Rina Sawayama is taking us to Hell on her new record
Rina Sawayama CREDIT: Thurstan Redding
Rina Sawayama delivers country-infused pop elements and a full list of references in her new song, “This Hell.”
The record finds Rina saddling us with the first few rock guitar chords as she says “Let’s go, girls” at the very start of the song, a direct nod to Shania Twain’s Man! I Feel Like a Woman!
She also mentions toxic celebrity culture in the song with multiple pop culture references including the paparazzi for their treatment of Britney Spears, Princess Diana, and Whitney Houston as well as Paris Hilton’s “That’s Hot”.
Sawayama says she wrote the song while thinking about recent religiously motivated attacks on LGBTQ rights:
“It’s an important song for me given the human rights that are being taken away from minorities at a rapid rate in the name of traditional religious beliefs, more specifically I was thinking about the rights being taken away from the LGBTQ community when I wrote this song. When the world tells us we don’t deserve love and protection, we have no choice but to give love and protection to each other. This Hell is better with you.”
Overall, the record is fun, and catchy, with a slight tongue-in-cheek that will definitely be played on repeat.
The track marks the lead single from Sawayama’s next album, Hold the Girl, out September 2.
Watch Rina Sawayama’s “This Hell” below!
