On TikTok, any earworm can be a hit. The platform has become the go-to for DIY artists to make the most of a viral moment, but not many have been blessed by the algorithm quite like PinkPantheress. The 22-year-old vocalist gained attention for morphing jungle and drum n’ bass samples into her futuristic pop sound, and the hyperpop movement she’s often been associated with has all but led to the reshaping of pop music in the past three years. On her debut album, Heaven Knows, Pink defines her place in the pop ecosystem, exploring new sounds and charting a direction for the genre’s future. 

Her new music levels up from the GarageBand-created, sample-based bedroom pop that brought her notoriety. While she remains at the helm behind the boards, additional production from Mura Masa, Count Baldor, and Greg Kurstin delivers a series of fully formed pop experiments. Of course, the hallmarks of a PinkPantheress song remain—only two of 12 songs cross the three-minute mark. Her lyrical ability has also gained momentum from the diaristic, adolescent storytelling of early singles. “Feel complete” puts a relationship with alcohol under the microscope, while “Ophelia” ruminates on death, drawing subject matter from its titular Hamlet heroine. 

The expansion into a new sonic palette is bolstered by the features as well. The Afrobeats hitmaker Rema features on “Another life,” and additional submissions from Kelela, Central Cee, and Ice Spice appear. It showcases PinkPantheress as a selector of individual taste, with her finger on the pulse of a forward-thinking global sound. The album’s last new song, “Capable of love,” stretches her lilt over stadium-built guitar riffs and distorted vocals. It’s a shredder, seemingly designed as the ultimate encore. Heaven Knows succeeds in moments like this, building Pink’s lore as a pathbreaking pop artist and cementing her signature as a willing experimentalist.