PinkPantheress wants to be the “female Rick Rubin”

At only 22 years old, PinkPantheress is still at the beginning of her career. She’s only just released her debut album, Heaven knows. But she has big aspirations: to be the “female Rick Rubin”, in fact.

In a new conversation with NPR, the English artist – whose real name is Victoria Beverly Walker – says that while she’s become known as a performer, her real passion is in songwriting and producing.

“I really love being a singer, but honestly, my main love is writing,” she says. “When people try and people tell me, ‘You’re not a great performer,’ or ‘She needs to improve,’ I’m always like, ‘Babe, I don’t even really want to do the performing.’ I’m more of a writer. I want to be like Rick Rubin – the female Rick Rubin.”

At the time the interview was held, PinkPantheress revealed she was preparing to catch a flight to LA, where she would attend some writing sessions with a “big pop star” whom she couldn’t name.

“I’ve never written for anyone in a room before,” she says. “But yeah, I’m really excited because she’s mega.”

PinkPantheress, who first gained traction on TikTok – as so many younger musicians do these days – also speaks about bringing her talents to a wider audience that’s not necessarily on the platform.

“It’s scary – and at first I didn’t like it,” she says. But she says the process is worth it.

“I feel like I know a lot of internet artists that people do not know outside of the internet, and I never wanted to be in that position,” she says. “I always wanted to be like, you could ask your cousin or your mom and they’d know who I was. And it’s weird because I’m at that point now, and even I don’t feel that big.”

Check out Mosquito, from PinkPantheress’s new album, Heaven knows, below: