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Angel (PinkPantheress song)

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"Angel"
Cover art for "Angel": the letters "PP" debossed onto a pink background
Single by PinkPantheress
from the album Barbie the Album
Released9 June 2023 (2023-06-09)
Genre
Length2:03
Label
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
  • BloodPop
  • Count Baldor
  • PinkPantheress
PinkPantheress singles chronology
"Way Back"
(2023) 		"Angel"
(2023) 		"Turn Your Phone Off"
(2023)

"Angel" is a song by English singer PinkPantheress for Barbie the Album, the soundtrack of the 2023 film Barbie. It was released on 9 June 2023 to Italian radio formats as the second single from the album.[1] Written and produced by PinkPantheress, Count Baldor, and BloodPop, it is a bubblegum pop song about a lover named Johnny who ghosts PinkPantheress. It features Auto-Tuned vocals by PinkPantheress over breakbeat percussion and country-inspired guitar; it also includes an Irish jig-inspired fiddle break. The song was positively received by critics, who were favourable of PinkPantheress's vocal delivery and its similarities to PC Music, with some deeming it a highlight from the album. It peaked at number 76 on the Irish Singles Chart.

Background and composition

[edit]

PinkPantheress received a call from Mark Ronson, one of the executive producers for the Barbie soundtrack album, who started "naming [her] deep cut songs" before asking her to make a song for the soundtrack.[2] "Angel" was produced by PinkPantheress, BloodPop, and Count Baldor.[3] It was teased by PinkPantheress on her TikTok account with a video featuring a snippet of the song and a tweet revealing its release date.[4] "Angel" was released on 9 June 2023 as a promotional single[5] and third single overall from the Barbie soundtrack, following Dua Lipa's "Dance the Night" and Karol G and Aldo Ranks's "Watati".[6][7]

"Angel" is a bubblegum pop[8] and dance-pop[9] song with "maximalist" production consisting of an Irish jig-inspired[2] fiddle break,[10] "snappy" breakbeat percussion, country-inspired guitar,[11] and PinkPantheress's "soft-sung", Auto-Tuned vocals.[12][13] The song's lyrics are about PinkPantheress getting ghosted by a lover named Johnny.[14] In the song's chorus, she sings, "Cause one day / One day my baby just ran away / My angel / You’re what haunts me now that you're away".[15] Erica Gonzales of Elle wrote that "Angel" felt "atmospheric and cinematic".[2] For Consequence, Carys Anderson wrote that the lyrics, including "Everyone tells me that life is hard, but it's a piece of cake", sounded like they were sung "from the perspective of Barbie herself".[13]

Reception

[edit]

Larisha Paul of Rolling Stone wrote, "The record sounds like the perfect soundtrack to the Barbie dress-up games of the early 2000s that died when Adobe Flash Player did."[7] For Clash, Robin Murray wrote that "Angel" had "a pleasing sense of innocence" and was "subtle but striking, easing PinkPantheress out into fresh climes", also comparing the song's sound to "PC Music's more heart-on-sleeve moments".[10] Lindsay Zoladz of The New York Times praised the "dreamy melody" and PinkPantheress's "vocal delivery that blends wide-eyed optimism with creeping doubt" on "Angel" and described the song as "aching" and "bittersweet".[14] Vicky Jessop of the Evening Standard called the song a "banger" and "slightly different from PinkPantheress's usual fare".[16] Starr Bowenbank of Billboard wrote that "Angel" was a "treat" for "diehard PinkPantheress fans", calling PinkPantheress's vocals "effervescent" and writing that "the instrumentation adds another unique layer to the British artist's sound with the inclusion of the fiddle".[17]

For The Guardian, Shaad D'Souza praised "Angel" as a highlight on Barbie the Album and as "one of the few [songs on the album] to not sound totally denuded of emotion or flair" due to Count Baldor's PC Music-adjacent production.[9] Beats Per Minute's Lucas Martins also called it "the album's final highlight", which was "surprisingly good, surprisingly natural, and thanks to [PinkPantheress]'s perfectly suited performance, surprisingly Barbie".[18] Adam White complimented the song as "a lovely bit of PC Music airiness that calls to mind the late Sophie at her most romantic" and wrote that its fiddle break was "breathtaking", citing it as an example of Barbie the Album being "at its best when it embraces the purely weird".[19] Cat Zhang of Pitchfork identified "Angel" as one of "a few cute selections" on Barbie the Album along with "Dance the Night", describing it as "a 2000s rom-com track".[20] For The Sydney Morning Herald, Robert Moran called it one of several "fun, if inessential, inclusions" on the album.[21] Tanatat Khuttapan, for The Line of Best Fit, criticized the existence of "Angel" on the Barbie soundtrack as "almost pointless" due to its failure to "interact with [its] respective scene" in the film.[22]

Live performances

[edit]

PinkPantheress gave her first live performance of "Angel" during her November 2023 set at Camp Flog Gnaw Carnival at Dodger Stadium.[23] During the song's fiddle break, a man appeared on stage and performed an Irish stepdance routine, after which PinkPantheress remarked, "It wasn't planned. I don't know who he is. He ate that, though."[24]

Personnel

[edit]

All credits are adapted from CD liner notes of Barbie the Album.[25]

  • PinkPantheress – vocals, songwriter, producer
  • Count Baldor – songwriter, producer
  • BloodPop – songwriter, producer
  • Jonny Breakwell – mixing

