Victoria Beverley Walker, known professionally as PinkPantheress, is an English singer, songwriter, and record producer. She was born on 19 April 2001 in Bath, Somerset, to a Kenyan Luo mother from Kisumu, who works as a carer, and an English father, who works as a statistics professor. She has one older brother, who works as an audio engineer and She is related to English chess player Susan Lalic, with her mentioning that “my family are all chess players.” When she was five years old, her family moved from Bath to Canterbury, Kent, where she grew up. Her father moved to the United States to work at a university in Austin, Texas when she was 12 years old, while she and her mother stayed in England. Walker took piano lessons as a child, and, at age 12, sang “Stand by Me” by Ben E. King at a school talent show. When she was 14 years old, she became the lead singer in a rock band, which covered songs by My Chemical Romance, Paramore, and Green Day, and performed with them for the first time at a school fête. She studied film at the University of the Arts London until 2022, when she dropped out.
Four: Break It Off
“Break It Off” is a song by English singer-songwriter PinkPantheress. It was officially released on 4 June 2021 through Elektra and Parlophone Records, as the lead single from her debut mixtape To Hell with It. An uptempo drum and bass and experimental pop song about heartbreak, it was written and produced by PinkPantheress and Adam F, and samples F’s song “Circles”. It has garnered over 349M streams on spotify and over 13M views on it’s Official Audio on YouTube. A snippet of the song went viral on TikTok, and it subsequently peaked at number 74 on the UK Singles Chart and at number 30 on the Billboard Hot Rock & Alternative Songs chart. A visualizer for the song was directed by Malt Disney and released on 21 June 2021. David Renshaw of The Fader called “Break It Off” “an algorithm-breaking bolt from the blue, destined to be played on repeat throughout the summer months”. Times called the song “elegant in [its] own right” and wrote that it “encapsulate[s] the enthusiasm and thrill of listening to someone else’s elegant song, one that rousts you from your shell and thrusts you into your own joy or sadness”.
FYI
- Walker has discussed experiencing body dysmorphia from a young age. She also suffers from gradual hearing loss, which initially began as tinnitus, from exposure to loud music and microphone feedback.
Three: Pain
Released on 7 June 2021 through Elektra and Parlophone Records, as the second single from her debut mixtape To Hell with It, is a song called “Pain”. Produced by PinkPantheress, “Pain” is a UK garage song which runs for one minute and 38 seconds and samples the 2000 single “Flowers” by UK garage duo Sweet Female Attitude. It has garnered over 870M streams on spotify and over 13M views on it’s Official Audio on YouTube. PinkPantheress addresses her longing for an ex over a “woozy”, two-chord keyboard loop and a lofi hip hop beat, and sings “la la las” throughout the song, which were inspired by her writer’s block. It subsequently peaked at number 35 on the UK Singles Chart and at number 54 in Ireland.
Two: Tonight
Serving as her latest release, “Tonight” is a song by English singer PinkPantheress. It was released digitally through Warner Records on 4 April 2025 as the lead single from her upcoming second mixtape, Fancy That (2025). PinkPantheress wrote and produced the track with Aksel Arvid and Count Baldor. Musically, “Tonight” is a dance-pop and bassline track that features synthesisers. It samples orchestral arrangements and strings from Panic! at the Disco’s song “Do You Know What I’m Seeing?” from their album Pretty. Odd. (2008). In its lyrics, the song’s narrator flirts with and makes sexual advances toward a crush. It has garnered over 10M streams on spotify and over 2M views on it’s Official Music Video on YouTube. YouTube Music critics generally praised “Tonight” for its production, with several publications selecting it as one of the best songs of its release week. The music video for “Tonight”, directed by Charlotte Rutherford, accompanied the song’s release. The period drama–inspired video contains several fashion and aesthetic choices that evoke the Regency era and the television series Bridgerton. It depicts PinkPantheress and her friends hosting a rowdy party at a manor house, where they kiss passionately and engage in pillow fights.
Awards/Nominations
- In 2022, PinkPantheress was awarded BBC Sound of 2022, as well as Best Female Act at the MOBO Awards.
- In 2024 she was awarded the Producer of the Year at the Billboard Women in Music.
Discography
- PinkPantheress has one studio album, one EP, and two mixtapes (one of which is to be released on the 9th of May, 2025)
- Heaven Knows (2023)
One: Boy’s a Liar Pt. 2
“Boy’s a Liar” is a song by British singer PinkPantheress. Released on 30 November 2022 through Warner Records as a single, Written and produced by her and Mura Masa, the lyrics talk about feeling inadequate in a relationship. A remix of the song, retitled “Boy’s a Liar Pt. 2”, featuring American rapper Ice Spice, was released through Parlophone Records, Elektra Records, and 3EE on 3 February 2023 as the lead single from PinkPantheress’ debut album Heaven Knows. It has garnered over 959M streams on spotify and over 249M views on it’s Official Music Video on YouTube. Both “Boy’s a Liar” and its remix received positive reviews from critics. The remix was commercially successful, reaching number three on the US Billboard Hot 100, becoming the first top-10 on the chart for both PinkPantheress and Ice Spice and the first chart entry for PinkPantheress. It was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). The song also reached number three on the Billboard Global 200, and globally, reached number one in New Zealand and number two in Canada. A music video for the remix, directed by George and Frederick Buford, shows PinkPantheress and Ice Spice together in various locations throughout New York City. The work was nominated for PRS for Music Most Performed Work Ivor Novello Award on Thursday 23 May 2024.
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