Pink performs at the Armory in Minneapolis. Photo by Michael Zorn/Invision/AP
Pink should have shown up on Philadelphia's injury list.
But she's a gamer, er, trouper, so a nasty cold isn't about to stop her from performing -- not on a Friday night for 8,000 at the newly remodeled Minneapolis Armory or Sunday evening at the Super Bowl in U.S. Bank Stadium for however-many million.
Early during Friday's performance, the pop star, a mother of two, explained that she got a cold from her kindergartner. Throughout the concert, the singer guzzled water, chewed gum and carried on. OK, she let her two backup singers carry passages on a few songs.
But still Pink managed to impress vocally. You could hear her ache in "What About Us," her recent single. She hit the big notes (and danced playfully) on a cover of 4Non Blondes giant singalong "What's Up." She slayed both the soft and loud parts of Led Zeppelin's "Babe I'm Gonna Leave You." And she belted "Raise Your Glass" like a pop anthem should be.
Despite her cold, the 38-year-old was in good spirits and chatty. At one point, she warned a fan not to worry because she wouldn't touch her and spread the cold. And the singer did acknowledge her background without fuss or partisanship: "I'm not going to deny it: I'm from Philadelphia."
Pink left it at that. Except she demonstrated her incredible athletic prowess during the encore "So What" by tumbling in mid-air as she floated over the crowd while singing. Do I need to repeat that? It was jaw-droppingly exhilarating.
Didn't matter if she was sick. Didn't matter if she performed only 80 minutes. Pink was a winner.
Here's hoping the cold will be gone when Pink sings the National Anthem Sunday at the Super Bowl and that she'll be in perfect voice when she returns to the Twin Cities on March 12 at Xcel Energy Center as part of her regular concert tour.