The song received mostly positive reviews from music critics , who praised its production . Andrew Hampp of '' Billboard '' commented " With a melody reminiscent of ‘ Whataya Want from Me , ’ the 2009 hit she penned for Adam Lambert , the single already pairs well sonically with Pink 's catalog . " Josh Langhoff of PopMatters called it " an ode to romantic persistence over crisp ‘ Hysteria ’ guitars . " Amy Sciarretto of '' Pop Crush '' wrote , " It 's a belter with a soulful voice , and she sounds like Kelly Clarkson with this song . The midtempo track finds Pink mourning , lamenting and musing on a relationship that is breaking down at its core . It hurts , but this song is a salve over the wound . " Dean Piper of '' Mirror Online '' wrote : " The stand out track and an obvious international radio hit is ‘ Try . ’ Think how big and fabulous ‘ Who Knew ’ was – ‘ Try ’ is on the same wavelength . " Sarah Rodman of '' The Boston Globe '' called it a " keeper and an urging-to-victory battle cry , " Robert Copsey of Digital Spy described it as " a ballad of the stadium-filling , lighter-waving variety . " while Caryn Ganz of '' Spin '' called it a " breakup salve . " Lewis Corner of Digital Spy gave the song 4 out of possible 5 , writing : " Although she may not be treading new ground sonically , her passionate tones and solid determination will continue her chart presence - and rightly so . " However , Sal Cinquemani of Slant Magazine was less positive , writing that " the midtempo ‘ Try ’ does n't push Pink forward either , and it 's marred by singsong lyrics . " Greg Kot of '' Chicago Tribune '' also shared the same thought , writing : " No one , not even Pink , can save lyrics such as these . " " Try " debuted after the album 's release at number 56 on the '' Billboard '' Hot 100 , on the week ending October 6 , 2012 . The song also debuted on the Adult Pop Songs chart , at number 29 . Following Pink 's highly-praised 2012 American Music Awards performance , " Try " rose from number 50 to number 18 on the Hot 100 . The song peaked at number nine in its 15th week , and has sold over 2 million copies in the US as of July 2013
2012 American Music Awards
American Music Awards of 2012
Try (Pink song)