Nice to Meet You (PinkPantheress song)

"Nice to Meet You" is a song recorded by British singer PinkPantheress featuring British rapper Central Cee. It was released on 10 November 2023 as the fourth and final single from PinkPantheress's debut studio album, Heaven Knows. The pop song, which was co-produced by American record producer Cash Cobain, is built around a sample of the 1983 Spandau Ballet song "Gold". It received mixed reviews from critics and peaked at number 20 on the UK Singles Chart. A music video featuring 2000s-inspired outfits and directed by Charlotte Rutherford was released alongside the single.

"Nice to Meet You"
Single by PinkPantheress featuring Central Cee
from the album Heaven Knows
ReleasedNovember 10, 2023 (2023-11-10)
GenrePop
Length2:42
Label
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
PinkPantheress featuring Central Cee singles chronology
"Capable of Love"
(2023)
"Nice to Meet You"
(2023)
"Turn It Up"
(2024)
Central Cee singles chronology
"Too Much"
(2023)
"Nice to Meet You"
(2023)
"Entrapreneur"
(2023)
Music video
"Nice to Meet You" on YouTube

Background and release

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"Nice to Meet You" marked the first collaboration between British singer PinkPantheress and British rapper Central Cee, following Central Cee's song "Obsessed with You" sampling PinkPantheress's song "Just for Me" in 2021.[1][2] The song was first teased on PinkPantheress's TikTok account in a behind-the-scenes clip from its music video announcing its release date.[3] "Nice to Meet You" was included on PinkPantheress's debut studio album, Heaven Knows, which was released on 10 November 2023.[4] "Nice to Meet You" was released through Columbia Records and Parlophone Records.[5] It was later included on the compilation album Now That's What I Call Music! 117.[6]

The song was the focus of an Apple Music advertisement starring PinkPantheress and American record producer Cash Cobain, one of the song's co-producers, in which they showed how they produced the song using a MacBook Pro. [7]

Production and composition

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"Nice to Meet You" is an energetic[8] pop[9] song that was produced by PinkPantheress with Cobain using the digital audio workstations GarageBand, Logic Pro, where PinkPantheress wrote the vocal melody in the "piano roll" before singing it, and FL Studio, which Cobain used to arrange the song's drums. It was the first collaboration between PinkPantheress and Cobain.[7] It is built around a looped instrumental sample of the intro from Spandau Ballet's 1983 song "Gold", interpolates the Zion.T song "Sleep Talk" featuring Oh Hyuk, and its production includes a Jersey club-inspired kick drum pattern, "rumbling" bass, tabla, and breakbeats.[10][11][12] PinkPantheress only sings one verse on the song and stated in a video about its production that it was because second verses are "ridiculous".[13] The song's lyrics show PinkPantheress expressing her admiration for a lover.[1] Clash's Amrit Virdi described PinkPantheress's lyrics as an analysis of the "influencer dynamic".[14] Central Cee raps on the song about him cheating on and breaking up with a significant other who made storytime videos about their breakup.[15][16]

Critical reception

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Amrit Virdi of Clash praised "Nice to Meet You" as "one of my favorite tracks on the record" and praised Central Cee's verse on the song for being "more pared-back than his solo releases" and for "fit[ting] into PinkPantheress' distinctive sound, and mak[ing] a unique stamp when doing so".[14] Paul Meara of BET called "Nice to Meet You" a "standout" of Heaven Knows, while Notion's Kitty Robson called it a "must-listen" from the album.[17][18] For NME, Alex Rigotti reviewed "Nice to Meet You" positively, writing that PinkPantheress had "effortless charisma" on the "starry" song, which had "one of the best choruses on Heaven Knows", but that Central Cee's "monotone delivery" felt "mismatched and lacklustre".[12]

Slant's Charles Lyons-Burt wrote that the song suffered from its "melodramatic fatalism", which, he opined, felt "unearned".[19] For Resident Advisor, Andrew Ryce wrote that "Nice to Meet You" felt to him "like a missed opportunity".[20] For the Ball State Daily News, Adjwou Mesgana Waiss described the song as "dance-challenge bait" and criticized Central Cee's verse on the song as "predictable", comparing its atmosphere unfavorably to that of PinkPantheress's 2021 song "Just for Me".[21]

Music video

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The 2000s-inspired music video for "Nice to Meet You" was directed by British director Charlotte Rutherford, choreographed by Seun Latukolan, and released on the same day as the single.[9] PinkPantheress wears two outfits in the video, both of which were also inspired by the fashion of the 2000s and styled by her stylist Milena Agbaba: one features denim pedal pushers, a black camisole, and suede boots, while the other consists of a shrug, a knitted dress, and boots. Central Cee also appears in two different outfits, a black tracksuit with trainers and a beanie and a green hoodie with green sweatpants. The video shows PinkPantheress singing in front of a crew of backup dancers dressed in baggy clothing and a white backdrop as colorful shapes and splotches appear onscreen and a paper plane with a love letter inside of it flies over London.[3][21][22]

