P!nk’s 2008 break up anthem, “So What?” was a tempestuous teeder-toddor ride of a track in terms of its taunty, ‘tudey verses and big, bravado-fileld chorus, but its fearlessness was, like the singer herself, multi-faceted. She had just broken up with her tattooed love boy, motocross pro Carey Hart and unlike most pop artists who vaguely reference their relationship woes in song, this one put it all out there— calling her ex a tool, throwing shade at Jessica Simpson, and sharing self-referential fears about what might happen if the angry ditty actually got on the radio.

Well it got on the radio alright. It was not only one of the pop star’s most popular songs, but one of the biggest of 2008, an enduring exercise in empowerment with the ability to make anyone feel stronger simply by singing along. It reminded us all about our inner rockstars in tough times. Of course, P!nk ended up not only getting her guy back but putting him in the video for the song that slagged him, making her even more of a badass than the song ever suggested.

More than 10 years later, Alecia Moore (her given name) aka Mrs. Hart aka Miz Undastood, is still with her hubby and has two beautiful kids. So the name of her last album and current tour, Beautiful Trauma, is probably not about her love life’s current state, but more a commentary on love in general. The tour stopped through Los Angeles’ Staples Center this week, and it was filled with the requisite costume changes, dancers and choreo, and flashy LED backdrops, all of which showcased the singer’s newer material and heartfelt hits in the most stunning possible way. Her current show isn’t just a concert, it’s a circus, filled with theatrical set-ups and full-on death defying stunts done by the star herself. The aerialist feats P!nk has done on awards shows in the past is only a small part of what she can do. These days, she is more than a singer, she’s a Cirque de Soleil-level athlete.

Opening up the show hanging from a chandelier supended from the top of the huge arena, she emerged in a sparkling black bodysuit, surrounded by her band, hot pink-clad dancers and stage decor, busting out her vibrant “Get the Party Started,” all the while hanging and twirling in mid-air. The Linda Perry-penned number sounds as giddy as ever, and it could not be better suited to open up a spectacle of this level. The bouncey song also sets up the show material-wise.

P!nk started out, not as a rockstar, but a soulful pop diva, thanks to L.A. Reid (the producer behind TLC, J-Lo and Mariah to name a few). She may have donned the bling and belly-tops of ‘90s on MTV alongside Britney, Christina, e tal, but she quickly set herself apart from the pretty pack with 2001’s Mizundastood, which not only established her as an original voice, but did the same for Perry -who was known best for her band 4 Non-Blondes- as a songwriter. P!nk proved you could rebel against the game and play it too, parodying her peers (and herself) in many of her most colorful clips, from “Stupid Girls “ to “Don’t Let Me Get Me.” She even played with them, crooning a few memorable verses in the all-star cover of LaBelle’s “Lady Marmalade” featuring Aguilera, Li’l Kim, Mya and Missy Elliot for the Moulin Rouge soundtrack.

Thanks to the ground broken by P!nk, Aguilera got serious with “Beautiful” (also written by Perry) and they both ushered in a more nuanced approach to pop stardom, which in turn opened doors (slightly) for the likes of Lady Gaga, Katy Perry and Taylor Swift to explore less manufactured allure and even a little edginess in their music, not to mention that of today’s Disney and Nic girls gone bad -Miley, Demi, Ariana- who obviously took notes.

During the concert, her sonic influence on today’s pop was pretty obvious, especially on songs with croony choruses like “Just Like A Pill,” and “F*ckin Perfect,’ and even with so much eye candy on stage, the music wasn’t overhshadowed. The concert’s theme was illustrated with a fun claymation video that showed couples in “Revengeland,” an amusement park for pissed off lovers to punish their partners in hilariously painful ways. (Based on this and the Channing Tatum co-starring video for “Trauma,” were gonna guess The Harts have a very interesting relationship). The cartoon by the way, was a set-up for “Revenge,” her duet with Eminem, repped by a giant lip-synching inflatable puppet on stage.

But for all the lights, props and players that accompanied her, it was P!nk herself that astounded, her aerialism in particular- from silk-style suspension during the powerful “Secrets,” which was downright risky with the singer hanging upside down and spinning non-stop, to the sexy ride atop a gothic style bed that floated high above the stadium. In between there were many lavish looks -from regal coats to shimmering dresses to casual white overalls- plus faeries, fire, conveyor belts and even some intimate semi-acoustic front-of-stage moments. There were also more videos – one highlighting her activism for feminists and LGBTQ rights before the track “What About Us”” and the other a word-video about the expectations of beauty and the things her daughter -and all daughters- must struggle with, before an uplighting take on “Raise Your Glass.”

That big number would’ve made a perfectly fine climactic ending but the performer had more to give- a ferocious finale that saw P!nk save her most resonant song, “So What?,” for last. Somersaulting high above the sold out crowd, flying through the air attached only by bunjee cords, she flipped about and above pretty much the entire stadium, from section to section as she sang the hit, this time not with a broken heart or as a reminder to herself that she’d be ok, but as an affirmation, to her fans and to the universe. P!nk is indeed, “still a rockstar” with “rock moves,” but after almost two decades, she continues to prove that she’s more too. She’s an ageless wonder and a true pop icon.

Click here for Beautiful Trauma’s remaining tour dates.