It has been announced that PinkPantheress will become Doctor of Music, and she has also shared a new Danny L Harle collaboration called ‘Starlight’.
The British singer-songwriter and record producer announced the news on Instagram, sharing that the University of Kent has awarded her with an honorary doctorate in music.
The news was also shared by the university itself, which confirmed that it would be presenting the artist with the degree due to “her contribution to, and achievements in music in the digital age”. It also added that the ceremony in which she will receive the honour will be held at Canterbury Cathedral on July 22.
Alongside PinkPantheress, those receiving honorary degrees from the university are filmmaker Andrea Arnold and writer Sir Michael Morpurgo MBE.
Responding to the news of the award, the ‘Boy’s A Liar’ star took to Instagram Stories and wrote: “Being made a doctor of music is insane, my whole life is side missions at this point I love it. I am so honoured to get this, this is so cool WTFJSJWJW.”
Congratulations Dr. PinkPantheress
The 24-year-old artist is set to receive an honorary degree from the University of Kent this July. “My whole life is side missions at this point,” Pink shared on IG. “I am so honored to get this.” pic.twitter.com/qJXIgIfKnu
— Pigeons & Planes (@PigsAndPlans) July 10, 2025
It also comes following PinkPantheress giving the University of Kent a shoutout while performing at Glastonbury this summer. When she took to the stage for her set (after having to cancel one other performance there), she said: “Who went to Kent uni?”, leading to a huge cheer from the audience.
As well as becoming a doctor in music, the artist has also teamed up with Grammy-nominated producer Danny L Harle to share the new single ‘Starlight’.
The track sees both take on a feeling of euphoria and melancholy, and pay homage to the Eurodance scene of the ‘90s and the trance sound of the ‘00s.
It also marks the first release from Harle since 2021’s acclaimed Harlecore album, his first to be shared under his new label home XL Recordings, and the latest collaboration following him previously teaming up with the likes of Caroline Polachek, Charli XCX, Dua Lipa, oklou and Shygirl.
“‘Starlight’ reaches for a kind of euphoric melancholy – a guiding light in all of my music,” Harle said. “It’s shaped by my love of the melancholic songwriting traditions of Europe from composers like Monteverdi and John Dowland, all the way to 90s Eurodance and the uplifting trance of the 2000s – artists like Gigi D’Agostino and Alice Deejay.
“PinkPantheress is the dream collaborator for this song, her love for ornamental melodies and hypnotic lyricism fit perfectly into my sound world.” Check it out below.
As for Pinkpantheress, the songwriter also made headlines recently after she announced on X/Twitter that she had won a trophy after taking part in a chess tournament for under-25s. “I don’t mention the chess lineage that runs in my family enough girl,” she said.
More recently, her latest album ‘Fancy That’ was listed on NME’s list of the best albums of 2025 so far, and the description for the LP read: “No longer content with being the elusive girl behind the screen, Pinkpantheress proves she can shapeshift, push boundaries and still keep us hooked”.
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