Rina Sawayama Latest Celebrity News & Gossip

Rina Sawayama has today (October 7) announced that she has partnered with charity The Trussell Trust for her upcoming UK and Ireland tour.In a statement posted to her Twitter account, Sawayama said that she would be teaming up with the charity – who support a nationwide network of food banks and provide emergency food and support to people in need – for her latest tour.Sawayama wrote: “I’m sure you’re all aware but the cost of living is increasing so much at the moment, and people are struggling to pay for essential things like heating and food.

Willow has covered Yungblud’s track ‘The Funeral’ on BBC Radio 1 – check out the video below.The Los Angeles singer-songwriter collaborated with Yungblud (aka Dominic Harrison) on his song ‘Memories’, which appears on the latter’s recent self-titled third album.Today (September 29), Willow put her own spin on ‘The Funeral’ as part of a two-track set for this year’s Live Lounge Month. She transformed the gritty pop-punk anthem into a laid-back acoustic number.“I just love the lyrics; I love just the vibe that he’s giving on this song,” Willow explained of her decision to cover the single.“It feels very like Billy Idol to me.

AIM’s Independent Music Awards were presented last night at a ceremony in London, with winners including Stormzy, Lethal Bizzle, Rina Sawayama, Wet Leg, Mitski, Nilüfer Yanya, and record labels Rough Trade and Local Action.Stormzy accepted the Diversity Champion award for his work with his charity The #Merky Foundation and book publishing company #Merky Books.Speaking via video link, he said: “I encourage everyone in the room today to not just use diversity as a buzzword. Whatever position you lot are in, whatever roles you might play, try to be a real driving factor for it and not just see it as a quota or a box to tick and really see the worth and value in being diverse.

Rina Sawayama brought a cover of Billie Eilish‘s megahit “Happier Than Ever” (No. 26 on The FADER’s Best Songs of 2021 list) to the BBC Live Lounge along with a performance of “Hold The Girl,” the title track from her new album.

Rina Sawayama has covered Billie Eilish‘s song ‘Happier Than Ever’ – check out the video below.The singer-songwriter played a live set on BBC Radio 1 today (September 27) as part of the station’s Live Lounge Month series. First up, she treated listeners to an airing of ‘Hold The Girl’ from her second studio album of the same name.Sawayama then delivered a haunting rendition of the title track from Eilish’s 2021 record ‘Happier Than Ever’.

Mickey Guyton recently joined Metallica at a New York performance for a powerful rendition of ‘Nothing Else Matters’.Guyton joined the band’s headlining set at Global Citizen Festival, which took place at New York City’s Central Park. “Finally a real singer!” James Hetfield remarked on Guyton’s appearance, before the singer belted through the song’s verses and delivered a riveting duet with James Hetfield on the track’s chorus.The country singer previously covered the classic power ballad on the 2021 tribute album ‘The Metallica Blacklist’, which celebrated the 30-year anniversary of Metallica’s classic 1991 self-titled record.

BLACKPINK have become the first-ever K-pop girl group to achieve a Number One album in the UK.The South Korean band hit the top spot today (September 23) with their second full length record, ‘Born Pink’, which was released last Friday (September 16).BLACKPINK previously peaked at Number Two in the United Kingdom with their debut album, 2020’s ‘The Album’ (via the Official Charts Company).Martin Talbot, Chief Executive at the Official Charts Company, said: “Congratulations to BLACKPINK.“Being any kind of chart first is a record which can never be taken away, so for their new album ‘Born Pink’ to become the first UK Official Number One by a K-pop girl group is a fantastic achievement – and puts them in the record books forever!”Back in 2019, BTS became the first Korean act to hit Number One in the UK albums chart with ‘Map of The Soul: Persona’.

BLACKPINK today become the first-ever K-pop girl group to achieve a Number 1 on the UK’s Official Albums Chart with BORN PINK.

With BLACKPINK hoping to secure their first-ever UK Number 1 album this week with BORN PINK, in what's proving a closely-fought battle against Rina Sawayama and Suede, we've been delving into the group's back catalogue of late.

Rina Sawayama has spoken about moving into acting with a role in 2023’s Hollywood blockbuster John Wick: Chapter 4 in a new interview.In 2021, the pop star was announced to be a part of the upcoming sequel, which will premiere next year. She will play the part of Akira in the movie.Speaking to NME for the latest Big Read cover story, Sawayama spoke about scoring the role.

BLACKPINK lead what looks set to be an all-new Official Albums Chart Top 5 this week, with BORN PINK tracking for the top spot.

