Following her critically acclaimed 2020 debut “Sawayama,” Rina Sawayama has revealed a sophomore album. “Hold the Girl,” is due for release on Sept. 2 via Dirty Hit.
Accompanying the announcement of the new album, Rina also shared its lead single, an electric country-pop song titled “This Hell.”
“This Hell” kicks off with an ode to Shania Twain as Rina whispers “Let’s go, girls” before bursting into the first verse. Between glam-rock riffs, Rina sings whimsical references to gay pop icons with lines like: “Fuck what they did to Britney, to Lady Di and Whitney.”
The track was co-produced by Paul Epworth (Adele, Rihanna) and “Sawayama” producer Clarence Clarity, and was written by Rina alongside Vixen, Epworth and Lauren Aquilina (Demi Lovato, Little Mix).
The forthcoming “Hold the Girl” album was written and recorded over the last year and a half with long-term collaborators Clarity and Aquilina, as well as with help from Epworth, Stuart Price (Dua Lipa, the Killers, Madonna) and Marcus Andersson (Demi Lovato, Ashnikko). “Hold the Girl” is being described as an evolution in her style that will meld influences from across the pop spectrum to make a bold and honest statement.
Speaking about the new single, Rina explained, “I had so much fun writing ‘This Hell.’ The past couple of years I’ve been listening to lots of female country singers and wanted to write a euphoric and tongue-in-cheek country-pop song. Country music at its core to me represents comfort, brilliant storytelling and authentic expression of the writer’s reality. I’ve been dreaming of working with Paul Epworth my entire career so I knew it was meant to be when we finished this song in a day. I put in as many iconic pop culture moments as I can, but the song is more than that.”
She continues, “It’s an important song for me given the human rights that are being taken away from minorities at a rapid rate in the name of traditional religious beliefs, more specifically I was thinking about the rights being taken away from the LGBTQ community when I wrote this song.”
Fresh off a sold-out UK and US tour, plus two sets at Coachella, Rina also announced her forthcoming U.K. and Ireland tour. This October, the tour kicks off in Newcastle at the O2 City Hall before making its way to end in London with a show at the Brixton Academy.
Rina is also set to perform the “This Hell” for the first time on “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon” this Thursday, May 19.
TOUR AND FESTIVAL DATES:
6/1 – Barcelona, Spain @ Primavera Festival
6/2 – Barcelona, Spain @ Primavera Festival
6/10 – Porto, Portugal @ Primavera Festival
6/26 – Dublin, Ireland @ Mother Pride Block Party
7/22 – Southwold, England @ Latitude Festival
8/5 – Katowice, Poland @ OFF Festival
8/20 – Osaka, Japan @ Summer Sonic Osaka
8/21 – Tokyo, Japan @ Summersonic Festival
9/3 – Stradbally, Republic of Ireland @ Electric Picnic
10/12 – Glasgow, Scotland @ SWG3
10/13 – Glasgow, Scotland @ SWG3
10/15 – Dublin, Republic of Ireland @ Olympia Theatre
10/18 – Nottingham, England @ Rock City
10/20- Manchester, England @ Manchester Academy
10/21 – Birmingham, England @ O2 Academy Birmingham
10/23 – Brighton, East Sussex, England @ Brighton Dome
10/26 – London, England @ O2 Academy Brixton
