Rebecca Otto

Rebecca Morean

4/14/2021

English 1201

“What About Us” What it’s About

“What About Us” is a famous song made by the even more famous singer, Pink. The

song was released on August 16, 2017 and was an immediate hit, making the Hot 100’s for the

week and selling 16,000 copies on the first day of the release. It also sat at number 30 on the US

Digital Songs chart. What is “What About Us” about, though, and do different versions share the

same meaning. “What About Us” has been covered by many people over the years, including the

One Voice Children’s Choir who recreated a beautiful music video and song. Analyzing the two

videos by their video aspects like background and people, listening to the song for stylistic

difference, and listening and looking for the overall meaning of the music and video to give a

clear answer about what the two versions of the songs mean and how much they compare to each

other. Both versions and videos of "What About Us" take a different direction when it comes to

the settings, people, style, and audience they are targeting, but in the end they both have an

underlying theme of wanting justice for a certain group of people, even though it's not the same

group.

The first version that will be analyzed is the original song by PINK which was released

on August 10, 2017 for streaming and download. The music video was also a hit, currently

sitting at 309 million views and 1.6 million likes on the popular video site, Youtube. The music

video showcases people, ranging from late teens to what appears to be mid 20’s sitting and

hanging out in an abandoned lot when the cops arrive. The adolescents are forcefully pushed to
the ground and beaten around by the cops seemingly without a just cause. This is all while PINK

sings “What About Us” in a helpless yet upset tone. It seems that what PINK is asking is why the

police choose to arrest them instead of help them. They were never helped or saved from the bad

things which exist in today’s world by those, like the police, who were meant to protect them.

They didn’t help them when they most needed it so now they have become “delinquents,” doing

things they shouldn't in abandoned lots and on top of deserted buildings. Only then do the police

show up, not to help them, but to take them down and throw them in jail. The video urges the

audience to think about the effectiveness of our current disciplinary and justice systems. The

target audience of this video is mainly younger people, those in Generation Z and Millennials,

who have been affected by, or have seen the effects of, the police force and the government’s

inability to stop the problem before it happens. Those who are affected by poverty or who live in

the city, as expressed by those in the video who are in the city with torn and tattered clothes, are

also shown to be the target audience. The video seems to use ethos to get the audience to feel and

relate with those in the video. Watching young people, who look like regular kids, fight

helplessly against the shattered justice system that refused to save them leads the audience to

sympathize with them, as if they are watching a hero who is losing the fight against the big,

mean, bad guys. The video is pretty intense with the fighting and anarchy. The second video was

not as intense and was more sweet and melodic, but it had a similar meaning.

“What About Us” is an incredibly popular and well known song, so it’s unsurprising that

there are quite a few covers of the song, where other people sang their own version of the

popular tune. One group that chose to cover this song was the One Voice Children’s Choir. The

scene is set outdoors in what seems to be a lovely park, with bridges to cross, benches to sit on,

and gazebos to stand under. The sun is out with beautiful blue skies that shine down on the
children singing. There are anywhere from 25 to 60 kids singing in rows of 5 all ages from 5 to

18 wearing white. Despite the beautiful set up and shining sun, the song is almost a bit sad and is

much more melodic than the original song. Occasionally one kid would be shown sitting alone,

away from the group, with no one by their side. There were also a few kids who sang a solo,

often standing alone and looking into the camera while doing so. The music feels sad and

desperate as the kids sing, asking “What about us” as if having been left behind. Unlike in the

original tune, these kids seem to be talking to adults in general while singing, though it is most

likely directed at parents and those who were meant to protect them and care for and love them,

but didn’t. While the song is talking to adults, I don’t believe it is the audience is adults, but

instead kids of a similar age range as those singing. Those who can relate or feel what those kids

are feeling are understandably, other kids. The way the song is played and sung is for those kids

who are left behind or forgotten by adults, even though the adults are the ones being “sung at”.

Using ethos the kids are able to gain pity and sorrow for them. The isolation of sitting all alone

makes people feel bad for the lonely kid who was left behind with no one to turn to for support.

It makes them relatable for kids who have been subjected to abuse or abandonment by their

parents or the adults who were supposed to care for them and protect them. While the two songs

may have some differences, they also have a lot of similarities.

The original song “What About Us” by PINK is a little different from the cover of it done

by the One Voice Children’s Choir, but they also have many similarities. While the first song

may have been more serious and upset in tone, it still has a similar sadness or abandonment as

the remake by the choir. In both videos the young characters were shown to be left behind and

abandoned by those who were meant to protect them.The one by PINK has those shown being

left behind by law enforcement and the version by the One Voice Children’s Choir the kids are
left behind by adults in general, mostly parents. The songs are also both appealing to those of a

younger age group who are affected by the struggles of today. Furthermore, both use ethos to

appeal to their audience. By using ethos, the songs and videos are able to appeal to peoples’

emotions, making them feel bad for the ones in that situation. The biggest similarity is that both

songs have a similar meaning, being that people are being ignored, left behind, or forgotten by

the ones who are meant to protect them and this message rings true for many people in today's

world, which is why this song is so impactful to many.

“What About Us” is a popular and impactful song by PINK. The song is relevant to many

people, especially those who are younger like some Millennials and Generation Z kids who have

been impacted by the harsh climate of today's world. The video and song of the original by PINK

is about young people being taken down by the law. The issue is that the police force never

helped them when they needed it, and they didn’t try to stop the problem before it started.

Instead, they only stepped in when it was too late and hurt and beat up adolescents for something

that could have been stopped had they intervened earlier. The cover of the song by the One Voice

Children’s Choir had a similar meaning as sung and shown in their video, identifying kids who

need to stop being left behind by those who are meant to care for them. These two versions

express the feeling of being betrayed and just wanting hope and safety for those affected by this

betrayal, showing the overall meaning and correlation of the two of these videos.
 Works Cited

“Pink - What About Us | Cover by One Voice Children’s Choir.” YouTube, uploaded by

One Voice Children’s Choir, 30 June 2019, youtu.be/yWrHHxksbLY.

PinkVEVO. “P!nk - What About Us (Official Video).” YouTube, uploaded by P!NK, 16

Aug. 2017, www.youtube.com/watch?v=ClU3fctbGls&feature=youtu.be.

“P!Nk.” Billboard, 2021, www.billboard.com/music/pnk/chart-history/hot-100/2.