To Hell with It
to hell with it is the debut mixtape by English singer-songwriter and record producer PinkPantheress, released on 15 October 2021 through Parlophone Records.[1] The project comprises ten tracks, most under two minutes in length with none exceeding three minutes, blending elements of drum and bass, UK garage, 2-step, and dance-pop with nostalgic samples from early 2000s music and her characteristic soft, whispery vocals.[2][3] PinkPantheress, born Victoria Beverley Walker on 19 April 2001 in Bath, Somerset, and raised in Kent, began her career anonymously on TikTok in 2020, uploading short, self-produced songs that quickly went viral, including "Pain" and "Break It Off," which propelled her to international attention.[4][5] Of Kenyan and English descent, she enrolled at the University of the Arts London to study film before dropping out during the pandemic to pursue music full-time, drawing inspiration from artists like Sweet Female Attitude and Craig David while experimenting with sped-up samples and garage rhythms.[4] The mixtape builds on her TikTok singles, such as "Just for Me" and "I Must Apologise," marking her transition from online clips to a cohesive release that captures the brevity and energy of her platform origins.[1] Upon release, to hell with it received widespread critical acclaim for its innovative fusion of retro influences and modern production, earning a 5/5 rating from NME, which praised its "lightning-speed" execution and sample choices, and a 7.3/10 from Pitchfork, highlighting its Y2K-inspired fantasy.[6][3] The mixtape peaked at number 20 on the UK Albums Chart and has since been certified gold by the British Phonographic Industry in February 2025 for sales exceeding 100,000 units, underscoring its lasting impact on contemporary pop and electronic music scenes.[7]Background and development
Inspiration and concept
PinkPantheress first gained widespread attention in late 2020 through TikTok, where she uploaded self-produced song snippets under two minutes long, often sampling 2000s tracks to create lo-fi mash-ups of nostalgic beats and breathy vocals. These viral clips, such as "Pain" and "Break It Off," amassed millions of views and established her signature style, prompting the decision to compile them into her debut mixtape To Hell with It as a cohesive extension of her online presence. The project, released in October 2021, transformed her fragmented social media hits into a structured 10-track release while retaining their ephemeral quality.[8][5] The mixtape's core themes explore adolescence, failed relationships, longing, and abandonment, serving as a coming-of-age narrative forged from the isolation of the COVID-19 pandemic. PinkPantheress drew lyrical inspiration from fictional depictions of troubled youth, like those in Jacqueline Wilson novels, to articulate emotional vulnerability and relational strife experienced during lockdowns, when personal connections were disrupted. This reflective lens captures the wistful introspection of young adulthood amid global uncertainty, with songs evoking grief over lost intimacy and unrequited desires.[9] Musically, To Hell with It is rooted in 2000s UK garage and drum and bass, genres PinkPantheress encountered through her mother's playlist and early exposure to club anthems. She cites specific influences like Sweet Female Attitude's "Flowers," which she samples directly in "Pain," alongside the broader sound of artists such as Artful Dodger, blending euphoric 2-step rhythms with contemporary pop sensibilities. This nostalgic revival reimagines past dancefloor energy for a generation seeking comfort in familiarity during turbulent times.[8][10] To preserve the addictive, shareable essence of her TikTok origins, PinkPantheress opted to self-produce most tracks using accessible software like GarageBand, deliberately capping their length at under two minutes to mirror the platform's snippet format and avoid repetitive structures like bridges or extended verses. This approach emphasized immediacy and emotional punch, allowing listeners to loop favorites endlessly while challenging conventional songwriting norms.[9][8]Recording sessions
