PinkPantheress: “The one thing I know for sure? I can recognize great music”

When PinkPantheress did her first ever interview in 2021, it was with i-D, and even then, her label kept a tight lid on her details; after all, she was still mostly unknown and just 20. Fast forward two years, three Top 40 hits, an Ivor Novello nod, a cameo on the Barbie soundtrack, and those days of being a faceless TikTok mystery during lockdown feel worlds away.

Now the person behind that name is right here in front of me, bundled into a black knitted jumper and old-school jeans, despite this blazing August heatwave. She’s constantly fanning herself through our talk, and what stands out is how open and grounded she is, complete with a warm sense of humour that breaks out in full-body laughter and that tiny butterfly tooth gem. She’s like a combo of the late hyperpop legend Sophie, the anonymous newcomer horsegiirL , or The Weeknd before we knew his face, all artists who were known for their music before their identities. That all shifted after her Heaven by Marc Jacobs campaign in 2022, but that time of invisibility was also a time of quiet self-doubt.

She admits she could barely stand the idea of people critiquing how she looked. “The first time I felt I looked good was this year,” she says. “I hate my forehead.” But combining the PinkPantheress persona with her regular life? That took guts. “I didn’t want to feel like I am performing PinkPantheress, like Hannah Montana at night, and a uni student in the day. I wanted the confidence to feel like her every day.”

Pink is still navigating that well-worn, awkward winding path of youth. “I’m not trying to date, even though I love dating,” she says. She keeps glancing at her phone and even stops mid-sentence to send a selfie to a guy been there. But then there's the surreal side, like when she tells me how she almost landed on a Kendrick Lamar track, only to miss the session because she was at the movies and her date asked her to put her phone on silent. “Oh fuck, I can’t even think about it. I was watching Nightcrawler with this guy.” That’s next-level relatable.

“British people are built differently — our culture, humour, music. We have a unique sound that can’t be replicated.” PinkPantheress

In the past, PinkPantheress often built her tracks around samples (rarely worrying about clearance), pairing her sweet, airy vocals with bittersweet lyrics to create something tinged with a teenage fragility. Her new album, Heaven Knows, flips that old, solitary approach on its head. “I had to level up; I couldn’t just use loops anymore. I had to get other people to come in,” she says. The project isn’t built around a clear “message,” but more on pushing her boundaries both musically and lyrically. She gravitates toward songs where artists allow themselves to stray from the truth, shaping fictional stories that draw listeners into another world. “Unless you’ve gone through three world wars, or whatever, you’d run out of things to talk about,” she jokes. “Feel Complete” spins a fictional tale about dating someone with a drinking problem, while “Ophelia” imagines a character’s death.

This new chapter also has her venturing beyond the garage, jungle, and indie styles she’s known for, leaning into brighter, more uplifting sounds most noticeably on “Another Life,” a team-up with Afrobeats hitmaker and fellow cover star Rema. She envisions these new tracks blasting from a car with the roof down, a total shift from the moody bedroom vibes of her earlier work. “It’s giving outside,” she says with a smile.

The change in sound mirrors where she is in life. Pink remembers having “a hard time” at school, partly because she was “annoying” and obsessed with Doctor Who, Harry Potter, and Sherlock (“ugh, horrible”). Later, she transferred to an all-girls school, where she fronted an emo and pop punk band at the school fête. At home, her Kenyan mother played Beenie Man, UB40, and the Birmingham reggae group Musical Youth. She’d flip between MTV and Kerrang to soak up whatever new music she could find. When she’s alone now, she laughs about how she mostly listens to “bullshit music,” though she’s quick to argue that Zayn Malik’s “Pillow Talk” is the best pop song of the last ten years.

As we talk, it’s obvious that PinkPantheress is ready to take up space. Her earlier air of mystery was a safety net for a shy artist unsure whether people wanted to hear from her. She wasn’t convinced her friends’ praise was genuine, so she decided to post her first song, “Just a Waste” (an interpolation of Michael Jackson’s Off the Wall), on TikTok. “There’s no one more truthful than strangers online. If they like it, then could I make a career of it?” she recalls. With 2.6 million followers and more than 24 million likes now, it’s clear there’s a huge audience craving her melancholy, nostalgic hits. “The only thing I am sure about now is that I know what good music is.”

When her fast-paced tracks first caught i-D’s attention in 2021, she was still studying at the University of Arts London, mostly as a backup plan in case music didn’t work out. But her interest faded quickly. “I legit wasn’t going,” she says. One benefit of the course was learning how to direct her videos, like “Just for Me,” but soon classes took a backseat to the social life on campus. Even as a fresher during lockdown, she fondly remembers getting tipsy in student housing, and when restrictions eased, moving the fun to Boxpark in Shoreditch. Those carefree nights didn’t last long, though. Ironically, for someone whose music feels perfect for clubbing, her growing fame means she can’t enjoy nights out without constantly being recognised.

“It is a lot,” she admits. “I can only imagine what it’s like for people who are bigger.” Now splitting her time between London and LA, she’s selective about who she lets into her circle. Steve Lacy has become both a mentor and a friend, offering her the kind of honest insight she values. “I love artists who don’t see you as competition and don’t just think ‘how can I suck the blood out of you?’” she says. “There’s a list of people whose vibe I just think is so off that I avoid.”

Cardigan and shoes (worn throughout) MIU MIU. Bra stylists studio. Jeans CARHARTT WIP.
Her growing confidence feels like the natural result of her unusual journey. “The labels and higher-ups, I couldn’t care less. I’m pretty confident, and I think I’ve proved I work well by myself,” she says. Years of testing out music online have sharpened her sense of what will click with her audience. “So many producers over there say they want to work with me, but don’t get what I’m trying to do. Unless you’re an industry puppet, you should be deciding what you want your product to sound like,” she says.

Raised on emotionally charged storytellers like Amy Winehouse, Adele, Lily Allen, and Pink, she sees a big gap between British and American music. “British people are built differently, our culture, humour, music. We have a unique sound. Just like American hip-hop can’t be replicated here, they can’t replicate the British contemporary sound of sadness.” That British sensibility runs through her work; only someone from here could open a song with “Did you ever want me? No worries if not,” like she does on “All My Friends Know,” the eighth track on her debut mixtape.

PinkPantheress is trying to keep at least some normalcy in her life. Heaven Knows might make that harder. She hasn’t splurged on anything major yet. “The thing is, no matter how much people like me get, you don’t feel like you deserve the money. You’ll never get used to having it.” Still, she admits a Tesla would be nice. “[But] I’ve got to be frugal, it’s the African in me!” For now, her closest friends are still the ones from school and uni, and they’re banned from bringing up her fame. Together, they’ll do escape rooms for the rush of being locked in, maybe because, just like when she first emerged during lockdown, that kind of enclosed pressure still sparks her best ideas.

All clothing STELLA McCARTNEY. Bra stylists studio.

Jumper PALACE. Jeans CARHARTT WIP.

Top AIRCRUSH.

Coat DIOR. Dress SKIMS.

Jacket ISABEL MARANT. Dress SKIMS.

Cardigan MIU MIU. Bra stylist's studio.