Live Review

PinkPantheress' pop star era arrives in full

PinkPantheress has put the handbag down. On stage at Brixton Academy for the first of two nights headlining, her signature shoulder bag is nowhere to be seen. The running gag has seen her through practically her entire career so far, but shedding it was necessary in order to enable the phenomenal step up she’s made on this tour.

A spotlight reveals PinkPantheress’ silhouette behind a curtain as the viral opening line of ‘Illegal’ - “My name is Pink and I’m really glad to meet you” - plays and fans roar. When the curtain drops, we’re met with PinkPantheress The Pop Star.

August 2024 saw Pink cancel her tour dates for the remainder of the year, including high festival billings and a stint opening on Olivia Rodrigo’s ‘GUTS’ tour in the US; when she reemerged this spring, something had shifted. Her music, emo-indebted and melodramatic on mixtape ‘to hell with it’ and debut album ‘Heaven knows’, was bouncier and flirtier on ‘Fancy That’. Her performance tonight reflects that transformation, and while the venue is half the capacity of her last London headline at Alexandra Palace, the production is ten times bigger.

Opening with ‘Stateside’, PinkPantheress switches between girl group formations with her ‘Pinkettes’ in front of a square-windowed screen atop her multi-levelled setup, and loose twirling and jumping around the stage. The set is mostly packaged into neat sections separating albums: a few tracks from ‘Fancy That’ to open, several from ‘to hell with it’ for the early hits, a ‘Heaven knows’ section in the middle where the imagery changes from tartan backdrops to a night sky outside the window with white doves flying by. There’s practically never a lull, and the beauty of her songs all clocking in under three minutes means she rams a whopping 24 tracks into a roughly 75-minute set.

A brief interlude for a costume change even becomes a vogueing dance party, and when Pink returns to the stage for the second half, she ramps the energy up even higher. ‘Girl Like Me’ sees her and the Pinkettes perform choreography recalling iconic K-pop and J-pop trios like Orange Caramel and Perfume, fan favourites like ‘Stars’ and ‘Angel’, in all their unconventional glory, are paired with polished pop performances, ‘Romeo’ is interrupted with a skit to find her Romeo in the audience, pulling up a ‘random’ fan to come on stage and dance.

Before the impressive production value, PinkPantheress’ shows were carried by her off-kilter personality and quick wit. None of that is lost with the inflated budget, and she effortlessly banters with the audience as she accepts their gifts, shows off her Lafufu, and points out the K-pop light sticks some have brought along (she’s considering making her own, btw). That humour bleeds into the performances on occasion, like when her DJ comes out from behind the booth to tap dance during ‘Picture In My Mind’. It’s fabulously camp.

Worlds away from the shy, nervous artist she was only four years ago, facelessly uploading demos to TikTok, PinkPantheress’ growth is undeniable. Her on stage persona now feels inspired by the same girl groups and rock stars that she famously samples; at points the show feels as ambitious as those put on by the current pop crop’s biggest hitters. As she hurtles into ‘Illegal’ as the closing number, it does feel like a very different PinkPantheress we’re meeting tonight.

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