PinkPantheress recorded the bulk of to hell with it in her bedroom at her family home and later in her university dorm during the COVID-19 lockdowns spanning 2020 and 2021. Utilizing GarageBand on her laptop, she handled most production herself, often capturing vocals at low volumes to avoid waking roommates or family members. This DIY approach allowed her to experiment rapidly with short song structures, aligning with the platform constraints of TikTok where many tracks originated.[11][12] The 20-year-old artist, then a film student at the University of the Arts London, faced significant logistical challenges in juggling coursework with music-making. She typically worked on tracks late at night after classes or during weekends, a schedule that strained her studies and contributed to her eventual decision to drop out in 2022 to focus on her rising career. Despite these hurdles, the seclusion of lockdown provided uninterrupted time for creativity, enabling her to build a catalog of demos.[4][13] Tracks for the mixtape began as brief TikTok snippets posted from late 2020 onward, with key songs like "Pain" and "Break It Off" gaining viral traction by early 2021 and leading to her signing with Parlophone Records. These initial recordings were compiled and refined over the following months, culminating in the project's finalization for its October 15, 2021 release. While primarily a solo endeavor, PinkPantheress incorporated limited external input, notably from producer Oscar Scheller on select tracks including "I Must Apologise" and "Noticed I Cried."[14][15]Composition and production
Musical style
To Hell with It is classified as a dance-pop record incorporating elements of liquid drum and bass, UK garage, and 2-step garage.[16][17] The mixtape draws heavily on sampling from 2000s R&B and pop, evoking a nostalgic Y2K aesthetic through sped-up and looped vocal snippets integrated into its rhythmic frameworks.[8] Most tracks on the mixtape are under two minutes in length, contributing to a fragmented, playlist-like flow that mirrors the brevity of TikTok clips where many songs originated.[18] This concise structure emphasizes hooks and emotional bursts over extended development, creating an immersive yet ephemeral listening experience. PinkPantheress self-produced the majority of the project, allowing for a seamless blend of these stylistic influences.[8] Lyrically, the songs explore introspective themes of love, heartbreak, and the complexities of youth, often conveying sadness, grief, and emotional vulnerability.[8][19] These narratives are delivered in a whispery, auto-tuned vocal style that adds intimacy and ethereal quality, with high-pitched, soft tones enhancing the confessional tone.[20][21] For instance, "Pain" exemplifies an upbeat UK garage track centered on heartbreak, capturing the sting of a sudden breakup through its pulsating rhythms and raw emotional delivery.[18][19] Similarly, "Just for Me" blends hyperpop elements with garage beats, offering a playful yet poignant reflection on self-worth in relationships.[22]Production techniques
PinkPantheress adopted a DIY approach to producing To Hell with It, creating the majority of the mixtape in her university dorm room using GarageBand software on her laptop. This bedroom setup allowed her to record vocals softly to avoid disturbing roommates, emphasizing a lo-fi, self-taught process without professional studio resources. She handled production herself for the early tracks, focusing on digital loops and edits rather than live instrumentation. Central to her techniques was extensive sampling from late-20th and early-21st-century tracks, drawing from genres like UK garage, drum and bass, house, and nu-metal to evoke nostalgia. For instance, "Pain" interpolates the bassline and vocal hooks from Sweet Female Attitude's 2000 UK garage hit "Flowers," while "I must apologise" lifts the iconic "la da dee la da da" refrain from Crystal Waters' 1991 house classic "Gypsy Woman (She's Homeless)." Similarly, "Passion" incorporates the breakbeat from Lyn Collins' 1972 funk track "Think (About It)," a staple in drum and bass production, and "Last Valentines" samples the guitar riff from Linkin Park's 2000 nu-metal song "Forgotten." These samples were often pitched up or sped up to fit high-energy drum and bass rhythms, creating a fragmented, collage-like sound. Layering formed a key element, with PinkPantheress stacking her own sped-up vocals—often pitched higher for a youthful, ethereal effect—over pitched samples and sparse, minimalistic drum patterns derived from chopped breaks. This method prioritized brevity and immediacy, treating tracks as "extended TikTok edits" with abrupt endings and runtimes frequently under two minutes, such as "Pain" at 1:38. The result was a lightweight, hook-driven aesthetic that mirrored her quick composition process, often completing songs in under an hour.Promotion and release
