Watch Rina Sawayama‘s powerful ‘Hold the Girl’ video

Rina Sawayama has shared the official video for her new single ‘Hold the Girl’ – check it out below.

The singer‘s new album of the same name is set to be released next month (16 September) via Dirty Hit, and has previously been teased by the singles ‘This Hell’ and ‘Catch Me in the Air’.

Speaking of the new track, which was released last week, Rina said: “’Hold the Girl’ was the first song I wrote for the record at the end of 2020–I had gone to therapy and had a revelation, so I decided to write this song…that was the start of it.

She added: “I was crying before going into the studio to write about it.”

Watch the track’s official video below.

Ahead of the release of her second album, which follows 2020 debut SAWAYAMA, Rina appeared on the digital cover of Rolling Stone UK, and discussed the epiphanies that define the new album.

“Like a lot of people, lockdown made you look at yourself and the things that were not making me happy in my life,” Sawayama said, going on to discuss how she entered a “more intense and specialised therapy” which was “emotionally and personally one of the hardest things I’ve ever done”.

Later this year, Sawayama is set to embark on a UK headline tour in support of Hold the Girl. See the schedule, including a new show in Cardiff on 24 October, below.

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