PinkPantheress is at a turning point.
“This is the most effort I’ve put into pretty much anything I’ve ever done,” The Brit superstar tells The Hollywood Reporter as she reminisces on the last few months of her life and the roll-out of her second mixtape Fancy That, which was released in May. “And I think there’s more to come.”
At just 24 years old, Victoria Walker has been blowing up our screens for years now. Emblematic of Gen Z’s inventiveness, her unique sound — effortlessly blending nostalgia-brimming samples with diary-like lyricism — is giving the music industry something to think about.
Those who aren’t quite so online may be forgiven if you think you haven’t heard her music, but PinkPantheress is everywhere. “Illegal,” the leadoff track from Fancy That, has become a viral hit, featured in over a million TikTok videos thanks to a TikTok trend where people sing the first line of Pink’s song while shaking hands, as though they’ve been introduced. “My name is Pink and I’m really glad to meet you / You’re recommended to me by some people / Hey, ooh, is this illegal? / Hey, ooh, it feels illegal.” Know that one?
“I definitely was surprised at the reception because I was totally going on a whim, doing the handshake thing,” PinkPantheress says of the still-booming trend. “I didn’t really expect anything to come from it, but I was really happy to see people were enjoying it. I thought it was really sick.”
For PinkPantheress, it’s less about the streaming numbers and more about the song getting its moment. “I want to release songs and let them live and breathe,” she says about social media’s role in boosting her music. “I want to have it for a lot more of the songs [on Fancy That], too.”
The social media sound of the summer isn’t the first of Pink’s to go viral. The Bath-born artist saw similar success with 2023’s “Boy’s a liar Pt. 2,” a team-up with U.S. rapper Ice Spice, which also peaked at number three on the Billboard Hot 100 and was critically lauded as one of the best songs of the year.
Since then, saying she’s gone from strength to strength is an understatement. PinkPantheress is now a three-time Brit Award nominee, was named Producer of the Year by Billboard Women in Music in 2024, and just last week picked up an honorary degree from the University of Kent for her contribution to and achievements in music in the digital age.
Yet, these kinds of pinch-me moments are proving a little precarious. “People are less willing to listen to electronic music that is made by a Black woman. That’s just fact,” she says, adding that she’d love to be recognized more in certain spaces of the industry, but there are hurdles to jump in such a niche musical bracket. “There’s some considerations I would like to get as an artist which I might not be getting right now, since maybe it’s harder to put me into a genre.”
PinkPantheress, whose real name is Victoria Walker, is set to tour the U.S. in October and November.
Charlie Engman
PinkPantheress talks about meeting a hero of hers, Paramore’s Hayley Williams, who she calls one of her favorite performers and a huge inspiration in pursuing a music career. “When I have these pinch me moments, it’s like, ‘wow, I really need to hold on to this,’” she continues, “because I don’t know when the next one will be. I suppose it’s harder for me to be taken seriously and rise the ranks.”
And being taken seriously is something Pink clearly thinks is long overdue. “I always feel like I’m cutting through and I’m in a very privileged position musically,” she says. “But [I] can feel a little bit like I’m hitting all these markers and it still feels like I’m getting overlooked, simply because there’s a lot of people that don’t necessarily understand what I represent, nor do they want to take a look because I think it just doesn’t make sense for them.”
This is what PinkPantheress sees as a natural challenge for an artist navigating the mainstream music world. It’s a mold she’d like to break.
“Having that person challenging the way a pop star should look or be — which is what I do, unintentionally and sometimes intentionally — it just doesn’t translate to a lot of people,” she says.
“All I aim to do is stay authentic and consistent. And occasionally, what I enjoy doing is [saying], ‘well actually, I’m gonna prove you wrong, and I’m gonna do this, you are gonna like it.’ And then once you like it, you’re gonna realize: ‘Wait, I don’t know why I never gave her a chance in the first place.’”
Loyal fans will be swarming to select venues when PinkPantheress embarks on her upcoming tour. She plays London’s O2 Brixton Academy in September and after that, it’s North America’s turn, with gigs in Brooklyn, Toronto, Chicago, L.A., San Francisco, Oakland and Mexico. “I get less nervous on the tours just because they’re my fans,” she says. “There’s less pressure when you’re performing to people that already know the songs, rather than [having to] convert a fan.”
As we’re talking, PinkPantheress is still relishing her successful conversion of thousands of fans after she performed at Glastonbury back in June. This year, THR was in attendance on Somerset’s Worthy Farm as the young singer graced the Woodsies stage — but not before she was introduced, via video, by beloved documentary-maker Louis Theroux.
“I did an interview with him once, and I think we just vibed,” she reveals about getting Theroux onboard her Glastonbury set. “We just check in on each other. It’s kind of strange. But yeah, it was actually my manager’s idea. They thought it would be quite nice, [and] I guess a nod to being British, I suppose, because he’s such an icon.”
PinkPantheress performed Woodsies with the gravitas of a legendary Glastonbury rocker. She admits she was “really scared,” but getting out there, sporting some tartan capris and her signature brunette bangs, the fear melted away. What transpired was a Brit-centric head-bopping bash that pal Theroux would no doubt have been busting a move to.
“Low-key, being British is the strength that I have,” she says about that Englishness spilling over into her lyrics, sound and visuals. “Every time I’ve tried to lean into a more American sound, it ends up being a song that I don’t necessarily think reflects my personal tastes as much as when I lean into being British — if I didn’t, I think it would be quite easy for [my music] to get lost in the crowd.”
PinkPantheress says incorporating her Britishness into her music and visuals is “low-key” a superpower.
Charlie Engman
Some of Pink’s biggest music inspirations reflect that appreciation for her fellow countrymen. She lists Lily Allen, Kate Nash, Imogen Heap, Calvin Harris and Basement Jaxx among her creative influences. On Fancy That, she pulls from the best of British (and American) music and makes them her own: Just Jack’s 2007 pop-house hit “Starz in Their Eyes” on “Starz,” Adina Howard’s “Freak Like Me” on her favorite track of the album, “Stateside,” and even U.S. rapper Nardo Wick’s “Who Want Smoke??” on “Noises.”
“I do think [the mixtape] sounds a bit different,” she says while comparing her new music to her discography up until Fancy That. “It’s more dance-y. It’s also a bit more provocative and a bit more mature than my earlier work. Maybe more fleshed-out, production-wise.”
The album was put together in around two months last August with the help of a wider production team, including Aksel Arvid, Count Baldor, Oscar Scheller and Californian musician the Dare. PinkPantheress’s regency-era inspired music video for “Tonight” has been described as Bridgerton meets Skins, which the star finds particularly funny. “I am a big Bridgerton fan,” she says. “That was definitely some of the inspo for sure. I really enjoyed getting into character, the costumes and stuff… I guess those over-the-top and quite camp-y videos are a bit rare these days.”
She doesn’t consider herself a film or TV connoisseur in the slightest, but there is one actress in particular that gets Pink fangirling: Rachel Zegler. “I love her down,” the artist tells THR about American star Zegler, who currently leads the West End production of Evita. “I follow her fan pages.”
For now, this Zegler stan is all in on Fancy That. With a tour ahead and a mixtape reaching new heights, PinkPantheress can’t begin to imagine what era of her life is coming next. As her popularity continues to skyrocket and those addictive tunes keep us hooked, she’s content with enjoying this watershed career moment.
“We’ll see what happens, but this has been a turning point for me,” she muses. “It would probably be a good idea to start thinking about [what’s next], but I haven’t. And once I do, you’ll be the first to know.”
