Multidimensional, British-Japanese pop sensation Rina Sawayama shares the third offering from her highly anticipated sophomore album Hold The Girl, now releasing Sept. 16 via Dirty Hit. The new single and title track "Hold The Girl" premiered on BBC Radio 1 as Clara Amfo's Hottest Record In The World where Rina joined Clara in the studio to discuss the new track.
Rina will follow the single release with a music video to pair with the multigenre-hybrid pop anthem on Aug 3. Speaking about the origin of the new single, Rina says, “'Hold the Girl' was the first song I wrote for the record at the end of 2020–I had gone to therapy and had a revelation, so I decided to write this song...that was the start of it. I was crying before going into the studio to write about it."
Along with the new single, Rina has announced her North American headline tour happening this November. The 13-date run will see Rina playing iconic venues like the Great Hall at Avant Gardner in New York City, Roadrunner in Boston, The Eastern in Atlanta, and the Hollywood Palladium in Los Angeles. Tickets will be available on July 29.
The American leg of the Hold The Girl tour will follow on from her UK and Ireland dates this October, where she will play to a sold-out O2 Brixton Academy marking a legendary moment in the pop star's career. Rina will also perform sets at Summer Sonic in Japan and Electric Picnic in Ireland.
he album showcases Rina's talent for bending huge chart influences and blockbuster melodies to her will with precision-tuned songwriting and powerful vocals. The 13-tracks of Hold The Girl will feature the previously released singles "This Hell," which debuted with a performance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon and features an Ali Kurr-directed video, along with "Catch Me In The Air," which premiered as Zane Lowe's New Music Daily pick on Apple Music 1 and arrived with a visualizer created with fan-submitted footage of Rina performing the song across her recent UK and US tours.
Hold The Girl follows Rina's critically acclaimed debut SAWAYAMA and will see Rina once again juxtapose intimate storytelling with arena-sized songs creating another ambitious and original album to excite fans and critics alike. Written and recorded over the last year and a half, Rina teamed up with long-term collaborators Clarence Clarity and Lauren Aquilina as well as enlisting help from the likes of the legendary Paul Epworth (Adele, Florence & the Machine), Stuart Price (Dua Lipa, The Killers, Madonna) and Marcus Andersson (Demi Lovato, Ashnikko) for their magic touch.
The product of Rina and these collective minds coming together is an album that melds influences from across the pop spectrum and is a bold and honest statement of Rina’s personal evolution; coming to terms with her own past and the jubilation of turning to the future.
In 2020, Rina’s debut album SAWAYAMA became one of the most critically acclaimed albums that year landing on over 50 album of the year lists, including the New York Times (#2), The Guardian (#3) and Rolling Stone (#6). The last 18 months have seen Rina Sawayama achieve a magnitude of milestones including changing the Mercury Prize and BRITs eligibility rules which meant Non-British artists could apply if they have been a permanent resident in the UK for more than 5 years.
In 2021 Elton John joined forces with the pop star to release a special rendition of “Chosen Family," a powerful and emotional ode to her LGBTQ+ family. Elsewhere Rina injected new life into Lady Gaga’s instant club classic “Free Woman.” 2023 will see Rina in her film acting debut as she stars in John Wick 4 alongside Keanu Reeves.
Check out "Hold The Girl" single and pre-order/save Hold The Girl album above, see upcoming live dates below and stay tuned for more from Rina Sawayama coming soon.
RINA SAWAYAMA LIVE
20th Aug 2022 - Osaka, Japan - Summer Sonic Osaka
21st Aug 2022 - Tokyo, Japan - Summersonic Festival
3rd Sept 2022 - Stradbally, Republic of Ireland - Electric Picnic
12th Oct 2022 - Glasgow, Scotland - SWG3
13th Oct 2022 - Glasgow, Scotland - SWG3
15th Oct 2022 - Dublin, Republic of Ireland - Olympia Theatre
18th Oct 2022 - Nottingham, England - Rock City
20th Oct 2022 - Manchester, England - Manchester Academy
21st Oct 2022 - Birmingham, England - O2 Academy Birmingham
23rd Oct 2022 - Brighton, East Sussex, England - Brighton Dome
26th Oct 2022 - London, England - O2 Academy Brixton
1st Nov 2022 - New York City, Brooklyn Mirage
4th Nov 2022- Boston, Roadrunner
5th Nov 2022 - Maryland, The Fillmore Silver Spring
Hold The Girl
Rina Sawayama
Sept. 16, 2022
Dirty Hit
1. Minor Feelings
2. Hold The Girl
3. This Hell
4. Catch Me In The Air
5. Forgiveness
6. Holy (Til You Let Me Go)
7. Your Age
8. Imagining
9. Frankenstein
10. Hurricanes
11. Send My Love To John
12. Phantom
13. To Be Alive