Rina Sawayama has shared a brand new video for her latest single ‘Hurricanes’ – check it out below.The British-Japanese artist released her second album ‘Hold The Girl’ on Friday (September 16) via Dirty Hit, and shared the new video on the same day.Following visuals for the new album’s title track and ‘This Hell’, the ‘Hurricanes’ video sees Sawayama giving a stormy, energetic performance of the track inside a barn.In the track, Sawayama sings: “April showers finally making way for warmer weather / But yet I still feel the same / Doing yoga just to feel untethered / But my mind keeps running away.”Watch her ‘Hurricanes’ video below.In a five-star album review, NME called ‘Hold The Girl’ “the best British pop album of the year,” writing: “Genres may come and go, but Sawayama’s second album is defined by her ability to fashion each of these sounds into big, brilliant pop songs.”On Friday, the day of the album’s release, Sawayama appeared on the cover of NME for a new Big Read feature about ‘Hold The Girl’, her role in John Wick: Chapter 4 and more.During the interview, the singer revealed that Elton John has offered her some “great advice” regarding some as-yet-unreleased music.Rina collaborated with the legendary musician on a reworking of her song ‘Chosen Family’ last year, which came after the pair struck up a friendship, with John having praised Sawayama’s debut studio record on his Rocket Hour radio show in 2020.

Rina Sawayama confirmed her status as a pop auteur with her 2020 debut Sawayama, No. 14 on our Best Albums of 2020 list.

New Music Friday! It's every audiophile's favorite day of the week, and some of our favorite artists from all different genres have blessed us with new tunes.K-pop superstars BLACKPINK followed up their historic VMAs performance with their highly anticipated second studio album,  Marcus Mumford shared his debut solo album,, Kelsea Ballerini released a new track for her ride-or-dies, titled «IF YOU GO DOWN (I'M GOIN' DOWN TOO),»and Jack Harlow joined EST Gee on his new single, «Backstage Passes.»Plus, new music from Rina Sawayama, Charlie Puth, Becky G, Bazzi, Noah Kahan, THE DRIVER ERA and more!Also this week, stars like Hailee Steinfeld, Rachel Lindsay, Mike Johnson, JoJo, Angus Cloud and more turned out to the Pair of Thieves event at the Kendrick Lamar concert at L.A.'s Crypto.Com Arena.

It’s Friday, Friday, gotta get down on Friday — especially when it’s New Music Friday! We’re breaking down this week’s best new tracks to keep on your radar.

Rina Sawayama has revealed that Elton John has offered her some “great advice” regarding some as-yet-unreleased music.The British-Japanese artist, who released her second album ‘Hold The Girl’ today (September 16), collaborated with the legendary musician on a reworking of her song ‘Chosen Family’ last year.It came after the pair struck up a friendship, with John having praised Sawayama’s debut studio record on his Rocket Hour radio show in 2020. He’s since been avid fan and supporter of her work.Speaking to NME for this week’s Big Read cover feature, Sawayama spoke further about John assisting her with clearing a guitar riff on her single ‘This Hell’, which bears similarities to the ABBA‘s ‘Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight)’.“I was stressed as fuck because I was like: ‘this is our first single, this is our lead single, and I can’t use the guitar riff that I want’,” she recalled, adding that John ended up putting her in contact with the Swedish pop icons.ABBA’s Benny Andersson subsequently gave Sawayama his blessing to keep the original part in the finished track.“Elton is always willing to help.

Jem Aswad Senior Music Editor Rina Sawayama is one of a handful of artists who released an album just as the pandemic was beginning and watched, astonished, as their stars rose during lockdown. The Japanese-British singer’s debut, “Sawayama,” was a wild fusion of Lady Gaga with nu-metal guitars, but also showed a penchant for sentimental ballads amid the power chords and intensity. The album won a co-sign from none other than Elton John, and its videos got her cast in the fourth installment of Keanu Reeves’ “John Wick” series, due in March. In fact, Elton was one of many people who spoke out against Sawayama’s exclusion from eligibility for England’s BRIT and Mercury awards because she isn’t a U.K. citizen, even though she’s lived in England since the age of 5. After #SawayamaIsBritish became a trending topic on Twitter, the British Phonographic Industry changed the eligibility rules to include anyone who lived in the country for at least five years, including her.

Rina Sawayama has shared the final preview of her imminent second album, ‘Hold The Girl’ – a soaring pop-rock anthem titled ‘Hurricanes’.At face value, ‘Hurricanes’ is one of Sawayama’s most upbeat tracks, powering ahead with sharp drum fills, glittery atmospherics and driving electric guitars, over which the artist herself sings with an emphatic, energised gusto.Its lyrics paint a more melancholic picture, though, as Sawayama sings in the first verse: “April showers finally making way for warmer weather / But yet I still feel the same / Doing yoga just to feel untethered / But my mind keeps running away.”Have a listen to ‘Hurricanes’ below:‘Hurricanes’ is the fifth single to come from ‘Hold The Girl’, following the May release of ‘This Hell’, June’s ‘Catch Me In The Air’, the title track in July and ‘Phantom’ last month. The album itself – said to be inspired by the “fake stories” on Taylor Swift’s ‘Folklore’ – will be out this Friday (September 16) via Dirty Hit.Sawayama will tour ‘Hold The Girl’ in October, starting with a run of shows across the UK and Ireland.

