Rina Sawayama has shared the third single and title track from her highly-anticipated second album ‘Hold The Girl’.
- READ MORE: Rina Sawayama at the BandLab NME Awards 2022: an exhilarating performance of extremes
The artist has already previewed the new album – the follow-up to 2020’s ‘SAWAYAMA’, which NME awarded five stars – with the singles ‘This Hell’ and ‘Catch Me In The Air’, with the latter premiering as Zane Lowe’s New Music Daily pick on Apple Music 1.
The new single is a typically ambitious, multi-faceted pop song, addressing both the trauma and catharsis of moving forward in life. “Sometimes I just wanna run away, leave behind that old me, start again/ Then I’ll remember who I’m really made of/ And she’s been hide-and-seeking, waiting all alone,” she sings on the track.
Speaking about the songwriting process, Sawayama said: “‘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.”
‘Hold The Girl’ is now due out September 16 – two weeks later than originally planned due to “production issues” – via Dirty Hit. Listen to the new track below.
Sawayama has also announced a US headline tour in November – tickets will be available from here.
Kicking off in Brooklyn, New York on November 1, the stint will also include stop-offs in cities such as Boston (November 4), Atlanta (8), Nashville (9), Houston (13) and San Diego (18).
Sawayama, who was crowned Best Live Act at the BandLab NME Awards 2022, is scheduled to conclude her 2022 US tour with a performance at the Hollywood Palladium in Los Angeles, California on November 23.
“Can’t wait to perform the record for u,” she wrote while announcing the shows on social media yesterday (July 26). “Which songs from the first record do u wanna hear ??”.
Tickets go on general sale at 10am local time this Friday (July 29) – you’ll be able to purchase yours from here. Check out the full itinerary below.
USA TOUR
tickets on sale Friday at 10am localcan’t wait to perform the record for u ?
which songs from the first record do u wanna hear ?? pic.twitter.com/9GqMzk33EK
— RINA SAWAYAMA (@rinasawayama) July 26, 2022
Sawayama performed at last weekend’s Latitude Festival, where she also made a surprise appearance during Phoebe Bridgers’ set alongside Maggie Rogers.
In October, she’ll embark on a UK and Ireland headline tour, where a Cardiff show has been added on October 24 due to “phenomenal demand” – you can find tickets here.
