Who is PinkPantheress? The English Singer blowing up on Tiktok
Exploring the social media strategy of rising star PinkPantheress and how she’s taken TikTok by storm.
Words by: Beth Milton
With her new single ‘Just for Me’ breaking the UK Top 40, the singer looks set for success
With nearly almost a million streams, the TikTok sound ‘when you wipe your tears do you wipe them just for me’ is bound to have been heard whilst scrolling your for you page. Behind the catchy audio is 20-year-old PinkPantheress, a fairly mysterious artist.
Said to have made the majority of her music in her university bedroom (according to her TikTok), the 20-year-old singer’s tracks have been blowing up on TikTok. The success of her songs on TikTok is due to their familiarity reworking old school samples into something new. Her electrical sound combines pop, funk, and jungle into her own unique music. PinkPantheress’ music has a nostalgic feel as she takes old school songs into new modern upbeat tracks.
Since signing to Parlophone Records, PinkPantheress has released six singles with the majority having had viral success on TikTok before being released. Her latest single ‘Just for Me’ – produced by Mura Masa- is inspired by UK garage hits with PinkPantheress’ light vocals giving it a distinctive feel. The song is already having chart success in the UK currently placing at number 27, thanks to its catchiness that led to it becoming a viral sound on TikTok.
Not much is known about the artist as PinkPantheress keeps a private persona, using TikTok as a way of experimenting with tracks before releasing them. With her TikTok mostly consisting of snippets of songs, PinkPantheress tests out her music on the app to gauge what reaction the songs get. TikTok allows artists to blow up and be heard by millions whilst maintaining anonymity. By keeping a private persona, artists can be experimental and develop their music by the reaction they get on TikTok. This is partly due to the algorithm as if a video gets a positive reaction it is more likely to go viral. There is less of a need for a following and allows space for artists to grow their music without facing pressure. TikTok serves as a platform for artists to experiment with music without judgment. With PinkPantheress’ videos having over 4 million likes, she has been able to try out her music on TikTok before releasing it on other platforms such as Spotify.
A shift in the music industry is being seen as self-made artists are having viral success and becoming significantly popular. With artists such as PinkPantheress choosing to remain out of the spotlight, the future of upcoming artists is changing. TikTok allows artists to show off their music on the DIY musician scene and there is more of a focus on the music being produced.
With PinkPantheress’ new single climbing the UK Top 40, her success encourages other new artists to get out there and promote their music online.