Charts

[edit]
Chart performance for "Angel"
Chart (2023) Peak
position
Ireland (IRMA)[26] 76
Japan Hot Overseas (Billboard Japan)[27] 10
New Zealand Hot Singles (RMNZ)[28] 19

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "PinkPantheress - Angel (Radio Date: 09-06-2023)". 8 June 2023.
  2. ^ a b c Gonzales, Erica (12 June 2023). "Leave It to PinkPantheress to Work an Irish Jig Into the 'Barbie' Soundtrack". ELLE. Retrieved 14 October 2023.
  3. ^ Caraan, Sophie (9 June 2023). "PinkPantheress Debuts 'Angel' From Greta Gerwig's 'Barbie'". Hypebeast. Retrieved 16 November 2023.
  4. ^ Armstrong, Megan (7 June 2023). "PinkPantheress Teased A Snippet Of Her Dreamy 'Barbie' Single 'Angel'". Uproxx. Retrieved 16 November 2023.
  5. ^ Morris, Kadish (11 November 2023). "Pinkpantheress: 'I don't think I'm very brandable. I dress weird. I'm shy'". The Guardian. Retrieved 16 November 2023.
  6. ^ Minsker, Evan (8 June 2023). "PinkPantheress Shares "Angel," Her New Song for Barbie". Pitchfork. Retrieved 14 October 2023.
  7. ^ a b Paul, Larisha (9 June 2023). "PinkPantheress Channels Lost Love and Early 2000s Nostalgia on 'Angel' from 'Barbie' Soundtrack". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 14 October 2023.
  8. ^ Grimes, Collette (9 June 2023). "PinkPantheress Adds "Angel" to 'Barbie The Album'". Hypebae. Retrieved 16 November 2023.
  9. ^ a b D'Souza, Shaad (21 July 2023). "Barbie the Album review – a cynical exercise in corporate synergy". The Guardian. Retrieved 2 November 2024.
  10. ^ a b Murray, Robin (9 June 2023). "PinkPantheress Returns With 'Angel'". Clash. Retrieved 16 November 2023.
  11. ^ Wickes, Jade; Reed, Davy; Pometsey, Olive (12 June 2023). "The best new tracks, picked by our staff". The Face. Retrieved 16 November 2023.
  12. ^ Brandle, Lars (9 June 2023). "PinkPantheress Takes Flight With 'Angel' From 'Barbie' Soundtrack: Stream It Now". Billboard. Retrieved 14 October 2023.
  13. ^ a b Anderson, Carys (8 June 2023). "PinkPantheress Shares 'Angel' from Barbie Soundtrack: Stream". Consequence. Retrieved 16 November 2023.
  14. ^ a b Pareles, Jon; Russonello, Giovanni; Zoladz, Lindsay (9 June 2023). "PinkPantheress's Bittersweet 'Barbie' Tune, and 11 More New Songs". The New York Times. Retrieved 16 November 2023.
  15. ^ Gonzalez, Alex (9 June 2023). "PinkPantheress Shares A New Song, 'Angel,' From 'Barbie: The Album'". Uproxx. Retrieved 16 November 2023.
  16. ^ Jessop, Vicky (9 June 2023). "PinkPantheress' Angel is the latest Barbie album track to drop". Evening Standard. Retrieved 16 November 2023.
  17. ^ Bowenbank, Starr; Lipshutz, Jason; Havens, Lyndsey (12 June 2023). "10 Cool New Pop Songs to Get You Through the Week: PinkPantheress, Reneé Rapp, Romy & More". Billboard. Retrieved 16 November 2023.
  18. ^ Martins, Lucas (31 July 2023). "Album Review: Various Artists – Barbie The Album". Beats Per Minute. Retrieved 2 November 2024.
  19. ^ White, Adam (21 July 2023). "Barbie: The Album review – Billie Eilish leads a soundtrack that's as erratic as the movie that inspired it". The Independent. Retrieved 2 November 2024.
  20. ^ Zhang, Cat (21 July 2023). "Various Artists: Barbie the Album". Pitchfork. Retrieved 2 November 2024.
  21. ^ Moran, Robert (20 July 2023). "Barbie: a soundtrack for the ages? Sure, we'll see in 30 years". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 2 November 2024.
  22. ^ Khuttapan, Tanatat (21 July 2023). "Various Artists: Barbie The Album Review - all-star soundtrack fulfils purpose". The Line of Best Fit. Retrieved 2 November 2024.
  23. ^ LaPierre, Megan (15 November 2023). "Irish Stepdancer Stagecrashes PinkPantheress Set at Camp Flog Gnaw". Exclaim!. Retrieved 16 November 2023.
  24. ^ Breihan, Tom (15 November 2023). "Stagecrasher Riverdances Into PinkPantheress' Camp Flog Gnaw Set: Watch". Stereogum. Retrieved 16 November 2023.
  25. ^ Barbie The Album (Media notes). Various artists. Atlantic Records. 2023.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  26. ^ "Irish-charts.com – Discography PinkPantheress". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 20 July 2023.
  27. ^ "Billboard Japan Hot Overseas – Week of July 5, 2023". Billboard Japan (in Japanese). Retrieved 2 August 2023.
  28. ^ "NZ Hot Singles Chart". Recorded Music NZ. 19 June 2023. Retrieved 25 June 2023.
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