Rina Sawayama Searches for Her Lost Younger Self on Affecting New Single “Phantom”

Her sophomore album Hold the Girl is out September 16 via Dirty Hit.

Rina Sawayama Searches for Her Lost Younger Self on Affecting New Single “Phantom”

Her sophomore album Hold the Girl is out September 16 via Dirty Hit.

Words: Margaret Farrell

Photo: Charlotte Rutherford

August 25, 2022

Following her 2020 debut SAWAYAMA, burgeoning pop star Rina Sawayama has been preparing for the release of her follow-up LP, Hold the Girl. Her debut was an amalgamation of intense personal reflections with nu-metal, house music, and tender '90s R&B ballads, and since its release Sawayama has proven to be one of the leading minds in wielding a new form of pop. She's been further pushing pop music's limits with the drama of hard rock, the syrupy sweet catchiness of 2000s pop, country music camp, and confessional lyricism.

Today she's shared her latest single from Hold the Girl titled "Phantom," which is a timeless look at her younger self that was lost along the way in getting older. Sawayama detailed the track saying: "I realized as an adult that I have spent my whole life pleasing other people and not realizing it—constantly pushing my boundaries and not realizing the difference between what I wanted to do and what other people wanted from me. Through the lyrics in the verse I’m trying to tell this story and then in the choruses I’m morning the loss of my real self."

Listen to "Phantom" below, and pre-order Hold the Girl here ahead of its September 16 release.