PinkPantheress’ “Fancy That” Mixtape: The Summer Soundtrack You Can’t Miss!

“My name is Pink and I’m really glad to meet you.” This is how PinkPantheress welcomes us into her wondrous world. Following this introduction, there’s no break for twenty minutes of a frenzied journey, with tracks that seldom exceed 2 minutes and 30 seconds sliding seamlessly from one to the next.

While she extends a hand to guide us through the album, the artist has moved far from her initial steps on TikTok, where she first posted under her pseudonym in 2021. While studying film at the University of London, the Bath native would produce sounds in her student bed late at night using GarageBand, later uploading these to SoundCloud. Before this, she was the lead singer of a rock cover band, exploring her artistic flair with a very emo repertoire (think Paramore, My Chemical Romance) which she later incorporated into her own music.

Her switch from SoundCloud to TikTok saw her popularity skyrocket. By posting Just for Me under her fresh pseudonym, PinkPantheress garnered nearly half a million likes on the platform and quickly became the soundtrack for countless user videos. However, her success was far from as fleeting as social media trends. After releasing a mixtape in 2021, followed by an EP, a surprisingly understated debut album, and original songs in Barbie and the latest Black Panther, she returned stronger than ever in May 2025 with a second mixtape – a delightful interlude – Fancy That, a tangy treat.

Tributes abound, yet a unique voice persists

If Heaven Knows was the younger sister trying to appear serious and mature, Fancy That is the older sister who shamelessly dives back into teenage fantasies and shrugs off criticism. Halfway between a scrapbooking project and a playlist burned onto a blank CD, this mixtape is a nest of references and genres showcasing the full potential of the young Londoner.

It features a plethora of gems layered one on top of the other: in Stars, the chorus from Just Jack’s Starz in Their Eyes is sampled and woven into the lyrics of Basement Jaxx’s single Oh My Gosh, a group from which another sample appears in Girl Like Me, not to mention the cover of the arrangements from Do You Know What I’m Seeing? by Panic! At The Disco for Tonight.

Critics of PinkPantheress might use this plethora of references to once again label her as just a TikTok artist without her own identity. However, the result of the collage is a harmonious tableau to which the artist adds her own unique touch. Drawing inspiration from Lily Allen, Imogen Heap, Kaytranada, and Hayley Williams, PinkPantheress pays tribute to her influences to create her own little universe, where tartan tights mix with black corsets, and various strains of UK garage blend with jungle and drum’n’bass. This fusion takes us on a rocket ride back to the 2000s and far beyond.

A fast-paced y2k universe

Melodramatic, very emo lyrics interact with biting, deadpan humor in conversational texts. The ramblings of the 24-year-old Brit seem to come from the pages of a diary adorned with charms and mementos. Everything reaches us with the freshness and vulnerability of a friend’s confessions: her post-weed paranoia in Illegal, her good friend’s romantic troubles in Stars, Stateside, and her obsession with finding an American suitor. Like chapters following one another, the mixtape immerses us from the first seconds into this whimsical world.

Thus, themes more befitting an adult, in line with a young woman still discovering herself and deepening the sound of her beginnings. Drugs, hints of sexual desire, parasocial relationships—this PinkPantheress dares to express herself, though often lightening her words with humor, and takes setbacks with grace. It’s also worth mentioning that she took a several-month break after her previous project. Overwhelmed by work, touring, and the pressures of the career she pursues, she also had to readjust to the world and creation after losing 80% of her hearing in her right ear. A break that made her stronger and reaffirmed her approach to composing. In this mixtape, she reintroduces herself to us, starting anew.

Fancy That (Warner). Available since May 9.