RINA SAWAYAMA - THIS HELL (OUT NOW)

[StrawberryBlond 13,262]

Absolutely loving this! I was worried that she'd stagnate with her second release, as some new acts with potential tend to do, but this is looking good so far. As soon as that opening beat kicked in, I knew it was going to be good and to feel it building up to that chorus was wonderful. Especially loving the bridge and guitar solo. I like how she's still got a mix of influences with her work. I can totally see Gaga influence and I could totally imagine Ava Max singing this, it reminds me more than a bit of Kings & Queens, most notably for the solo. While the song is definitely aimed at the LGBT community, I feel the experience of being a woman could totally relate to this, for the chorus if nothing else, so it is for more than just demographic. I hope the video really delivers (we've been starved of awesome video content this year), this could make for some really good visuals. Her Jimmy Fallon performance is hopefully a sign of things to come.

On 5/19/2022 at 3:26 PM, sarcamstic said:

on another note, am i the only one who doesn’t hear the country influence in it at all?  i heard the nod to shania at the beginning, but the rest is just a pop banger with electric guitars.

The bridge is very country and the beat is very country rock. Southern country likes to incorporate electric guitar. Shania Twain would've totally made a beat like this in the 90's, which is why I think she put in the "let's go girls" nod at the beginning. It is definitely fed through a pop lens, though, but that's always been part of Rina's charm - her music is not just one thing.

[PoshLife 16,836]

I really like this. I also feel kinda validated because on first listen I said to myself "I almost hear Shania Twain in this" and then I came here and saw other people talking about it (I hadn't even heard her say "Let's go girls" at the beginning). And apparently she was inspired by country music while writing her new album, which is awesome. I definitely hear that.

And yeah, I don't necessarily disagree with people who are saying the lyrics feel kind of dated. But we're lucky to stan an artist who has been talking and singing about these issues for years (Gaga, of course), so we shouldn't begrudge the opportunity for newer, younger artists to give their take on it as well.

[Battle 4 Ur Life 5,823]

This song. is phenomenal. this guitar solo and sick synths.

edit: shoutout to the shoutout to britney, lady di and whitney. my favorite part. it’s just so empowering.

[thierryrreiht 19,967]

So far this era isn't doing it for me. The song, the promo video/visuals, and that album art... Hard passes

The song's lyrics made me cringe quite a few times, and the repetitiveness is tiring. Too many "ooh see what I did there?" moments. 

I listened three times at different moments of the day, to let it sink in, and it's just not it. It gave me MAJOR Ava Max vibes, which, for Rina, is a real low. We'll see with the next ones but.. I believe in the Sawayama album supremacy.

[rinasawachanta 2,088]

As an official Rina stan from the early days I can say that I was slightly disappointed by the song. She is GENIUS, without a doubt one of the most talented artists to emerge post Gaga. And she is capable of a hell of a lot more than this track. I feel like she tried to fold herself into a BTW narrative that really feels a bit outdated and obvious. And what I liked least is the amount of somewhat forced references: it's one thing the Judas 'ew' or Scheisse's 'i dont speak german...' (which became iconic almost instantly despite not being planned to be) than the reference to Shania, Paris Hilton or the name-dropping of popstars/divas (Britney, Lady Di, Whitney)... It feels like she "had to" make this track and not something that was genuinely born out of her (more along the lines of: "oh I have to put out another album, what could I write about...?"). Hopefully the album will change my mind.

[Ladle Ghoulash 11,141]

On 5/19/2022 at 10:06 PM, VasilisVas said:

Listened and didn’t like it at all. I see a lot about Rina on here and I was hoping to like this song, but I found it to be very cringey. 

Have you listened to SAWAYAMA? 

[VasilisVas 4,647]

6 minutes ago, deactivated001 said:

Have you listened to SAWAYAMA? 

Yes.  I listened to the album about 2 times. It was good, but wasn’t enough for me to keep going back. I’m going to wait until her sophomore album is released so I can give her another chance. 

[SevenWonder 3,067]

Joanne's impact. We live.