Rina Sawayama Covers Vogue Singapore, Talks Inspiration Behind ‘Hold The Girl,’ Future Collaborations, & More

Rina Sawayama is getting candid.

The rising music superstar is the latest singer to grace the coveted cover of Vogue Singapore.

Lensed by Jenny Brough, Sawayama stuns for a compelling photoshoot, but also gives an equally compelling interview.

Talking everything from the inspiration behind ‘Hold The Girl,’ to future collaborations, and so much more, she does not hold back.

Peep pics and quotes from the spread below…

On the inspiration behind her ‘Hold The Girl’ album:

“The songwriting is what I’m proudest of. I worked really hard on my lyrics in the ‘Hold The Girl’ sessions and I was writing this record under some difficult circumstances. I was struggling with my mental health for quite a lot of it. My writing sessions were on Zoom which are horrible; you have to really work to get energy going and when you’re talking about intense subject matters, not having that immediate connection of being in the room is quite strange.”

On future collaborations:

“I haven’t done many collaborations. Working with Charli XCX on ‘Beg For You’ was a wonderful experience because I admire the way she works with people. Since then, I’ve been excited to do more. I love Rosalia, so if that were ever to be a possibility, I’d love to try out some ideas with her and see what comes out of it.”

On the songs she is most proud of on ‘Hold The Girl’:

“It’s amazing to see people reacting to the songs. The release of a song for me isn’t complete until you’ve played it live, so my favourites have changed from the writing process, to when the album came out, to now playing them live. Currently ‘Imagining’ and ‘Frankenstein’ are up there because I love the audience response—there’s this unbelievable energy from them.”

On future plans:

“I realised playing live is the best part of what I do, so framing my goals around that is the healthiest way to plan as it’s something I love focusing my energy on. Playing at The O2 in London is a goal of mine.”

Your thoughts?

[Photo Credit: Vogue Singapore / Jenny Brough]