When Pink bursts into the Malibu Performing Arts Center, the secluded studio where she recorded much of her new album Funhouse, the singer fills the room much the same way your best friend would. She struts towards the small gathering of journalists in her enviable Betsy Johnson stiletto heels, a romantic white blouse, and a leather pencil skirt in a rich shade of brown while carrying a full glass of red wine. She crackles with energy and laughter. Her mission this evening, as Pink instantly makes clear, is to get all of us writers – the first to hear her new songs – at least a little bit tipsy. As if on cue, the catering staff refills our goblets.

Wine is a big part of the Pink experience. Pink and Funhouse producer Butch Walker bonded over wine years ago at Hollywood's Chateau Marmont. "I fell down the stairs carrying my glass of wine back to the room to write and busted my kneecaps, but didn't spill a drop of wine. That further instilled in me that my priorities were correct and Butch and I should be best friends," she remembers, laughing. Though she bemoans the fact that people use her as an excuse to let loose, saying, "I'm so tired of hearing, God, I smoke so much more around you. Or, I haven't drank that much ever with anyone else. Or, Oh, it's you, I'll have another tequila. I'm like, why are you using me as an excuse to party?!" So is it really any surprise there's a song on Funhouse entitled "Bad Influence"?

Despite some liquid lubrication after we part ways, Pink is refreshed when we meet up early the next morning, dressed in a tank-top and a pair of comfy – though somehow flattering – overalls. "I'm a night person," she explains. "I can't go to sleep, even if I'm lying in bed, so I stayed out late." Even without a full night's sleep, Pink is pretty. Her cropped, white blonde coif compliments her tanned skin and unlike other delicate starlets, Pink has powerful features and a fierce beauty that extends from her blue-gray eyes to her bare, muscular arm. She's a gorgeous tomboy.

We're tucked in a secluded corner at a rustic breakfast spot in a nondescript area of Malibu, which is good, because at this moment, Pink doesn't want much of an audience. "When I first meet people I'm a little shy," she explains. "When you know you're going to meet someone and five minutes later delve into your childhood with them, that can be a bit daunting."

It's not something you expect to hear from Pink, an artist who's M.O. has always been more about baring it all. In a world of bland celebrities, Pink has rightfully earned a reputation as the pop star you can count on to never say "no comment". She's known for letting loose, even if that includes bashing another pop star in an interview or discussing her dissatisfaction with her childhood on her sophmore album M!ssundaztood. So when news broke earlier this year of the split between Pink and her husband, motocross star and Hart and Huntington Tattoo owner Carey Hart, she handled the fallout the Pink way –she called Walker and began pouring out her heart – and at least a few glasses of good wine – into what would become Funhouse.