PinkPantheress ‘Nearly’ Featured on a Kendrick Lamar Song — but Missed Out Because She Was on a Date

PinkPantheress has already worked with exciting talent, but she’s opening up about one collaboration that could have been that still haunts her.

In a new i-D cover story published on Thursday, the rising pop star, 22, revealed that she almost appeared on a song with Kendrick Lamar. Much to her regret, the British artist explained that she missed out on the opportunity because she was on a date.

“Oh f—, I can’t even think about it,” the “Boys a Liar” singer told the outlet of “nearly” being on one of the 17-time Grammy winner’s tracks.

She explained that she was invited to join him in the studio, but missed the session because she was at the movies with a boy. “I was watching Nightcrawler with this guy,” the dream pop artist shared.

The “Mosquito” singer noted that it was because her date asked her to put her phone on silent that she didn’t see the invite at the time.

Although i-D wrote that the singer-songwriter sent a selfie to a man during their interview, the star (whose real name is Vicky Beverly Walker) clarified that she’s not focused on romance at this time. She added, “I’m not trying to date, even though I love dating.”

While she may not have gotten to work with Lamar quite yet, the hitmaker has collaborated with a roster of A-list talent in the two years since she broke out by anonymously releasing music on TikTok.

Ice Spice hopped on the “Boys a Liar 2” remix, which dropped at the start of 2023 and became one of the recording artist’s biggest songs to date.

She’s also teamed up with Lil Uzi Vert, Shygirl and Mura Masa on the 2022 single “Bbycakes” and the DJ Kaytranada on this year’s one-off “Do You Miss Me,” among other stars.

Most recently, the “Just for me” artist joined Troye Sivan and Hyunjin of Stray Kids on the remix of the Australian star’s hit “Rush.”

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On Nov. 10, the recording artist will release her debut studio album Heaven Knows (via Warner U.K.). It follows her acclaimed 2021 mixtape To Hell with It. Two singles have already been dropped: “Boys a Liar Pt. 2,” “Mosquito,” which she released alongside a star-studded music video, and “Capable of Love.”

She revealed to i-D that she sees the release as “giving outside” and went into it by envisioning fans listening to the music out in the world, rather than in their bedrooms.

There are also less samples on the project. “I had to level up, I couldn’t just use loops anymore. I had to get other people to come in,” the up-and-comer revealed to the outlet.

Next year, PinkPantheress will take her new music out on the road by supporting Olivia Rodrigo on a handful of dates on her upcoming GUTS tour. She’ll also play a handful of headlining dates on The Capable of Love Tour across the U.K. and Europe.