India Arie to Release Why I Wore Lipstick to My Mastectomy

Soul diva India.Arie says a previously unreleased version of her song “I Am Not My Hair” will finally be heard in a new Lifetime Television movie, “Why I Wore Lipstick to My Mastectomy.”

In fact, she says this version a duet with pop-rocker Pink is actually the original version of the song. It will be available on iTunes beginning October 23.

“We both had something to say with this song, and we wanted to work together,” Arie explains. “This duet should have been the original version on my album (“Testimony: Vol. I, Life & Relationship”), but it fell through the cracks.” When Lifetime asked about using the song for the film, Arie said, “Well, I have this other version that you might like to use.”

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According to Arie, while the song’s original idea was rooted in Pink’s decision to do away with her pink locks, the last verse was written after watching bald cancer-survivor Melissa Etheridge’s triumphant performance on the Grammy Awards last year.

“Her performance brought tears to my eyes,” Arie says. “At that moment in time, her performance was a juxtaposition of pain and beauty. It symbolized the beauty of strength.”

The Lifetime movie, premiering October 23, stars Sarah Chalke (“Scrubs”) and, in a cameo role, Patti LaBelle.