London-based artist and producer PinkPantheress crafts wry, conversational lyrics that unfold in a stream-of-consciousness manner over sample-driven tracks drawing from house, U.K. garage, drum'n'bass, pop, and alternative rock. The self-described "new nostalgic" talent surfaced in 2021 and quickly became a social-media phenomenon after shortened, stylized versions of the singles "Passion," "Pain," and "Break It Off" spread virally and accumulated millions of streams. Those three tracks formed the core of her mixtape To Hell with It, which climbed to number 20 on the U.K. album chart and drew broad critical praise. During 2022 she issued joint releases with Lil Uzi Vert and Willow, then achieved global breakthrough the following year with the Ice Spice-assisted "Boy's a Liar, Pt. 2." Additional 2023 singles included the Barbie soundtrack cut "Angel" and the standalone track "Mosquito," before her long-awaited first album, Heaven Knows, landed in November. In 2024 she returned with the Selena-sampling single "Turn It Up."
Born in Bath, England, in 2001, PinkPantheress performed as a teenager in a My Chemical Romance cover band and has named Paramore, Lily Allen, Imogen Heap, and K-pop among her formative influences. While still in secondary school she began making instrumentals for a friend and composing her own material; later, at university, she captured her vocals in GarageBand while lying face-down in her hall at night. Snippets posted to social media at the close of 2020 began circulating widely in early 2021. After signing with Parlophone and Elektra Records she scored her first chart entry with "Break It Off," built on Adam F's 1995 drum'n'bass classic "Circles," which appeared on both the U.K. singles chart and Billboard's Hot Rock & Alternative Songs. Subsequent entries included "Pain," which repurposed Sweet Female Attitude's 2000 U.K. garage hit "Flowers," and the Mura Masa-produced "Just for Me." The 18-minute debut mixtape To Hell with It arrived in October 2021, earning enthusiastic notices, reaching number 20 in the U.K., and peaking at number 73 on the Billboard 200—an uncommon showing for U.K. garage and drum'n'bass in the United States. A remix collection followed in 2022, alongside singles such as "bbycakes" with Mura Masa, Lil Uzi Vert, and Shygirl; "Where You Are" with Willow; and "Picture in My Mind" with Sam Gellaitry. The three-song EP Take Me Home closed the year.
Early 2023 brought the Skrillex and Trippie Redd collaboration "Way Back," followed in February by "Boy's a Liar Pt. 2," a Mura Masa-co-produced sequel featuring Ice Spice that soared to number three on the Billboard Hot 100. PinkPantheress gained further visibility with "Angel," an Irish folk-tinged contribution to Barbie: The Album, and appeared on a remix of Troye Sivan's "Rush" while releasing "Turn Your Phone Off" with Destroy Lonely. September saw the Greg Kurstin-co-produced drum'n'bass track "Mosquito," and in November she issued her debut album Heaven Knows, which featured guest spots from Kelela, Rema, and Central Cee. The Selena-sampling "Turn It Up" surfaced the next year.
