July 05, 2009 12:00am
POP superstar Pink spoke from the heart when she met homeless kids in Sydney last week.
Performing her 10th show in Sydney as part of her whopping 58-date Australian tour, Pink invited students from Surry Hills' independent high school Key College backstage. The school caters for Sydney's homeless youth.
"That was me," Pink told The Sunday Telegraph.
"I wish I had something like that when I was a kid. I was kicked out of my house when I was 15. I was on drugs, the whole nine. I could have used a school like that."
But despite a difficult childhood and battles with drugs, the 29-year-old managed to turn her life around to become a top recording artist, selling millions of albums.
Pink learned about Key College after reading an article in The Sunday Telegraph's Sunday magazine in May - the same issue in which she featured on the cover.
The school opened in 1996 and is the brainchild of Youth Off The Streets founder Father Chris Riley.
So moved by the story, she contacted the school and invited more than 20 of its students to her Sydney shows.
"The kids are so tough and cool and it's fun, I just hope they have a good time," she said.
"Maybe them seeing the show is a little kick in the a*** to show they can do whatever they want 'cos I was that kid."
One student, Simon, 16, was overcome with emotion when he met his idol.
He was so excited to meet her that he had to hold his hands together to stop them from shaking, explaining Pink's music had kept him alive during serious bouts of depression.
"Pink was pretty much my salvation when I was growing up," said Simon, who had dyed his hair pink and painted his fingernails to meet the singer.
"She gave me a way to escape all the problems that were happening around me. Her music gave me a way of building myself up. Pink's music made me feel stronger inside," Simon said.
Meeting the students was equally as moving for Pink.
"That's the stuff that hits you," she said. "That is where I was at. That is how I felt about Linda Perry and Janis Joplin, so here we are."
http://www.news.com.au/dailytelegraph/story/0,,25732982-5001021,00.html
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