| "Mosquito" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single byPinkPantheress | ||||
| from the albumHeaven Knows | ||||
| Released | 29 September 2023 (2023-09-29) | |||
| Recorded | 2022–2023 | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 2:26 | |||
| Label | Warner UK | |||
| Songwriters |
| |||
| Producers |
| |||
| PinkPantheress singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Music video | ||||
| "Mosquito" onYouTube | ||||
"Mosquito" is a song by British singer-songwriter and record producerPinkPantheress. It was released on 29 September 2023 throughWarner Records UK as the second single from her debut studio albumHeaven Knows. Thebossa nova-inspiredR&B andUK garage song was produced byGreg Kurstin; its lyrics personify money as a lover that PinkPantheress hopes not to lose. Early versions of the song were posted on herTikTok account in 2022. Its release coincided with that of its music video, which featured her alongside actressesCharithra Chandran,India Amarteifio, andYara Shahidi going on a high-end shopping spree together inLondon. "Mosquito" peaked at number 74 on theUK Singles Chart.
A snippet of an early version of "Mosquito" soundtracked aTikTok video posted by PinkPantheress in June 2022. Another version of the song featuring a toned-down beat was posted to TikTok by her in October 2022. "Mosquito" was released as the second single from PinkPantheress's debut studio album,Heaven Knows, on September 29, 2023 and was written and produced by PinkPantheress andGreg Kurstin.[1][2][3] It is anR&B[4] andUK garage[5] song with an "airy"drum and bass,[3]bossa nova-inspired beat, consisting of "clean" Spanish guitars, uptempo drum programming,[6] and record scratches.[7] In its lyrics, PinkPantheress characterizes her money as an unrequited love[8][9] and worries about not being able to hold onto it,[10] such as in the song's chorus, wherein she expresses only being concerned about her death because it would separate her from money: "What happened to me? I just had a dream I was dead / And I only cared 'cause I was taken from you / You're the only thing that I own, I hear my bell ring, I'd only answer for you..."[11][12] Robin Murray ofClash described PinkPantheress's vocals on the song as "understated" and "classy".[13] ForNPR, Hazel Cills described "Mosquito" as "crunchy, acoustic '00s pop" combined withbreakbeats.[14]
Andy Steiner ofPaste wrote that "Mosquito" combined PinkPantheress's "expertise at texture with knockout hooks" and named it one of the best songs onHeaven Knows.[15] Charles Lyons-Burt ofSlant wrote that the "melodramatic fatalism" of the song felt "unearned" among other songs onHeaven Knows.[16]
An accompanying music video for "Mosquito" was directed bySophie Muller and released on the same day as the song. It stars PinkPantheress and actressesCharithra Chandran,India Amarteifio, andYara Shahidi going on a shopping spree at designer stores inLondon, including at theRoyal Arcade and onNew Bond Street.[3] The video also features product placement forValentino andFendi and also focuses on a small ceramic bird.[17] Larisha Paul ofRolling Stone and Neville Hardman ofAlternative Press compared the video to shopping spree scenes common inromantic comedies of theearly 2000s.[2] Hardman praised the video as "fun" and "the real highlight" of the song's release.[18]
| Chart (2023) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Ireland (IRMA)[19] | 98 |
| Japan Hot Overseas (Billboard Japan)[20] | 20 |
| New Zealand Hot Singles (RMNZ)[21] | 6 |
| UK Singles (OCC)[22] | 74 |