LOS ANGELES (AP) 鈥� How do you become introduced to PinkPantheress?
Is it the viral, U.K. garage-sampling TikTok hits 鈥淏reak It Off鈥� or 鈥淧ain鈥�? Or is it more recent 鈥� an 鈥淏oy鈥檚 a Liar Pt. 2,鈥� featuring Ice Spice? Or 鈥淎ngel,鈥� her contribution to the ? Or something else entirely?
There are countless ways in, but the destination is the same: sugary hooks that satiate, her sweet soprano carrying an addictive chorus above hybrid production. And as of Friday, it鈥檚 culminated in 鈥淗eaven Knows.鈥� The debut full-length record from the U.K. star, who keeps her real name hidden, features 13 tracks she also co-produced.
鈥淗eaven Knows鈥� is sometimes hyperpop, sometimes ornamented with the sound of pan flutes (鈥淏lue鈥�), sometimes 2000s emo-by-way-of- -inspired church organs (that鈥檚 鈥淎nother life,鈥� featuring the Nigerian artist Rema of 鈥淐alm Down鈥� fame), and sometimes something else entirely.
Any kind of momentum after virality is rarer than the initial 15 minutes of fame. PinkPantheress is an exception because of the tools she wields: Her songs, up until this point, have been remarkably short 鈥� a minimalistic sensibility born from her understanding of what works on TikTok, often crafting snippets of a track, seeing if it works on the platform, and building them out from there. It鈥檚 sharpened her ability to identify a hook that works in a song about failed adventures in love (or romance, more specifically, which she name checks on 鈥淭he aisle鈥� and throughout 鈥淭rue Romance鈥�) as well as death.
The latter is apparent on 鈥淥phelia,鈥� which begins with harps and finds its coda in the sound of a bubbling brook, a direct reference to the demise met by the doomed noblewoman in Shakespeare鈥檚 鈥淗amlet.鈥�
In the middle of 鈥淗eaven Knows鈥� is 鈥淚nternet Baby (interlude),鈥� led by a memorable hook and the repeated refrain of 鈥淚 am not your internet baby.鈥� In the context of the song, it is a declaration to a needy love interest, but in the context of the album, it is a reminder that ' online successes have offline resonance.
Maria Sherman, The Associated Press
