On August 9, 2022, ahead of the release of her sophomore album, Hold The Girl, the GRAMMY Museum welcomed Rina Sawayama for an intimate conversation about the new album, her creative process, rising career, and more. The conversation was moderated by Yahoo Entertainment music editor's Lyndsey Parker.

In 2020, Rina’s debut album SAWAYAMA became one of the most critically acclaimed albums that year landing on over 50 album of the year lists, including the New York Times (#2), The Guardian (#3) and Rolling Stone (#6). The last 18 months have seen Rina Sawayama achieve a magnitude of milestones including changing the Mercury Prize and BRITs eligibility rules which meant Non-British artists could apply if they have been a permanent resident in the UK for more than 5 years. In 2021 Elton John joined forces with the pop star to release a special rendition of “Chosen Family,"" a powerful and emotional ode to her LGBTQ+ family. Elsewhere Rina injected new life into Lady Gaga’s instant club classic “Free Woman.” 2023 sees Rina in her film acting debut as she stars in John Wick 4 alongside Keanu Reeves.

Her highly anticipated sophomore album, Hold The Girl, was released September 16, 2022 via Dirty Hit. Following on from her critically acclaimed debut SAWAYAMA, the record sees Rina once again juxtapose intimate storytelling with arena-sized songs creating another ambitious and original album to excite fans and critics alike. Rina teamed up with long-term collaborators Clarence Clarity and Lauren Aquilina as well as enlisting help from the likes of the legendary Paul Epworth (Adele, Florence & the Machine), Stuart Price (Dua Lipa, The Killers, Madonna) and Marcus Andersson (Demi Lovato, Ashnikko) for their magic touch. The product of Rina and these collective minds coming together is an album that melds influences from across the pop spectrum and is a bold and honest statement of Rina’s personal evolution; coming to terms with her own past and the jubilation of turning to the future.