PinkPantheress: The 'breakout' singer who's happy to be a mystery

You might not know PinkPantheress's name, but you'll know her songs.

The singer has gone from getting 15 or so likes for her music on SoundCloud to having TikTok's "breakout song of the summer" with her latest single Just For Me, which features in almost a million videos on the app.

It's been used in posts by Lizzo, Charli D'Amelio and Bella Poarch and has made the Radio 1 playlist, but PinkPantheress says she's "still trying to keep things quite true to how it began".

Which was on GarageBand - Apple's music software - when she was 17.

She wasn't bothered that her posts didn't get loads of likes. In fact, she hadn't even played them to her family and friends.

"I just put them on there as closure for myself, like, I can't spend this long on a song and not even put it out", she tells Radio 1 Newsbeat.

It wasn't until her friend sent a TikTok using one of her songs to her group chat, saying "this sounds like you", that PinkPantheress had to come clean.

"I didn't want to lie to my friend", she laughs.

PinkPantheress makes music in her uni halls

Although her virality on TikTok is a huge factor in her success, PinkPantheress says she's not keen on "oversharing" online.

She keeps her real name private, and rarely posts on Instagram.

You can't scroll far on TikTok without hearing one of her songs, but you won't see big budget promo or photo shoots with the singer.

She says: "Social media is a very crowded place. I don't feel like I need to overshare and I do really respect my own privacy.

"I don't like the idea of as well as my music being on TikTok and doing its thing on there, my face being thrust in people's faces as well."

'The algorithm is crazy'

Mostly, she uses the app to test out new material.

"I post a snippet of something, and if people like it I'll go and record a full version.

She says she never records a full song without gauging her fans' reaction on TikTok first.

"Before TikTok, I was using SoundCloud to post my music. The algorithm on Soundcloud isn't the same.

"The algorithm is crazy on TikTok, you can post a video and you can have zero followers and it can do well."

After being uploaded to streaming services for just over a week, Just For Me has amassed more than 10 million plays on Spotify.

PinkPantheress is signed to record label Parlophone, working with producers like Mura Masa instead of creating beats on GarageBand.

Her sound blends a lot of different genres, but she has previously called it "new nostalgic". Some of her most popular tracks have a jungle, garage-inspired feel to them.

'I went through every phase'

PinkPantheress says she has enjoyed bringing that sound to audiences who think drum and bass-influenced music is "a new thing".

Reeling off her inspirations, PinkPantheress mentions Lily Allen, Just Jack, K-Pop, Michael Jackson, and My Chemical Romance.

She credits her unique style to going through "every phase possible" growing up.

Although PinkPantheress says it does feel "mad" to have so much attention, her day to day life doesn't seem drastically different.

She's still at university in London, where she made some of her songs in her halls in the middle of the night.

She does think she might have to retake her first year though.

"I've had to speak to one lecturer to explain why I hadn't been showing up to a few of my classes."

But she wants to continue in education.

"It's almost like a side hustle. I don't know if the music is a side hustle, or if the uni is. But I'm happy to be there."

In all aspects of her life, she says "keeping things stripped back is the most important part". And it's worked for her.

"The audience that I have now is pretty much exactly the audience I wanted. I couldn't ask for anything better.

"I love the internet."

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