As an avid listener of “Fancy That” by PinkPantheress, I was thrilled when I saw the news that a remix album would be released. The album in question, “Fancy Some More?,” kicks off with a bang, opening on a collaboration with Anitta, “Illegal + Anitta.” The Brazilian singer’s smooth voice meshes perfectly with PinkPantheress’s higher, more staccato one, although this opening track immediately raised some concerns about what was to come.
I was looking forward to the remix album to hear the songs I knew and loved completely reimagined. I wanted the essence of them to remain while something new took center stage. Unfortunately, I found that for a lot of the first disc, the remixes turned out to be more focused on features. The Anitta track proved to be the first of many more feature tracks on the release. Among these were the following: JADE’s track, “Tonight + JADE,” which sounded exactly the same other than the part where JADE comes on, JT’s “Noises + JT,” in which rap was a welcome addition (even if the bars were not very good), the iconic Kylie Minogue’s “Stateside + Kylie Minogue,” one of my favorite songs on the original album, of which this sounds almost exactly the same, and finally Rachel Chinouriri’s, who has the voice of an angel’s, take on “Romeo + Rachel Chinouriri.”
Immediately following Anitta, SEVENTEEN’s remix of “Illegal” lost me. A faster beat was added to up the danceability ante, yet I was not a fan of the autotune on SEVENTEEN’s voices. It made for a robotic quality that was distracting, especially considering that I wasn’t a fan of their vocals on the track in the first place.
The album bounced back quickly, though, with Oklou’s refreshing take on “Girl Like Me.” Oklou, known affectionately as a hyperpop artist in many scenes, slowed down the original poppy beat of the track, crafting a fittingly somber take for an overall lyrically disheartening song. Generally, I’ve found that hyperpop artists are willing to take the term “remix” to heart, taking more risks and creating a considerably different sonic experience.
Pink takes another turn toward K-pop with her track with Yves—”Stars + Yves.” Unlike the track with SEVENTEEN, though, this one was a pleasant surprise. The use of autotune on Yves’ softer voice created an interesting echo that made her words linger. The ending of the song transitioning to a more aggressive, 2010s-esque electronic shift was also a fun touch.
One of my favorites on the album has to be Sugababes’ take on “Nice to Know You.” The song is usually a sway-worthy, sad song with lyrics like “I’m emotional / You made a mess, you know?” Sugababes completely upends this narrative, taking us to the club with a fun, bouncy beat that it is impossible to sit still to. You may still be crying, but you’ll be having fun doing it to this track.
After Kylie Minogue’s unfortunate take on “Stateside,” another underwhelming take is Bladee’s version of the same song. Bladee is considered highly influential in the hyperpop space, well-lauded and loved, yet I’ve never been a huge fan of his music. He often uses frenetic beats, so chaotic it is almost like they are clamoring to get off the track. His vocal delivery is usually as nonchalant as possible to combat this, but I think the songs on “Fancy That” need more emotional attention. Overall, I don’t think the two voices blended very well on the remix, but I do appreciate that it was made into an entirely different track from the original.
“Stateside + Zara Larsson” turned out to be my favorite on the record. It was different from the jump, with a couple electronic beats instantly overlaying the original. At the thirty second mark, the evolution into the second verse sounds magical, like something I’d hear in “Bratz Fashion Pixiez.” The song is unbelievably nostalgic and reminds me of being a kid listening to girly electronic pop.
Ravyn Lenae also succeeded at providing a refreshing take on “Romeo + Ravyn Lenae,” another favorite from the original. The electronic R&B was like nothing else on the rest of the album, and the swinging beat was great. My only complaint with this one was that Pink and Lenae’s vocals don’t mesh very well. Because Pink has a very high-pitched, staccato voice, its pairing with Lenae’s lingering, jazz-bar singing creates a bit too much contrast.
Disc 2 for me was an extreme toss up of EDM-adjacent remixes. Nia Archives’ “Illegal + Nia Archives” is a fun take on the original, making it bouncier and faster. Joe Goddard managed to provide a similarly pleasant experience with his take on “Tonight + Joe Goddard.” Some proved to be a bit bland, such as Mochakk’s “Noises + Mochakk” or Kaytranada’s “Girl Like Me + Kaytranada” and some did way too much, such as Basement Jaxx’s “Tonight + Basement Jaxx,” which featured honking, cartoony beats and, at one point, a ghostly choir.
Overall, “Fancy Some More?” turned out to be what I expected, with some songs being almost exactly the same, others being bangers and others being, perhaps, better left off the album. If you’re a fan of the original album then I would consider giving it a listen. If not, maybe just listen to the Zara Larsson and Sugababes remixes.