Confronting issues of identity and conflict with a wild blend of sonic influences, Japanese-British singer/songwriter Rina Sawayama twists her pop anthems with everything from R&B and nu-metal to club beats and early-2000s teen pop. Emerging in the early 2010s with a series of atmospheric alt-pop singles, she broke into the public eye with her first EP, 2017’s ‘Rina’. Building upon that set’s creative base, she issued 2020’s critically acclaimed ‘Sawayama’, her genre-defying debut full-length. She followed her breakthrough with another genre-bending exercise, 2022’s ‘Hold the Girl’.

Rina kicked off her ‘Hold the Girl’ album cycle with the Shania Twain-meets-Lady Gaga single “This Hell,” the first taste of her sophomore set, Hold the Girl. Released that September, the LP further expanded Sawayama’s genre-defying vision on tracks such as the Kelly Clarkson-channelling “Phantom,” the Corrs-esque “Catch Me in the Air,” and the electronic pop title track.

Known for her musical versatility, Sawayama has also modelled for fashion campaigns, and made her film acting debut in the action film John Wick: Chapter 4 (2023).