On Wednesday night at London’s Union Chapel, the only giveaway that we were in the presence of one of the biggest hits in the world was the sudden glow of phones recording from the pin drop-silent pews. As Mitski sang the gentle country ballad My Love Mine All Mine, the Japanese American songwriter swayed softly, held her heart and gazed at the church’s high carved ceiling as she asked the moon to preserve her earthly love and shine it down long after she’s gone. But the screams that followed were an unmistakable sign of the near religious devotion the 33-year-old commands, even before she climbed up to the pulpit for her encore.
That song, from Mitski Miyawaki’s acclaimed seventh album, The Land Is Inhospitable and So Are We, is now being played around 4m times a day on Spotify and is at No 12 in their global daily Top 50. It will probably hold fast for a second week at No 15 in the UK singles chart and is vaulting up the US Hot 100. Today (13 October), this strange, lunar ballad joins the likes of Olivia Rodrigo, Travis Scott and various high-speed club bangers on the BBC Radio 1 playlist.
