She said: “Seventeen to me is a child. You’re in school. You have no autonomy most of the time. If a schoolteacher is coming onto you, that’s an abuse of power. But I didn’t realize until I was his age.”  

Rina, who admitted to attending sex and relationship therapy in her thirties, said that these experiences influenced the track “Your Age” from her 2022 album, Hold The Girl.  

Listen to “Your Age”, below.

She continued: “I remember distinctly how uncomfortable that made me, but I didn’t put the two and two together. And it was through this very intense form of therapy, which I feel so lucky to be able to have access to, that I was able to come to terms with that, and it completely broke my whole world apart.”  

The singer, who was nominated for best new artist at the 2023 Brit Awards, added that whilst writing the album was one of the most difficult things, the reception has been incredible. She said: “It makes me so happy when I see especially like women or femmes in the audience connecting to it because I haven’t talked about this in specifics. I’ve just said it’s about a period in my life when I was younger, but I know the truth and when I look out to the audience, and I see femmes or women connecting to it, I’m like maybe you know what I’m talking about, maybe you’re feeling it right now.”  

Whilst Rina does not have a direction for her third album, she is ready to close this chapter. “I would love a day where I can just write a song that’s just about love or sex”, the popstar added.  

Hold The Girl is the sophomore album by British popstar Rina Sawayama. The album, which follows up from her self-titled record, includes hits such as “This Hell”, “Catch Me in the Air”, and “Hold The Girl.” The 2022 album achieved great commercial success and debuted at number three on the UK Albums Chart. Across the pond, the record debuted at number 166 on the US Billboard 200.  

The 2022 album received positive responses from critics, in which Hannah Mylrea from NME called it “The best British pop album of the year.”