Rina Sawayama Concerts Tickets

ABOUT RINA SAWAYAMA

Japanese-British singer-songwriter and model Rina Sawayama was born in Niigata, Japan, and emigrated to London with her parents at age five. Growing up in a country where she didn’t initially know the language, she turned to music to help her connect with others. In junior year, she formed the hip-hop band Lazy Lion and began posting covers of songs on Myspace.

CAREER

2013-2017: Early career

"Sleeping in Waking," Sawayama’s debut solo single, was released in February 2013. Two months later, she additionally released a 7-inch vinyl of the single, featuring a new song titled "Who?" as the B-side. Halloween 2013 brought the release of her second single, "Terror".

In 2015, she released the track "Tunnel Vision," with an accompanying music video directed by Arvida Byström. The following year, "Where U Are" was released, also with a video, which Sawayama co-directed with Alessandra Kurr.

2017-2019: Rina and touring

"Cyber Stockholm Syndrome" premiered on The Fader in March 2017. The single preceded "Alterlife" and "Tunnel Vision", a duet with Shamir. All three tracks appeared on her debut EP Rina. The EP was a critical success and was listed in Pitchfork’s list of best pop and R&B albums of the year.

"Valentine," Sawayama’s next single, was released on Valentine's Day 2018. It was followed in June by the track "Ordinary Superstar" and by "Cherry" in August. In late 2018, she embarked on the Ordinary Superstar Tour, which included the UK, the US, and Canada. In 2019, she hit the road again, this time as support for Charli XCX.

2020-2021: Sawayama

Sawayama signed to Dirty Hit Records in 2020 and released the singles "STFU!" and "Comme des Garçons (Like the Boys)" at the beginning of the year. March saw the release of a third single, "XS",  followed by "Chosen Family" in April. Her debut studio album, Sawayama, was released on 17 April to widespread critical acclaim. A part of Spotify’s Singles series, she released a cover of Lady Gaga’s "Dance in the Dark" in June 2020.

A Twitter post of Sawayama’s gained traction online that month. In her tweet, she had drawn attention to her ineligibility to be nominated for major British music awards, such as the Mercury Prize and BRIT Awards, due to the fact that she does not hold British citizenship. This prompted fans to start the hashtag "#SawayamaIsBritish," which trended on Twitter in the UK and led to the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) changing the rules to allow anyone who had remained in the UK, including her, to be eligible. On 26 October 2020, Sawayama made her television debut performing the song "XS" on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon. The following month, she released a song titled "Lucid", produced by BloodPop.

A deluxe version of Sawayama was released in December 2020. Then, in April 2021, she released an updated version of "Chosen Family", as a duet with Elton John. In September 2021, Metallica released the charity tribute album The Metallica Blacklist,  which features Sawayama’s cover of their song  "Enter Sandman".

2021-present: Hold the Girl

In November 2021, Sawayama embarked on the first leg of her Dynasty Tour, in support of her debut album. In January 2022, she featured on the single "Beg for You" by Charli XCX, and later on the single "Follow Me" by Brazilian drag queen Pabllo Vittar, released on 31 March.

"This Hell," the lead single from her upcoming second album, was released on May 18 and the album’s second single, "Catch Me in the Air," was released in June. The album itself, Hold the Girl, is due for release in September 2022.