Rina Sawayama has announced her sophomore album, Hold The Girl

Pop-maestro Rina Sawayama has announced her much-anticipated second album, Hold The Girl, which will be available to listen on the 2nd of September.

The announcement comes after the artist wiped her Instagram, posting a picture captioned "#Rinasgoingtohell." Later, she changed her bio and Spotify heading to the same phrase, marking a shift towards her new era.

Last night (May 16th), the singer posted to social media an album trailer, which shows a collection of videos — both of Sawayama herself as well as natural imagery — overlaid with spliced together 90's and 2000's pop sounds, including the iconic intro to Shania Twain's 'Man! I Feel Like A Woman.'

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Rina Sawayama (@rinasonline)

Defined by her commitment to genre-bending pop, Sawayama has made a name for herself as one of the forward-thinkers of the genre, creating tracks that combine the sounds of R&B, hyperpop, nu-metal and club beats into something undeniably new-age. Tackling themes surrounding identity, socio-political trends and an avant-garde outlook on life, the popstar has gained an ever-building momentum that has secured her over 4 million monthly listeners on Spotify.

Though Hold The Girl will be her first album release since 2020's critically acclaimed SAWAYAMA, the singer has been busy in the last two years, releasing collaborations with Elton John and Charlie XCX, as well as covering 'Enter Sandman' in the star-studded tribute album The Metallica Blacklist. 

SAWAYAMA, which was released via Dirty Hit in April of 2020, quickly established the Japanese-British artist as one to watch — landing on several top 50 album lists of the year, and peaking at number 5 on UK indie charts. The album helped the artist build a cult following after her 2017's EP Rina, leading to a world tour that, due to pandemic delays, concluded on May 13, 2022 in New York City.

Check out the album trailer for 'Hold The Girl,' below: