It was the last show of the “An Evening With… PinkPantheress” Tour, and Oakland’s Fox Theater was packed with a sea of red tartan and fur-lined jackets: A crowd lightly imitating the British flair of the performer it was slated to see. 

Victoria Walker, known onstage as PinkPantheress, debuted in 2021 as an independent artist producing music on GarageBand. After going viral on TikTok with hits such as “Break It Off,” the singer has since continued to reach new heights. Upon releasing her second mixtape, Fancy That, in May of this year, she received two Grammy nominations for the project and its lead single, “Illegal.” 

Embarking on her third tour across the U.K. and North America, it’s clear PinkPantheress has shed her mere TikTok-virality and transcended into the fully molted diva of dance-pop and drum-and-bass. 

After a sonically lukewarm but nevertheless hype-inducing set from opener DJ Nick Cheo, PinkPantheress arrived at 9 p.m. sharp. Armed with a drummer, two backup dancers, one DJ Joe and a constant stream of wind blowing through her hair, PinkPantheress was greeted with a roar from the crowd as the opening beats of “Stateside” blared through the venue. The pit revitalized with an energy I had deemed impossible from a lackluster response to Cheo. Dressed head-to-toe in a sheer black jumpsuit, PinkPantheress became our ringleader for the night — when she told us to jump, we asked how high?

Following a brief outfit-change skit on the gargantuan nine-squared screen, PinkPantheress re-emerged to perform “I Must Apologise,” this time donning a frilly dress, composed of her brand-distinctive tartan fabric. Waving her hand back and forth during the refrain of countless “Ooh-oohs,” it was clear I was surrounded by premier members of the PinkPantheress fan club. Throughout the entire show, in fact, the words to each song were not only sung, but screamed. Whether she performed songs off Fancy That or older projects, fans knew each song like the back of their hands.  

While the outfits were never consistent, it felt as if the true throughline of the night was love. Whether it be finger hearts made between PinkPanthress and the crowd, or during “True Romance,” where the screen acted as a kiss cam, catching a couple kissing. If love wasn’t in the air before, when PinkPantheress exclaimed, “You guys! I wanna be in love!” — it certainly was then. 

The last act of the show saw a new and final outfit emerge: an all-red lace bodysuit, perfectly encapsulating the bubbly femininity PinkPantheress embodies. In an interlude during “Romeo,” the crowd searched to find Romeo to match PinkPantheress’ Juliet. 

After a brave show from PinkPantheress’ chosen Romeo of the night, breakdancing and all, PinkPantheress yelled, “You’re not my Romeo, you’re a liar!” Before the first few notes of “Boy’s a Liar Pt. 2” could even start, an echoing chorus of screams erupted, and each lyric from the 2023 hit was reverberated back at her. It’s these moments that characterized the night as a whole; a place to scream your heart out and know that the people next to you would do the same. 

The show was short, coming in at just an hour and 12 minutes; it was to be expected from an artist whose nine-song album totals under 21 minutes. However, for what the night lacked in runtime, it more than made up for in production value. PinkPantheress is not reinventing the wheel, but the production is seamless, well-rehearsed to the point of perfection, with hardly a second for us or the PinkPantheress’ team to breathe in between the choreography, skits and singing. 

This level of theatricality just teeters on the edge of excessive, but never falls into the deep end of feeling inauthentic; in fact, it’s as authentically “PinkPantheress” as it can get — unapologetically unserious and unafraid to have a ridiculously good time.