As a Westernised child with an up and down relationship with Asian parents, of course Japanese-British star Rina Sawayama has said she is a fan of the recent film Everything Everywhere All at Once. That movie’s title is also a fitting description of Sawayama’s proudly maximalist pop music, which appears to smoosh together every genre of the 2000s, from R&B to nu-metal to computer game music, with a surprise around every corner.
It shouldn’t work. The sounds of Destiny’s Child and Limp Bizkit may once have sat next to each other in the charts, but surely not on the same album. But the boldness with which she performs her handbrake turns earned a place for her 2020 debut album, Sawayama, on many critics’ end of year favourites lists. It caused the organisers of the BRIT Awards and Mercury Prize to change their eligibility rules for her, as she wasn’t going to be an option for British prizes despite living here since the age of five. It also led to collaborations with Lady Gaga, Elton John and Charli XCX, and even an acting role alongside Keanu Reeves in the upcoming fourth installment of the John Wick franchise.