Singles and music videos
The mixtape To Hell with It was preceded by five pre-release singles in 2021, each gaining initial traction through short snippets shared on TikTok that sparked viral trends and user-generated challenges. "Pain", the first single, was independently released on January 29, 2021, and later reissued through Parlophone and Elektra Records; it samples Sweet Female Attitude's "Flowers" and peaked at number 35 on the UK Singles Chart after nine weeks.[23][13] "Break It Off", the second single, was released on June 4, 2021, sampling Adam F's "Circles" and addressing the desire to end a toxic relationship; it peaked at number 84 on the UK Singles Chart for one week.)[24][25] "Passion" followed on July 1, 2021, as the third single, blending liquid drum and bass with introspective lyrics; it charted at number 73 on the UK Singles Chart for three weeks.[26] The lead single, "Just for Me", arrived on August 13, 2021, produced by Mura Masa and described by PinkPantheress as centering on an unhealthy obsession with a crush, serving as a thematic follow-up to "Pain"; it marked her highest-charting release at the time, reaching number 27 on the UK Singles Chart over 12 weeks.[27][28] "I Must Apologise", the final pre-release single, dropped on October 6, 2021, sampling Crystal Waters' "Gypsy Woman" and exploring regret in fleeting relationships; it debuted and peaked at number 85 on the UK Singles Chart for two weeks.[29][30] The associated music videos and visuals emphasized PinkPantheress's DIY ethos rooted in her TikTok beginnings, often featuring low-budget, lo-fi production to evoke intimacy and nostalgia. For "Pain", an official visualiser released in July 2021 showcased simple, phone-shot aesthetics with minimalistic animation, highlighting the track's raw, bedroom-recorded origins that first captivated TikTok users through user-led edits and dances.[31] Similarly, the "Break It Off" visualiser, released in June 2021, featured abstract, glitchy animations aligned with the song's drum and bass energy, further amplifying its viral TikTok presence. In contrast, the "Just for Me" music video, co-directed by PinkPantheress and LAUZZA and released in September 2021, adopted a surreal tone with low-resolution footage of the artist performing amid a group of melancholic young people, incorporating fisheye lens distortions and dreamlike sequences to underscore the song's obsessive undertones.[32][33] These visuals, promoted alongside TikTok challenges that amassed millions of streams, propelled the singles' virality and built anticipation for the mixtape's October launch.[34]Marketing and announcement
Following the viral success of her short TikTok clips, such as "Pain" and "Break It Off," which amassed millions of views and streams in early 2021, PinkPantheress signed with Parlophone Records in April 2021 and Elektra Records in June 2021.[13] These deals were driven by the organic buzz generated on the platform, where her anonymous, sample-heavy tracks resonated with users creating their own content. The label involvement focused on amplifying this digital momentum rather than overhauling her independent aesthetic. The official announcement of To Hell with It came on October 1, 2021, through a combination of social media posts and press releases, teasing the October 15 release date without revealing extensive details to maintain her enigmatic persona.