Rina Sawayama has not put out an album since Hold the Girl in September 2022, but she has hardly disappeared. In that stretch she launched a beauty brand called Godmode with Chloe Grace Moretz, starred in John Wick Chapter 4 with another installment ahead, lined up acting projects including Apple TV's Prodigies alongside Ayo Edebiri and Will Sharpe, appeared on tracks with MUNA and Empress Of, and became the first global ambassador for Haku Vodka.
Why the wait
Sawayama said the pace of her early success, from her genre bending 2020 debut through Hold the Girl and its single This Hell, moved faster than her body or mind could fully process, forcing her to step back and take stock. She described the break as a chance to actually appreciate what had happened rather than simply reacting to it, saying the best art comes from sitting with discomfort for as long as it takes, and that she believes she has finally done that.
What comes next
Sawayama says she is now feeling the most confident she has ever felt and is ready to release music again, describing a process of getting the pieces in place so a new era can launch effectively after restructuring parts of her own business. She is aiming to put out new work next year, telling ELLE she trusts both the music itself and the fans who have stayed with her through the gap.