Rina Sawayama Releases New Album Hold the Girl
Rina Sawayama is back. After the commercial success of her 2020 debut record, SAWAYAMA, the Japanese-American singer returns with the release of her sophomore effort, Hold the Girl.
On September 16, the “Frankenstein” singer took to Instagram to express how excited she is for fans to have all thirteen tracks off Hold the Girl. She writes, “I have no words !!!! writing this record during lockdown absolutely tore my soul apart at times. I’m so glad it’s finally out so you can enjoy it in the way it was intended. hold the girl hold the slay !!!!!!!!!!”
In addition to her Instagram posts, the singer began a Twitter thread discussing each track’s writing process.
tiSSUes aT thE REaDY
— RINA SLAYWAYAMA (@rinasawayama) September 16, 2022
Hold the Girl was therapeutic for Sawayama, who wrote the record during the lockdown. She found that this sudden isolation period was an important time for reflection. She states, “I think when you spend your whole life trying to make other people happy, whether it’s your parents or school or this societal notion of what’s good […] you genuinely forget what you want to do. What makes you happy? What are your values? I think this record overall is about finding out what those boundaries are.”
Sawayama also expressed the importance of representation in the entertainment industry, specifically artists that are of Japanese descent. She reveals, “I idolized white women — and Beyoncé — and people who didn’t look like me at all. But they gave me something that I really needed, which was feminine strength. I feel like people have a stereotype that people like me, Japanese people, don’t have that kind of strength, especially women. So I think they represented in me this amazing feminine energy.”
The pop singer is also considered a queer icon and even collaborated with one of her idols, Lady Gaga. The “Hold My Hand” singer recruited Sawayama on the “Free Woman” remix from Dawn of Chromatica.
Here at Glitter, we want to congratulate Rina Sawayama on an excellent record. Hold the Girl is available to stream on all major music platforms.
Writer | Tweet me @court__giles
