Who is Rina Sawayama and why her new song 'Bad Friend' is creating buzz?
As many artists can attest, the coronavirus crisis has crippled the music industry with events and shows being canceled or postponed, but that's not stopping certain musical warriors from mustering and releasing some good music. A certain buzz surrounds Rina Sawayama, a British singer-songwriter and model, on social media, especially after the release of her infectious new song, 'Bad Friend', on April 15.
Fans are already having a meltdown over the new track, but some of you may need a quick intro to the 29-year-old pop singer. Sawayama was born in Niigata, Japan, but moved to London with her family at five. After attending a local school, she then pursued sociology, psychology and politics at Cambridge University, and earned herself a degree in the latter of the three. During her studies, she turned to fashion and became a successful model. Her uninhibited stance towards her fashion sense is evident by the numerous, completely varied pics of her donning everything from high-fashion-inspired attire to an enchanting mix of traditional-Japanese-cum-western makeup to a wide range of hairstyles.
According to Dazed, Sawayama was chosen as of the young muses for Versus Versace's fall-winter campaign in 2017 and in the same year, she was part of British model Jourdan Dunn's collaboration with UK fashion brand Missguided, according to FashionUnited. She has also been deemed as "a star on the rise" by Vogue.
As far as her music goes, she is just as colorful as her fashion choices. 'Bad Friend' features as the preview single to her upcoming debut studio album, 'Sawayama', which will be out on April 17. Unlike many other artists, Sawayama has chosen not to postpone the album's release during the COVID-19 pandemic.
In the contemporary R&B-tinged pop song, Sawayama recalls a momentous summer of 2012 she spent with friends with lyrics like "hot, crazy and drunk, five in a room. Singing our hearts out to Carly" before the chorus "I'm so good at crashing in. Making sparks 'n' shit but then. I'm a bad, I'm a bad. I'm a bad friend." The chorus comes off instantly catchy with backing harmony vocals that sound like an Imogen Heap-painted number while we get some Nelly Furtado nostalgia on the tune.
Fans on Twitter are blown away by the new song. "THIS SONG IS LITERALLY A MASTERPIECE!!! I'm so excited for the album, please... (sic)" says a fan.
Some fans are taken aback by the number, saying, "This song really hit hard. thank you so much for making this I love you SO much (sic)" and "This song is SOMETHING ELSE (sic)." Other comments included "This might be the first song I’ve ever related to" and "YES YES BLOODY HELL YES (sic)" and "okay my actual anthem though."