hit. A year later, she graced the stage of the CMAs with a riveting performance of her song “Barbies” that brought the Nashville crowd to its feet.
As for Stapleton, it also wasn’t his first in the pop world. He had previously teamed up with pop superstar Justin Timberlake for his Man of the Woods album. The two sang on the third single, “Say Something.”
The unique blend of their talents in this song was undeniable and one of the collaborations that deserves a listen. Check out Pink and Chris Stapleton’s performance of “Love Me Anyway” in the video below. And get ready to be blown away.
