PinkPantheress didn’t start making music to become famous. In fact, when she first started releasing songs on TikTok in 2020, she was completely anonymous—and she liked it that way.
“Back then, I wasn’t trying to have an identity,” the British singer/songwriter tells Complex. “I was only actually trying to push the music. That’s why I went anonymous. But it just so happened that over time my identity kind of developed with it. I think it was the curiosity that I was anonymous that made people want to find out who I was.”
During the early years, PinkPantheress was mostly in quarantine due to COVID-19. She used her time in social isolation to experiment. The sound she developed—fluttery production that sounds like it was released from a Y2K time capsule—could be heard in early viral tracks like “Pain” and “Passion.” “I think being in my house during COVID helped me actually think about that aspect of it, as opposed to just what I want to hear,” she said.
Since she blew up on TikTok four years ago, the singer has branched out beyond the confines of the app while still maintaining her unique sound, recording hit songs with Ice Spice, ”Boy’s a liar Pt. 2, “and releasing her debut album, Heaven Knows, which was received positively by critics. The album is a pixelated soundscape that Pink expands with her light voice. The 13-track project clocks in at 34 minutes, and most of the songs are in the 2 minute range. Pink caught some slack on social media in late May for saying that she intentionally made her songs shorter on the album because she prefers to listen to music that’s no longer than 2 minutes and 30 seconds. She clarified to us that her opinion wasn’t coming from a place of ignorance, but rather a preference on the kind of music she likes to make.
“I was really talking about my album, but even on that album, I would say I did delve into longer songs,” she said. “My point wasn’t trying to make myself come across as some Gen Z ignorant person. I studied music. I’m educated on music. It’s not like I said it as somebody whose opinion is coming from an uneducated place.”
We caught up with PinkPantheress to talk about her approach to music, her relationship with her fans, and why she thinks it’s much harder to blow up on TikTok today.
You recently wrapped your tour, how was it?
It was really fun. My favorite part about it was the random gifts that people would give to me. I got so many because it was my birthday on my tour, so I got loads of gifts from fans who knew it was my birthday, which is always really nice for people to remember.
What’s been more nerve-racking, performing for a crowd of thousands every night or when you were 12 and performed “Stand By Me” at your talent show?
Well, just some more lore for that story. I wasn’t actually the one who sang “Stand By Me.” It was actually my friend who was on the stage with me. I just stood there as background support. My friend sang and my other friend played the piano. So that being said, I would say that me back then didn’t have half the worries I do now when I entered the stage. I weirdly developed stage fright. I used to be fine on stage. I used to not even care. It used to be way more of a natural setting for me on the stage. When I was a younger teenager, I used to do drama and stuff, and now I think I gained a conscience and now it’s really scary.
You became aware of how people perceive you?
Not even so much as people perceiving me, it’s actually more so my own pressures that I give myself. I think in my head I have the idea of what a singer is meant to look like and perform like, and I feel like if I’m not performing in the way that I think I should, then it makes me think, “Well, what’s wrong with me? What is up with me?”
Did you have those concerns during your first show at The Pickle Factory in Bethnal Green?
It was a shit performance, but it was a special performance because that was my first show, and more than anything, I remember everyone kept telling me, “They don’t want you to mess up. They want you to succeed and they want you to do well.” And I was thinking like, “Do they?”
And I went on stage and I felt so much love. I was just so happy. I didn’t even care about that performance. And someone in the audience was like, “Oh, I have a friend that stays in the same dorm as you,” because I moved out from the dorm. And I was like, “That is what this is about.”
What’s the difference between VBW and PinkPantheress as artists?
I was just younger. I actually think I’m the same person as I used to be. There are some differences, like the stage fright thing. But all in all, I can’t ever say that I went through that big change. I think the biggest change I went through was a physical one. Doing things like changing my hair or becoming competent enough to wear stuff like heels or something like that would probably be the biggest difference. But production-wise, I think it’s been pretty much the same.
You did an interview with Pigeons and Planes when you were first coming out, and you talked about how you hated overly-promoting your music. Have those feelings changed?
I’ve read people calling me lazy because of this, but it’s not because I’m lazy. It’s because I truly believe if people wanted to, they would. I think if people were so inclined to read a stage name like PinkPantheress, see what I look like, be intrigued enough to go onto my Spotify and listen themselves, that’s really their prerogative. Therefore, I don’t like to shove myself in people’s faces and go, “Here!” Remember, I started on TikTok, and that platform is kind of like once a sound is on there, it will trickle down to every orifice of the site whether I wanted to or not. So because of that as well, I didn’t feel like I needed to personally do too much self-promotion.Plus, as a person, I’m not interested in self-promoting too much, which is actually the opposite of what an artist is. I am not very good at it because I found that…If I just give an opinion, but people don’t like opinion, then it’s not, “Oh, that’s just what she thinks.” It’s like, “No, actually that’s wrong.” And it’s like, well, this is why I don’t really want to give too much to myself because I don’t think I need to explain every tiny detail. So I don’t like self-promoting myself because most of the time people aren’t willing to understand, and there are so many questions. I’d rather than just not answer. But my real fans understand. I don’t need to explain to them, they get it. It’s like the girls, they get it, get it. And I’d rather just appeal to those people and collect people on the way who like music.
What is your relationship with fame?
