Historic Brit Award Win
Pop artist PinkPantheress has been awarded the Brit Award for Producer of the Year ahead of the upcoming ceremony this weekend.
At 24 years old, PinkPantheress, known for tracks such as "Illegal," "Stateside," and "Boy's A Liar," is the first female recipient of this award since its establishment in 1977.
"I guess it's bittersweet that I'm the first one, the first woman, to get it," she told .
"As young as I am, it feels almost a bit crazy. Like, I'm not really legendary enough to be receiving it - but you know, I will definitely take it!"
Previous winners include renowned producers such as Sir George Martin, who worked with the Beatles, Trevor Horn, Brian Eno, David Stewart of the Eurythmics, Calvin Harris, and Chase & Status.
Until now, Kate Bush was the only female producer nominated for the award, for her 1989 album The Sensual World.
"That's not great," PinkPantheress commented on the scarcity of female winners, describing it as "crazy."
She is also the youngest ever recipient of this accolade, which comes five years after she first shared her lo-fi breakout tracks "Break it Off" and "Pain" on TikTok.
These tracks, written late at night in her university room, drew from UK garage and drum and bass influences, leading to her winning the BBC's Sound of 2022 award.
Since then, PinkPantheress has accumulated over one billion streams and achieved global success with 2023's "Boy's a Liar, Pt. 2." Her 2022 mixtape Fancy That, known for its punchy, sample-heavy style, became her first top 10 album and was nominated for the Mercury Prize.
Uniquely, her distinctive production style, characterized by skittering breakbeats and delicate melodies, is entirely self-taught.
"When I was 17, I was at a girl's school and I had a friend who was a singer, and she wanted someone to produce for her. And I was like, 'I'll do it'," she recalls.
She learned the basics through YouTube tutorials, drawing inspiration from female artists such as Nia Archives, Tinashe, and WondaGurl, who "made me feel like it was possible."
Without access to professional studios, she utilized whatever equipment was available.
"Quite literally, I did not have a microphone, but I had a karaoke game on the Nintendo Wii and they gave you a mic with the game. And I just was like, 'It has a USB connection, maybe it will work plugged it in'.
"It was a lot of trial and error."
Even now, she records many vocals at home, using a sock stretched over the microphone to reduce popping and sibilance.
"You can do anything from your bedroom. And I don't think that's a bad thing."
The musician spoke to the BBC from the Ace Hotel in Sydney, where she is based while performing over two consecutive weekends at Australia's Laneway Festival.
She sipped tea during the interview to protect her voice, which she described as "really delicate" — not due to concerts but because "I've been talking too much to my friends."
These shows are part of her largest tour to date, showcasing a newfound confidence in styling, attitude, and choreography from an artist who initially performed anonymously.
"I was never quite interested in being the star of my own show – but as I grew as an artist, I had to embody that," she explained.
"Not because I felt pressure from my fans, they're very respectful, but I don't want to be sidelined - and I think that's very easy to do when you have a lack of visual identity, which I definitely did have earlier in my career.
"That's obviously a lot to do with being a woman in music and being a pop star, or whatever, but I will say that if I wasn't down to do it, then I wouldn't."
Quiz Show Appearance
Despite her rising public profile, fans were surprised to see PinkPantheress appear on the BBC quiz show The Weakest Link earlier this month.
She competed alongside comedians Alex Brooker and Harriet Kemsley, choirmaster Gareth Malone, and former Love Island contestant Luca Bish, finishing in third place.
"I'm just a really big game show fan," she said.
"I used to binge-watch every single quiz show you could think of. So I've always wanted to go on a quiz show, and honestly the experience was really great.
"I did pretty well. I was quite shocked."
Her appearance, described by one viewer as "camp and iconic," quickly went viral, inspiring memes of her concentrated facial expressions and triumphant hair flicks after answering questions.
"I think the pressure of the 'lights, camera, action' was making me a bit flustered," she laughed, "because if you'd asked those questions to me in a room like this, I would have known them instantly.
"I'm just obsessed with trivia. I used to want to be a chaser on The Chase."
If her quiz show endeavors continue, she mentioned her specialist subject on Mastermind would be The Simpsons.
Upcoming Events and Outlook
Currently, PinkPantheress is returning from Australia to attend Saturday's Brit Awards, where she is also nominated for Best Artist and Best Dance Act.
She initially asked her team to keep her unaware of the nominations to manage her expectations.
"If I get disappointed, I get disappointed really hard - so I actually do this thing where I'll look at who I'm up against and decide, 'OK, I'm rooting for them instead'."
With the Best Producer award already secured, she hopes to inspire a new generation of female producers "who look like me, and want to make an alternative style of music."
When aspiring artists seek her advice, her first question is always, "What steps have you taken?"
She notes that many respond they have not been able to progress due to lack of access, knowledge, or resources.
"There's so many reasons why it sounds impossible to do music at any given point, especially if you're at school, but what I will say is, even though it might seem impossible, there are apps now that can help you get into production.
"I actually started on the [free] GarageBand app on the iPad - and although you might be insecure about your first three or four beats, I genuinely think that if you have a phone, you have a potential career in music."
