PinkPantheress revealed she almost backed out of her NPR Tiny Desk Concert debut after finding out she couldn’t use vocal tuning during her set.
The singer delivered stripped-down versions of her tracks—songs that she admitted are typically performed with digital pitch correction, whether live or in the studio. She confessed that the restriction made her think twice about going through with the performance, but in the end, she decided to face the challenge.
“This is my first performance I’ve done with no tuning,” she admitted during the show (around the 6:29 mark). “I’ve never sung with no tuning before, so this is really scary. I nearly didn’t do this because the NPR people were like, ‘You can’t use anything.’ Then I was like, ‘Let me try to figure it out and see how it goes.’”
Turns out, she didn’t need autotune after all. Backed by a six-piece band, PinkPantheress delivered an eight-song set that included fan favorites like “Pain,” “Tonight,” and her viral TikTok smash “Illegal.”
Meanwhile, Tiny Desk Concert producer Bobby Carter recently addressed concerns that the beloved series might be shutting down following news that the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) will close after 50 years of federal funding.
“I’ve heard from many friends, family, and audience members who are worried that NPR/Tiny Desk is shutting down. It is not,” Carter clarified in a social media post. “Unfortunately, CPB is shutting down. I encourage everyone to support Public Media and donate. I appreciate all the calls, texts, and messages. They have been overwhelming and heartwarming. Thank y’all.”
On Aug. 1, CPB announced plans to “orderly wind-down” operations after the Senate Appropriations Committee approved spending cuts on July 31, pulling $1.1 billion in funding for the nonprofit.
President Donald Trump had already taken aim at NPR and PBS in a May 1 executive order, accusing them of “political bias.” He argued, “No media outlet has a constitutional right to taxpayer subsidies,” citing CPB’s statutory requirement for impartiality and claiming the organization failed to uphold it.