[1][35] Preceding this, teaser campaigns built hype via snippet drops on TikTok—many of which featured unreleased tracks from the project—and occasional Instagram Live sessions where she previewed beats and interacted minimally with fans. Collaborations with TikTok influencers further spread these clips, as users incorporated her sounds into dances and edits, extending her reach organically. Media rollout emphasized her rapid ascent from obscurity, with features in Rolling Stone detailing the TikTok-to-label trajectory and NME spotlighting her commitment to anonymity amid the buzz.[1][35] These outlets portrayed the project as a culmination of her DIY ethos, avoiding traditional promotional tactics like radio airplay. The strategy targeted Gen Z audiences through short-form, platform-native content, leveraging algorithms for viral dissemination over conventional marketing channels. Singles like "Just for Me" were briefly teased in this ecosystem to sustain engagement leading into the launch.Release formats and dates
to hell with it was released digitally on October 15, 2021, through Parlophone Records in the United Kingdom and Elektra Records internationally, available exclusively via streaming platforms and digital download at launch.[35][7] Physical editions, including vinyl and CD, were delayed until 2022, with the first vinyl pressing occurring on April 23 as a limited-edition release for Record Store Day; no cassette formats were produced for the initial rollout.[2] The mixtape's international rollout was simultaneous across major markets, emphasizing a UK-centric promotion under Parlophone.[1] The project is stylized with an all-lowercase title, and its artwork consists of abstract pink and black graphics created by designer Brent McKeever.[36]Commercial performance
Chart performance
To Hell with It debuted at number 20 on the UK Albums Chart, marking PinkPantheress's first entry on the ranking, and spent a total of five weeks in the top 100.[37] In the United States, the mixtape entered the Billboard 200 at number 73 in October 2021, representing PinkPantheress's debut appearance on the chart.[38] Internationally, To Hell with It achieved its highest peak at number 6 on the Portugal Albums Top 30, where it charted for two weeks.[39] It also reached number 27 on the New Zealand Albums Top 40 for one week and number 36 on the Irish Albums Top 100 for two weeks.[39][40] The mixtape's chart success was bolstered by viral traction from singles on platforms like TikTok.[38]| Chart (2021) | Peak position | Weeks charted |
|---|---|---|
| Irish Albums (IRMA) | 36 | 2 |
| New Zealand Albums (RMNZ) | 27 | 1 |
| Portugal Albums (AFP) | 6 | 2 |
| UK Albums (OCC) | 20 | 5 |
| US Billboard 200 | 73 | 1 |
Sales and certifications
The British Phonographic Industry (BPI) awarded the mixtape a Gold certification on 28 February 2025, denoting 100,000 units shipped or streamed in the UK.[7] As of November 2025, it has not received any certifications from the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). A 2025 reissue, released on 24 October 2025 to mark the fifth anniversary, contributed to ongoing commercial momentum.[2] By November 2025, the mixtape's tracks had collectively exceeded 2 billion streams on Spotify.[41]Critical reception
Reviews from critics
Upon its release in October 2021, To Hell with It received widespread critical acclaim for its innovative blend of UK garage, drum and bass, and nostalgic sampling, earning a Metacritic score of 86 out of 100 based on 10 reviews, signifying "universal acclaim."[42] Critics frequently praised the mixtape's catchiness and playful energy, with NME awarding it a perfect 5 out of 5 stars and describing it as an "impeccable debut" that masterfully incorporates nostalgic samples from 90s and 2000s sources, such as Linkin Park's "Forgotten" and lesser-known tracks like Toco's "Outro Lugar," to create addictive, lightning-speed tracks.[6] Similarly, Pitchfork rated it 7.3 out of 10, commending its concise energy and ability to evoke a "Y2K fantasy" through short, vibrant songs that feel like "digital-age paradise."[3] While the majority of reviews highlighted the mixtape's fresh appeal, some noted criticisms regarding its brevity and perceived lack of depth. Pitchfork observed that the short song lengths—most under two minutes—can make certain tracks feel like underdeveloped sketches, limiting emotional exploration despite their melodic strengths.[3] The Guardian included it at number 33 in their list of the 50 best albums of 2021, describing it as an "after-hours rite of passage" in which classic drum'n'bass samples evoke nagging memories and adrenaline rushes around lyrics of obsession and disappointment, enhanced by her innocent, breathless voice.[43] Overall, the critical consensus positioned To Hell with It as a fresh take on UK electronic music, revitalizing hyperpop and garage traditions with its viral, sample-driven sound and influencing a wave of short-form, nostalgic pop production.[42]Accolades and awards
