Rina Sawayama says her new album is inspired by the “fake stories” on Taylor Swift’s ‘Folklore’

'Hold The Girl' comes out later this year via Dirty Hit

Rina Sawayama has discussed how she was inspired by the “fake stories” on Taylor Swift‘s ‘Folklore’ for her new album ‘Hold The Girl’.

The singer’s follow-up to 2020 debut album ‘SAWAYAMA’ is due out on September 2, via Dirty Hit, and was previewed last month with the single ‘This Hell’.

In a new interview with Rolling Stone UK about the album, Sawayama spoke of being struck by the way Swift told stories of other people on her 2020 lockdown album, moving away from the autobiographical work of her past.

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“I remember when Taylor Swift released Folklore, I was like, ‘This bitch is writing about fake stories and she just wrote a whole album. If she can do it, I need to do it,’” Sawayama said, revealing that it was too painful to write songs about her own experiences while going through therapy.

Discussing how she wants to keep her personal issues out of her songs for the time being, the singer added: “For me, it’s important that the listener is able to listen to it as a pop record first without that background, [and] make their own feelings about it. And then, when I’m ready, I think I will be able to talk about what it’s actually about.”

Rina Sawayama
Rina Sawayama CREDIT: Thurstan Redding

Later this year, Sawayama is set to head out on a new UK and Ireland tour which kicks off in October with two nights at Glasgow’s SW3 before calling at Dublin, Nottingham, Manchester, Birmingham, and Brighton. It finishes up at the O2 Academy Brixton in London on October 26.

Tickets are available to purchase here, and you can see the full list of dates below.

OCTOBER 2022
12 – Glasgow, SWG3
13 – Glasgow, SWG3
15 – Dublin, Olympia Theatre
18 – Nottingham, Rock City
20 – Manchester Academy
21 – Birmingham, O2 Academy 
23 – Brighton Dome
26 – London, O2 Academy Brixton

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