Rina Sawayama says there is a lot of “pressure” placed on “pop girls” to look “consistently hot”.
The 32-British-Japanese pop star – who rose to prominence after signing with The 1975’s label, Dirty Hit, on which she released her acclaimed self-titled debut album in 2019 – has spoken out about the expectations for pop stars to always look their best no matter what they are going through.
In a cover interview with Them, she said: “The pressure with the pop girls is that even if you’re not having such a good day, even if you’re really jet-lagged or your IBS is going crazy or whatever, you have to look really hot. Consistently hot.
“And also everything you say is going to get printed and put on Twitter.”
The ‘Chosen Family’ hitmaker – who releases her second studio album ‘Hold the Girl’ on Friday (16.09.22) – also hailed artists like her ‘Beg For You’ duet partner Charli XCX for running their own businesses and breaking all the rules.
She said: “I think people are really comfortable and cognizant of the fact that every pop star runs their own business.
“Even though I know Britney was very much involved in her songwriting and stuff, it was all quite smoke and mirrors back then. I think what people value now is the idea that [the fans] are part of the music process. And definitely seeing artists like Charli [XCX], for example, who just do whatever the hell they want and are so good at it. I think that’s a much more accepted narrative.”
Meanwhile, Rina’s trauma is interwoven into the 13 songs on her forthcoming record, but she’s not ready to address what she went through directly yet.
She recently explained: “For me, it’s important that the listener is able to listen to it as a pop record first without that background, [and] make their own feelings about it.
“And then, when I’m ready, I think I will be able to talk about what it’s actually about.”