Upon its release, To Hell with It earned significant recognition through industry polls and year-end rankings, highlighting PinkPantheress's rapid rise. In January 2022, PinkPantheress was named the winner of the BBC Music Sound of 2022 poll, an annual award voted on by over 140 UK music industry experts to identify rising talent, with her mixtape's viral singles "Just for Me" and "Pain" credited as pivotal to her breakthrough.[44] The project also garnered nominations at the 2022 Ivor Novello Awards, which honor excellence in songwriting and composing. "Just for Me" was shortlisted for Best Contemporary Song, alongside entries from artists like James Blake and Little Simz, recognizing its innovative production and lyrical introspection.[45][46] Additionally, PinkPantheress received a nomination for the Rising Star Prize, an award for emerging songwriters under 25, further tying the mixtape's impact to her songcraft.[45] Critics' year-end lists positioned To Hell with It among the top releases of 2021. Variety ranked it No. 2 on its Best Albums of 2021, praising its "compressed masterpiece" of sampled nostalgia and brevity.[47] Time magazine placed it at No. 3 in its 10 Best Albums of 2021, lauding the mixtape's "lightning-quick" tracks as a fresh take on UK garage and 2-step influences.[48]Track listing and credits
Track listing
The standard edition of to hell with it features 10 tracks with a total runtime of 18:31.[2] All tracks were written by PinkPantheress (Victoria Beverley Walker), with additional songwriters credited on select tracks due to incorporated samples; production was handled primarily by PinkPantheress, alongside collaborators including Mura Masa, Oscar Scheller, IZCO, and others.[7][49]| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Pain" | PinkPantheress, Martin Green, Mike Powell | PinkPantheress | 1:38 |
| 2 | "I must apologise" | PinkPantheress, Oscar Scheller, Crystal Waters, Neal Conway | Oscar Scheller, PinkPantheress | 1:48 |
| 3 | "Last valentines" | PinkPantheress, Chester Bennington, Rob Bourdon, Brad Delson, Joseph Hahn, Mike Shinoda | PinkPantheress | 1:13 |
| 4 | "Passion" | PinkPantheress | IZCO, Jkarri, PinkPantheress | 2:18 |
| 5 | "Just for me" | PinkPantheress, Alexander Crossan | Mura Masa, PinkPantheress | 1:55 |
| 6 | "Noticed I cried" | PinkPantheress, Oscar Scheller, Franz Buchholtz | Oscar Scheller, PinkPantheress | 1:22 |
| 7 | "Reason" | PinkPantheress | Zach Nahome, PinkPantheress | 2:11 |
| 8 | "All my friends know" | PinkPantheress, Sven Torstenson | Dill Aitchison, Kairos Laferme, PinkPantheress | 1:58 |
| 9 | "Nineteen" | PinkPantheress | PinkPantheress | 2:33 |
| 10 | "Break it off" | PinkPantheress, Adam Fenton | Adam F, PinkPantheress | 1:35 |
Personnel
PinkPantheress (Victoria Beverley Walker) performed vocals and served as producer on all ten tracks of the mixtape.[7]Musicians
- PinkPantheress – vocals (all tracks), programming (1–3, 6–10)
- Oscar Scheller – bass, drums, keyboards, programming, synthesizer (2, 6)
- Jkarri – guitar (4)
- Mura Masa – drums, keyboards, programming (5)
- Zach Nahome – bass, drums, guitar, keyboards, programming (7)
- Dill Aitchison – additional keyboards (5), bass programming, drums, keyboards, synthesizer (8)
- Kairos Laferme – bass programming, guitar, keyboards, synthesizer (8)
- Dom Munns – guitar (9)
- Adam F – programming (10)
Technical
- PinkPantheress – mastering (1, 10), mixing (3), engineering (2–4)
- Stuart Hawkes – mastering (2–5, 7–10)
- Matt Colton – mastering (6)
- Jonny Breakwell – mixing (2, 5–9), engineering (5)
- Adam F – mixing, engineering (10)
- IZCO – mixing, engineering (4)
- Jkarri – engineering (4)
- Mura Masa – engineering (5)
- Finn Howells – engineering (7–9)