RAYE has covered Kate Bush‘s ‘Running Up That Hill (A Deal With God)’ as part of this year’s Live Lounge Month – check out the video below.The singer visited BBC Radio 1 yesterday (September 7) to record two live tracks, beginning with her recent single ‘Black Mascara’.RAYE then took on Bush’s classic 1985 single, which has seen a huge spike in popularity of late owing to its appearance in Stranger Things 4.For her version, the London artist removed the galloping beat and synths that feature in the original song in favour of piano and stings.“I didn’t feel it was the right thing to change much. We’re bringing it down – no drums, kind of like [a] ballad,” RAYE explained of her moody, stripped-back take on ‘Running Up That Hill’.“[Bush] 100 per cent wrote this record, 100 per cent produced it… she’s like one of my idols.

Yungblud performed a medley of songs on BBC Radio 1’s Live Lounge – listen below.The station’s annual series of special sessions returned today (September 5) with a set from Yungblud, who was in the BBC studio following the release of his self-titled third album last week.Alongside his band, he played an unexpected medley of three songs: Black Sabbath’s ‘War Pigs’, Kanye West’s ‘POWER’ and The 1975’s comeback single ‘Part Of The Band’.Watch a video of the performance below:Further performances on Live Lounge will follow from Self Esteem (September 6), RAYE (7) and Wet Leg (8) ahead of an as-yet-unannounced “very special guest” on September 12. Another mystery session is scheduled for September 15.Other names on the bill include Willow, Nova Twins, Knucks, Beabadoobee, Rina Sawayama and Tom Grennan.

Rina Sawayama has revealed that her recent song ‘This Hell’ almost sounded very different, after she realised that its guitar riff sounded similar to Abba’s ‘Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight)’. As this dawned on her, she says, she “freaked out”.What do you do in these situations though? Of course, you turn to someone who can offer a reassuring voice. And so, she explains to the BBC: “I contacted my publishers, and they freaked out too.

Rina Sawayama has claimed that her single ‘This Hell’ received “the blessing of ABBA“, following concerns it too closely mirrored one of the latter band’s biggest hits.In a new interview with the BBC, Sawayama revealed that while she was recording the song, she noticed a distinct similarity between it and the guitar riff to ‘Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight)’. She claimed to have “freaked out” when she discovers the parallels, given ABBA’s notoriety for turning down samples of their work – a sentiment shared by her publishers when she informed them.“They were like, ‘ABBA are absolutely going to say no to this, and you have to change it’,” she said. Sawayama did so, but still found herself drawn to the first version she had recorded.

It's finally here, Little Monsters. After some pandemic-induced postponement, Lady Gaga has kicked off The Chromatica Ball tour.

Every week here at Official Charts we compile our fancy list of single, album and home entertainment releases; bringing you the latest music you need to know about. Let's dive into this week's, shall we?

Rina Sawayama has shared ‘Phantom’, another cut from her forthcoming album ‘Hold The Girl’ which is released next month.‘Phantom’ is a pop ballad about Sawayama reassessing her needs versus other people’s. It follows on from last month’s ‘Hold The Girl‘ as well as ‘This Hell’ and ‘Catch Me In The Air’ which were shared earlier this year.Speaking about her new song, Sawayama said: “I realised as an adult that I have spent my whole life pleasing other people and not realising it – constantly pushing my boundaries and not realising the difference between what I wanted to do and what other people wanted from me.

The 1975, Wet Leg and Yungblud are among the acts set to perform for BBC Radio 1’s Live Lounge Month this September.The station’s annual series of special sessions returns on September 5 with a set from Yungblud, who is due to release his self-titled third studio album three days prior (September 2).Further performances will follow from Self Esteem (September 6), RAYE (7) and Wet Leg (8) ahead of an as-yet-unannounced “very special guest” on September 12. Another mystery session is scheduled for September 15.Elsewhere, fans will be able to catch an unseen track from Harry Styles’ Live Lounge show that was filmed earlier this year.The 1975, who are gearing up to drop their fifth record ‘Being Funny In A Foreign Language’ on October 14, are lined up to close Live Lounge Month 2022 on September 29.Other names on the bill include Willow, Nova Twins, Knucks, Beabadoobee, Rina Sawayama and Tom Grennan.

Wembley Stadium, London, 3 September. A fascinatingly eclectic addition to the world of 2020s pop, Rina Sawayama’s second album has already spawned two fantastic singles in Catch Me in the Air and This Hell. Advance reports suggest Hold the Girl offers a stew of glam, alt-rock, electronics and influences ranging from Paramore to the Corrs.

Charli XCX and Tiësto have shared the video for their song "Hot In It." The Hannah Lux Davis-directed video finds Charli selling beds at a wholesale store, though her sales ability plays second fiddle to dance routines as a bewildered-looking couple searching for a new bed can attest. Check out the video above.

It's finally here, Little Monsters. After some pandemic-induced postponement, Lady Gaga has kicked off The Chromatica Ball tour.