PinkPantheress has finally dropped her debut album after two years of being introduced to the music industry.
The album Heaven Knows, available on all streaming platforms, was released on Nov 10, 2023, after her recent three-song EP, Take Me Home, was released almost a year ago.
The album is 34 minutes long and contains 13 songs, three of which were already released. Her single “Boy’s a liar Pt. 2”, featuring rising rap artist Ice Spice was released Feb 2023, and was extremely popular on various social media platforms and on the radio.
She released her single “Mosquito” in Sept 2023, which didn’t get as much coverage, and “Capable of Love,” which was released last month.
For a year, the song “Ophelia” was unreleased and had only been leaked online, so it was very anticipated by fans. In the aforementioned interview, PinkPantheress spoke on the making of Ophelia, which is about being drowned in a bathtub. The song was based on the character Ophelia in “Hamlet” by Shakespeare.
She didn’t really mind the leak, as it felt like a friendly, passionate thing her fans had done and the current, official version of the song has a very different, less complex vibe than the leaked one.
The album starts off with “Another life (feat. Rema),” one of the longer songs of the album. The song is about mourning the death of a loved one, either physically or emotionally, and moving on from it. In the beginning of the song, PinkPantheress spoke to her loved one, asking them to “please wake up,” and when she gets no response, she says “guess you died today.” Throughout the song, PinkPantheress repeats the line “Guess I’ll see you in another life.”
In Rema’s verse, she mentions how drinking and having sex is her “only therapy.” It demonstrates how some people choose to indulge themselves in short bursts of pleasure to try to get over their sadness.
The fifth song of the album is “Nice to meet you (feat. Central Cee),” Central Cee being a British rapper who recently caught fame through Tiktok.
On this track, PinkPantheress samples the song “Gold” by Spandau Ballet, a famous English new wave band. She tries to sample more obscure songs that non-natives to the United Kingdom may not know. Her lyrics in the song portray how protective she is of her lover, saying that “I pray that I’ll die before my baby… I’ll take a risk if anyone tries to touch my baby.”
Central Cee’s verse implies that her lover had cheated, saying “‘Nah, I’m not bein’ unfaithful, baby’ And somehow she caught me lyin’.” Some fans feel that his verse is a little out of place with the tone of the rest of the song, and I agree as well.
The next song in the album also features an artist, titled “Bury me (feat. Kelela),” an American R&B artist. The song is about a situationship, in which PinkPantheress wants to be more than friends but her lover doesn’t. She says “You’re not my friend, you’re, you’re a little bit lonely… There’s no need for this pretend.” Then she reveals that “We took a step back, and now I’m missin’ my meals… So why can’t we just be who we are, baby?,” implying that she’s craving that affection. In the chorus, she says “I almost fell in love, but I couldn’t tell you,” demonstrating the complications of situationships.
Kelela’s verse says “I never wanna come unless you’re comfortable… Ignore me when I get there, where’d I go?” It implies that she wants to respect her lover’s boundaries, no matter how much it hurts her.
The most popular (and last) song of the album is “Boy’s a liar Pt. 2.” The song is about unrequited love from shallow men who only care about looks. In verse one, PinkPantheress states “you only want to hold me when I’m looking good enough.” In verse two, she worries “you’ll find me ugly and one day you’ll disappear” and if she was “ever good enough.”
In verse three, Ice Spice starts rapping about her ex. She says that his new girlfriend is just a replacement, but she still misses him, evident in the lines “But I don’t sleep enough without you… And I can’t eat enough without you.” Despite the sad lyrics, the instrumental is contrastingly upbeat.
PinkPantheress is excited to see which song receives the best reception, and to start touring in upcoming years. She hopes to continue to explore different genres and challenge herself musically.
In an interview with Zane Lowe from Apple Music, PinkPantheress confessed that she had to rely on one of her producers, Mura Masa, a lot when it came to the ordering of the tracklisting, as she’s not the best at it. She also mentioned how the process of creating the album was fun until she started second-guessing herself. She relied on her friends and one of her other producers, Phil, to give her their unbiased opinions when she was unsure, helping finalize what is now a well crafted album.
The album has received incredible feedback from fans and critics. It has a very upbeat, pop sound and describes the trials and tribulations of love and life.
PinkPantheress said she’d always wanted to be successful in some way, but as she got older, she started getting worried that it was too late for her. As she turned 18, she started feeling the weight of the decision: college or her dream job? She felt like she was in her prime, vocally and opportunity wise.
She realized that she’d become successful when her first TikTok became famous. People were praising the music she uploaded, which made her feel validated as a singer. This album not only shows her growing success as an artist, but her versatility and talent as well.