I don’t see myself as even being in a [certain] plane of fame. There’s a very certain space that me and a bunch of other artists in the same level as me occupy. It’s kind of not fame, I have one toe literally on the edge into the fame box. But I’m comfortably not there quite yet. And until I crossover, I’m quite unsure at times as to how to approach it. I don’t know if it’s better to be myself or something else. It’s kind of a strange one. I think I’ve always been myself and I only want to be myself, but sometimes ever so slightly, I’ll think to myself, “Oh my god, maybe I should actually just not be myself.” Then when I think about that, I have the branch of thought which is, “Then I’ll have to stop making music” because if I’m not being myself, then I just have to stop.
You’re an artist who fully leaned into using TikTok as a tool to push your career forward at a time during COVID when everything was uncertain. How do you think the platform has changed for artist discover over the last four years?
When I started [using TikTok] in 2021, I’d already seen a few people doing it using it to promote their music. But back then, it wasn’t as saturated with music. I always say that I found a sweet spot. If I did it now in 2024, I think it’d be a lot harder for me to have made such an impact as I did in 2021 with some of the songs that I made. I think it’s a lot harder to have a song pop off now and then an identity coincide and connect with it. But when I did it, it was easier because there weren’t so many people. Back then, I wasn’t trying to have an identity. I was only actually trying to push the music. That’s why I went anonymous. But it just so happened that over time my identity kind of developed with it. I think it was the curiosity that I was anonymous that made people want to find out who I was. If I did that in 2024, people wouldn’t give a fuck. They’d just probably listen to music and be like, “Okay, this is good sound of music, but I don’t really care too much to find out who she is because she’s anonymous, and I don’t have time for it.” Back then it was different. They were like kind of like, “Oh, I want to find out who this is.” So speaking from my perspective, I don’t think I would’ve had the same impact now as I had in 2021. And I was very lucky to have done it in 2021 during Covid and everything.
It’s funny that I’m the spokesperson for TikTok because I can speak from experience, so I get why they’re asking me. But they’ll be like, “How did you do it? How did you follow through?” I don’t really have an answer to give. I guess I kind of had the next song ready to post and see, but then they’ll be like, “But I have the song. But people aren’t as interested in the second song because then there’s another song that’s popping off.” I’m like, “Oh god. I just don’t have any answers anymore” because I was just lucky with timing. I think it’s luck of the draw, but I also think having an identity off the bat will always help. But other than that, I don’t know what to say. It’s super difficult.
There’s no roadmap to it.
And the thing is, as much as people sometimes don’t like admitting TikTok is a tool and the benefits of it as a tool, there’s no way I would’ve been here without it. My aim was never to be stuck on the app. I think over time I’ve tried to distance my music specifically from the idea of it being “TikTok” music. People who classify my music as “TikTok music,” I sit there and ask myself, “What even is TikTok music?” Because in my opinion, this is not just the song you found on the app, but in their heads, they’re using it as a degrading term to degrade the song into something less than what it is.
It drives me crazy to hear people call some really talented artists something that is an insult to them. It really drives me crazy, especially when as a producer, I can recognize how much work they’re putting into their own music. I can recognize that this person single-handedly use a production technique that none of us have heard, and this is why the song blew up in the first place, and you’re going to call it “TikTok music” just because you found it on the app. It’s kind of impossible not to be found on the app at some point if you’re blowing up majorly. Let’s stop acting too cool.
How do you think blowing up during the pandemic affected your artistic development?
I think my production style has been the same since I was younger, but I think [Covid] made me maybe recognize more about what other people might want to hear. My thing is, whatever I make, I am usually a fan of because I’m the one making it. So I just kind of thought to myself, “OK, well I’ll like what I’ll make, but what will other people want to hear?” And I think being in my house during COVID helped me actually think about that aspect of it, as opposed to what just what I want to hear.
Were you surprised by the reaction that your comments on liking shorter songs received?
Kind of, but I was mostly surprised because I was talking about the song length of my album, Heaven Knows. So at some point, I was like, “Damn, this many people listen to my album and cared about the songs of my album.” And then I realized people that I was talking about music across the board. Even if I was talking about music as a whole spectrum, I’m pretty sure I still said, “In my opinion.” Mind you, I obviously know that means dust.
So to clarify what I meant, and I’m going to preface this by saying my favorite band is My Chemical Romance. They have very long songs. So that’s all the information you need to know about my personal taste. But I’m also a fan of drum and bass, and being from the UK, we hear mixes that are sometimes 40 minutes long. I was really talking about my album, but even on that album, I would say I did delve into longer songs. My point wasn’t trying to make myself come across as some Gen Z ignorant person. I studied music. I’m educated on music. It’s not like I said it as somebody whose opinion is coming from an uneducated place.
What is your reaction to seeing how your fans really thirst for you on social media? Do you see the memes of your selfies in war helmets?
OK, so those are men making those ones. I love all my fans. My real fans are just scrumptious. I’d say it’s come to my attention that there are a few creepers that say creepy things. And I think it doesn’t feel great seeing some of the things I see. What I hope happens is that they stream my music and the dedication they can put into saying weird things can be put into loving my music and hopefully becoming less weird and creepy. And that would be perfectly fine. But when you said the helmet thing, I saw it. I read the comments, and I thought to myself, “wow, these aren’t my normal fans saying this stuff” [Laughs].
But for the fans that do make those memes that do love me up and down, I love you too. It feels nice to have people that have my back. Maybe I’ll wear something completely crazy to some event or I’ll do something, and people will be like, “Why’d she do that?” But those fans will be like, “I know why she did that. I get it, I get it.” So yeah, I love those people. This is my appreciation for you, my fan pages.