Rina Sawayama

Rina Sawayama is a Japanese-British singer-songwriter and model born on August 16, 1990, in Niigata, Japan, who moved to the United Kingdom with her family at age five and is now based in London. She studied Politics, Psychology and Sociology at Cambridge University before pursuing music, developing a genre-fluid sound that draws on late-90s and early-2000s pop, R&B, electronic and nu-metal influences, filtered through a distinctly maximalist and theatrical production style.

Her early singles, including «Tunnel Vision» and «Cyber Stockholm Syndrome», established her as an experimental voice before her breakout with the RINA EP in 2017 and later full-length albums that built her reputation as an artist unafraid to blend club-ready hooks with heavier rock textures, as heard on tracks like «STFU!» and «XS». Songs such as «Cherry», «Akasaka Sad», «Comme Des Garçons (Like The Boys)», «Bad Friend» and «Dynasty» showcase her range from confessional balladry to hard-hitting genre-bending anthems.

Sawayama has become known for pairing sharp pop songcraft with candid songwriting about identity, family and belonging, positioning her as one of the more distinctive and boundary-pushing artists in contemporary British pop.