London | United Kingdom
Japanese-British singer-songwriter and model Rina Sawayama launched the video to her new single Cherry yesterday. The London-based pop futurist has created a visual piece that speaks as clearly as the lyrics to the song. The video starts off with the artist sitting in a meditative pose wearing a fabulously flamboyant feather headdress almost reminiscent of the Aztec Moctezuma’s headdress. This image pushes the line between an ethereal crown-like and war-gear piece that underlines the power that women possess. Following the late flood and revelations of the injustices towards women, it is easy to cast women and femininity as something being victim-prone, when, as many would argue, they are the stronger.
This image, deep in symbolism, underlines once again the reminder of the reigning power that femininity brings. The visual reminds us once again that true power lies in embracing your feminine side rather than trying to hide or alter it. Shortly thereafter the artist is showered in rose petals by a diverse cast of backup dancers as the lyrics start.
Cherry is the second release of new music from Rina Sawayama in 2018 since the release of her mini-album RINA last year. The beautifully shot video was choreographed by Joelle Fontaine. She commented: “With this song and creative I specifically cast several POC Queer dancers fully embracing their femininity as that’s something you don’t see. So the movement is based around the struggle of coming to terms with what society has told you are wrong, but in the end is a justified feeling.”
In an interview with Broadly UK editor, Zing Tsjeng, Rina Sawayama spoke about Cherry:
“I’ve always written songs about girls. I don’t think I’ve ever mentioned a guy in my songs, and that’s why I wanted to talk about it. For me there’s still a lack of representation. I just think the reason why I wasn’t so comfortable with my sexuality was because there was no one on TV or anywhere that I could point at and go, ‘Look mum! This person is what I was talking about!'”
To coincide with the new video, Rina will be embarking on her Ordinary Superstar Fall Tour, beginning in Brooklyn on September 12th and spanning across 7 shows before concluding on October 19th with a show at London’s Heaven. The new shows follow a string of sold-out dates in both the UK and US over the past six months, including shows at London’s The Garage and New York’s Mercury Lounge that saw Rina’s fans screaming for more. Complete with a lively variety of wigs, outfit changes and dance breaks, Rina is bringing her show back on the road for another act that is sure to please. See the tour dates below:
Ordinary Superstar Tour 2018
9/12 – Elsewhere – Brooklyn, NY
9/13 – Bowery Ballroom – New York, NY
9/14 – Subterranean – Chicago, IL
9/15 – Velvet Underground – Toronto, ON
9/18 – Teragram – Los Angeles, CA
9/20 – Rickshaw Stop – San Francisco, CA
10/19 – Heaven – London, UK
The past 6 months have seen Rina team up with Shamir on her track “Tunnel Vision”, appear on the cover of Clash Magazine, perform with Charli XCX at her Pop 2 London show, film a Vogue Meets feature and team up with Nicola Formichetti and i-D for her “Ordinary Superstar” video – watch here.