Charts

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Weekly chart performance for "Nice to Meet You"
Chart (2023–2024) Peak
position
Ireland (IRMA)[23] 34
UK Singles (OCC)[24] 20
US Rhythmic (Billboard)[25] 30

References

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  1. ^ a b Benitez-Eves, Tina (19 November 2023). "Review: PinkPantheress Floats Further 'Up' with Debut 'Heaven Knows'". American Songwriter. Retrieved 4 December 2024.
  2. ^ Smyth, David (9 November 2023). "Pinkpantheress – Heaven Knows: substantial work from the viral star". The Standard. Retrieved 4 December 2024.
  3. ^ a b Hoste, Elliot (10 November 2023). "PinkPantheress and Central Cee are Britain's anti-fashion icons". Dazed. Retrieved 2 December 2024.
  4. ^ Denis, Kyle (5 March 2024). "Billboard Explains: PinkPantheress' Impressive Chart Record". Billboard. Retrieved 2 December 2024.
  5. ^ Brandle, Lars (20 November 2023). "Jack Harlow Unseats The Beatles For First U.K. No. 1 With 'Lovin On Me'". Billboard. Retrieved 4 December 2024.
  6. ^ Griffiths, George (7 March 2024). "NOW That's What I Call Music! 117 tracklisting revealed: Noah Kahan, Tate McRae, Sophie Ellis-Bextor & more!". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 4 December 2024.
  7. ^ a b Williams, Kyann-Sian (5 December 2023). "Cash Cobain talks working with PinkPantheress and pioneering drill rap". NME. Retrieved 2 December 2024.
  8. ^ Hoste, Elliot (1 December 2023). "The only tracks you need to hear from the last month". Dazed. Retrieved 4 December 2024.
  9. ^ a b Cetin, Marissa (14 November 2023). "PinkPantheress releases debut album, 'Heaven knows': Listen". DJ Mag. Retrieved 4 December 2024.
  10. ^ Morris, Kadish (5 February 2024). "PinkPantheress: 'I don't think I'm very brandable. I dress weird. I'm shy'". The Guardian. Retrieved 4 December 2024.
  11. ^ Steiner, Andy (10 November 2023). "PinkPantheress' Debut Album is a Feast For the Senses". Paste. Retrieved 5 December 2024.
  12. ^ a b Rigotti, Alex (9 November 2023). "PinkPantheress – 'Heaven Knows' review: the blueprint for the future of British pop". NME. Retrieved 4 December 2024.
  13. ^ Rogerson, Ben (22 November 2023). "'I don't do second verses - that's ridiculous": PinkPantheress shows you how she produced new single Nice To Meet You in Logic Pro (with a little help from a Spandau Ballet sample and FL Studio)". MusicRadar. Retrieved 2 December 2024.
  14. ^ a b Virdi, Amrit (10 November 2023). "PinkPantheress - Heaven Knows". Clash. Retrieved 4 December 2024.
  15. ^ Paul, Larisha (8 November 2023). "PinkPantheress Battles Anxiety, Follows Her Curiosity, and Finds New Life on 'Heaven Knows'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 4 December 2024.
  16. ^ Mariah, D. (13 November 2023). "5 Takeaways From PinkPantheress' Debut Album, 'Heaven Knows'". Grammy.com. Retrieved 5 December 2024.
  17. ^ Robson, Kitty (10 November 2023). "Notion Now: PinkPantheress, Central Cee and Dua Lipa". Notion. Retrieved 5 December 2024.
  18. ^ Meara, Paul (10 November 2023). "New Music Friday: Rick Ross & Meek Mill, PinkPantheress and Lola Brooke Start Your Week With A Fresh Batch Of New Tunes". BET. Retrieved 5 December 2024.
  19. ^ Lyons-Burt, Charles (13 November 2023). "PinkPantheress 'Heaven Knows' Review". Slant. Retrieved 4 December 2024.
  20. ^ Ryce, Andrew (17 November 2023). "PinkPantheress - Heaven Knows · Album Review ⟋ RA". Resident Advisor. Retrieved 4 December 2024.
  21. ^ a b Mesgana Waiss, Adjwou (3 January 2024). "Only Heaven Knows how she does it again". Ball State Daily News. Retrieved 5 December 2024.
  22. ^ Jones, Monique (11 November 2023). "PinkPantheress' Debut Album, 'Heaven Knows,' Drops Along With Music Video For Central Cee-Assisted 'Nice To Meet You'". Blavity. Retrieved 5 December 2024.
  23. ^ "Official Irish Singles Chart Top 50". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 4 December 2024.
  24. ^ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 4 December 2024.
  25. ^ "Rhythmic Airplay: Week of January 27, 2024". Billboard. Retrieved 4 December 2024.