Back when I first encountered PinkPantheress—a faceless phenom sharing snippets on SoundCloud and TikTok—I never anticipated how rapidly her work would come to dominate my playlists. From early flashes of virality with “Just A Waste” (please release it on streaming platforms, I don’t care about copyright law) to her cutesy 2023 collaboration with Ice Spice, PinkPantheress quickly cemented herself into the soundtrack of my coming–of–age arc.
Naturally, my world stopped when she teased her newest remix project Fancy Some More? earlier this month, an album featuring a whopping twenty–two reimaginations of songs from her critically acclaimed mixtape Fancy That. The tartan–clad titaness, in a charming collaboration with her animated self, surprised the internet with a list of featured artists that literally had me saying “wow” alongside Pink. With a list of collaborators that included rising stars like Oklou and Rachel Chinouriri and re—emerging soloists like Yves and JADE, this remix album announcement set expectations through the roof. The teaser truly was received like fan—service; as if the far—fetched wishes of her followers had all been magically granted. The energy generated by this guest list alone strongly reminded me of the commotion surrounding Charli xcx’s Brat and It's Completely Different but Also Still Brat almost one year ago, which similarly features a diverse range of artists.
While Charli’s packed lineup represented a cultural victory for Brat and its subversive themes, Pink’s selection is an improbable mix of artists. Seriously, could you imagine a conversation between Bladee and Kylie Minogue? It underscores one of Pink’s greatest strengths as an artist—her ability to gather such distinct sounds and transform them into something cohesive, fresh, and uniquely her own. Although Fancy Some More? may not wield the same cultural capital as Brat's remix album, nor tackle the same breadth of experiences, it shares the prestige and grandeur that comes with having such a variety of beloved names co—sign and expand upon an already excellent project.
I am guilty of committing the sin of listening to new works not only out of order but also over multiple days. So my foray into Fancy Some More? began with not one, not two, but four remixes of “Stateside,” evidently both Pink’s and my favorite song off the original mixtape. “Stateside + Zara Larsson” emerged as the clear victor, as it reintegrated the production seen in the scrapped original demo of the song. In Pink’s own words, this remix is “bratzish” to a tee, interspersing beeps and synths reminiscent of y2k toy cellphone ringtones and overlaying Larsson’s vocals deliciously atop Pink’s. This remix, as well as Kylie Minogue’s, riffed on the original’s British girl–American boy dichotomy, with Zara Larsson singing instead about her Swedish love affair. The track is beyond cute—it’s addictive, it’s fun, it’s refreshing. It’s unsurprising that this song has been the mixtape’s most stable yet, charts—wise.
In comparison, I found the other Swede’s remix a bit underwhelming. I was curious how Bladee would handle a song like “Stateside,” as someone decidedly not a lover girl, and unfortunately, the lyrics of “Stateside + Bladee” mostly centered around naming cardinal directions and parts of England (wrong country!). When he does depart from this, he narrates a vague story about his “pretty boy” self and the “wrath” that comes from his unbecoming, messy romance—something I wish he played into more, perhaps in conversation with the lovelorn British girl Pink plays. Putting aside the lyrics, which probably aren’t what Bladee fans seek out anyway, this remix is still fierce, trading in Larsson’s sexy electronic instrumental for Bladee's signature ethereal, experimental cloud rap sound.
Beyond the “Stateside” remixes, PinkPantheress’s album “flies intercontinentally,” featuring remixes from Korean, Brazilian, Australian, and American artists alongside local stars and producers.
The remix I most anticipated was “Stars + Yves,” coming in just two months after her first collaboration with Pink, “Soap,” on Yves’s EP Soft Error. Their budding friendship has been incredibly endearing to see, and it was brought about in large part by an edit of PinkPantheress set to “LOONATIC” (a track by a subunit of Yves’ former K–Pop girl group LOONA) and fervent requests from LOONA fans. To the delight of the intersection of LOONA and PinkPantheress stans, not only did this edit inspire Pink’s “Nice to meet you (feat. Central Cee)” music video, it also sparked multiple collaborations between the two artists. I harbored some skepticism after “Soap” hadn’t quite hit the mark—it was sonically gorgeous, but fell victim to somewhat nonsensical lyricism from Yves’s songwriters. So learning that her remix would be written by Yves herself (a first in her soloist discography) in her native Korean inspired some hope. Yves’s remix offers a more dramatic, ballad–style reimagination of the original, with more melancholy production and a verse truly reflecting the sadness of the piece’s themes. It’s a beautiful reimagining, but I can’t help but wish the duo had played more into their shared R&B strengths or the original’s dance—pop. If they ever collaborate a third time, I would love to see something more experimental and energetic, perhaps in tune with Yves’s stronger works like “Hashtag” or “Viola.”
“Tonight + Basement Jaxx,” “Girl Like Me + Oklou,” and “Romeo + Ravyn Lenae” are three songs from this behemoth of a remix project that truly encapsulate what makes PinkPantheress such a chameleon in her craft—they completely transform the sounds of the original songs while still being so clearly Pink. I was thrilled to see so many producers sampled on Fancy That reappear on this project, including Basement Jaxx, whose own “Romeo” (released the same year Pink was born) is sampled in “Girl Like Me.” Experiencing this co–production on “Tonight + Basement Jaxx” was incredible—the two completely overhaul the girly, flirty sound of the Fancy That track to produce something more pensive and dejected. Pink's work is revolutionized by her contemporary collaborators as well. Oklou’s rendition similarly metamorphosizes “Girl Like Me” into a moody, mysterious melody, mirroring the muffled, dynamic production of her debut album Choke Enough. In tandem, Ravyn Lenae merges her soulful, alternative R&B palette with Pink’s distinctly UK sound, somehow making the song even groovier.
Not every song on this remix project was a hit for me, but that in and of itself reflects the versatility of PinkPantheress and the breadth of the space she is able to occupy. Through masterfully integrating the sounds of genres miles apart, there‘s something for everyone and every mood here, be it in DJ Caio Prince and Adame DJ’s Brazilian funk take on “Stars” or KILIMANJARO’s Amapiano–inspired electronic remix of “Romeo.” The vastness of this project is a key factor in its beauty.
PinkPantheress’s career is only just beginning, and she has already proven to be a star in the making. Considering Fancy Some More? is a remix of only her second mixtape, I’m sitting in excitement for the work she’ll come out with in the coming years. Pink has already proven her talent, taming all sorts of genres and bringing together many different names—only time will tell how her future releases will further elevate her star power.
