PinkPantheress Opens Up About OCD and Her Musical Origins on ‘Therapuss’

British singer, producer and songwriter PinkPantheress sat down with Jake Shane for the latest episode of his viral podcast Therapuss, where she discussed everything from her creative process and internet beginnings to her OCD and the evolution of her sound.

In the hourlong episode, PinkPantheress—born Victoria Walker—spoke candidly about her earliest days making music, revealing that her now-iconic stage name came from a random game show moment. “I was making a TikTok account,” she explained.

“I was watching a game show called The Chase and the answer to one of the questions was Pantheress… I wanted to call myself that, but then it was taken. So I think pink in front of it. Like the movie.”

She also opened up about the production inspirations behind her “Tonight” music video, citing Jamiroquai’s “King for a Day” and Madonna’s 1989 Vogue performance, and broke down the genre confusion surrounding her sound. “A lot of people describe [my] music as hyperpop,” she said. “But the genre is called drum and bass… or jungle… That’s what Americans call hyperpop because it’s very sped up. It’s not that. But who makes the rules? No one makes the rules.”

Touching on her OCD, PinkPantheress explained, “I don’t necessarily have many of the fears that you might have about certain things… I do have this thing where once I have a thought it loops, loops, loops for a month and it will never stop.” She added, “If I don’t consider myself a certain standard at what I’m doing, I don’t see the point doing it… That’s something birthed from my OCD, by not being satisfied by anything less than perfect.”

Elsewhere in the episode, the artist shared stories about producing her Barbie soundtrack standout “Angel” alongside Charlie Puth (“He’s kind of like AI in a person musically”), her micro phase of maladaptive daydreaming (“I would act like I had a boyfriend around the house”), and her evolving relationship with live performance.

Pink also explained her shift from anonymity to showing her face publicly. “I really did the whole, when I did the ‘Boy’s a Liar Pt. 2’ video, that was when it was really ‘This is her.’”

She’s now embracing the spotlight more fully. On June 16, Pink revealed that she’d be embarking on a residency-style North American tour titled An Evening With PinkPantheress.

The nine North American dates will see the singer come to New York, Chicago, Los Angeles and more cities for the first time, marking her first headlining U.S. shows since 2024’s Capable of Love ’24 Tour.

Watch the full episode of Therapuss on YouTube, Spotify or Apple Podcasts.