Rina Sawayama releases a new single “Catch Me in the Air”, and it’s great. But I’m confused.

Rina’s single “This Hell” has been out for all of 10 minutes, and already we’ve got a follow-up single, “Catch Me in the Air”.

Those who went to see Rina on her last tour will have already heard this song. And those of you who filmed it, your video may even be in the ‘visualiser’ for the song. A visualiser which is a little raggedy in my opinion. Because if Rina’s team had an actual plan for “Catch Me in the Air” to have been a single (and I can't see why they wouldn’t have, given the song has ‘single’ written all over it) they would have at LEAST had a crew film the entire performance of the song professionally with the intent to maybe one day release it as a video.

But, we got what we got.

Now. Most would be really excited to get another new Rina song so soon. But I’m not most.

“Catch Me in the Air” has been doing the rounds on YouTube for the past 5 months, with good quality fan videos. And whilst I really do like this song and think it is a solid single choice, I think the fact that it’s been online for so long and the timing of it both go against it.

It’s crazy to me that “This Hell” has a follow-up already. We got 2 live performances of the song and a lacklustre music video. And ALREADY we’re moving on from it!?

“This Hell” was so ripe, for not only Pride month, but the current state of the world. And it feels especially relevant now in light of what is happening in regards to crusty old men policing the bodies of those able to bear children, and the removal of their rights to abortion in the name of Christianity, amongst other things.

Rina Sawayama - Catch Me in the Air

Acts and labels these days give up on songs far too soon, and don’t seem to think about strategies for singles. It’s always just about the album. Which I get. Because the album is what needs to sell. But if the singles don’t do well, then chances are that the album won’t do well. And Rina is at a point in her career where she needs to rope in people from outside of her fanbase to really push her album sales. This shouldn’t be rocket science. It’s not like Rina isn’t marketable to a mass market. She has the look and the sound. She always has.

“This Hell” should have been pushed harder. And I think “Catch Me in the Air” either should have been released earlier in the year or much later in the year. I just can’t see “Catch Me in the Air” catching on and getting the attention it deserves right now. I hope I’m wrong. But I strongly feel that air is gonna be the only thing that the song is going to be certified.

I also wonder if Rina announcing her album so early was the best thing to do. I get that she wanted to get tour tickets out. But the album is months away, and attention spans right now are so short. Which is why pushing singles is all the more important.

Rina Sawayama - Catch Me in the Air

I can’t help feel concerned that we’re going to end up with another Rina album rollout, where really good singles just come and go. Then an album drops, which flies under the commercial radar, but once lights up critically. As great as the latter is, Rina needs commercial hits if she wants to get bigger audiences which allow her to play arenas, the budgets for bigger videos, the exposure to reach all corners of the market, and potentially a shot at signing with a bigger record label.

“Catch Me in the Air” is an amazing song, with a really unique and touching point of view, which Rina has explained every time she’s performed the song, and also detailed in an Instagram post. The first time I heard it, I said to myself that it would make a great single. THIS is why I’m confused as to why the song was flung out in the manner it was. “Catch Me in the Air” deserved more of a moment. And I also have to say, that I think the live versions of it sound better. There is just a thickness and a punch in the mix of the live version that the studio version lacks. Also Rina’s vocals on “Catch Me in the Air” stand out far more live than they do on the studio recording. I don’t get why Rina, her producers and the mixers of her songs keep burying her voice. Bitch, you have a really good voice, and we wanna HEAR it. Stop hiding it behind music.

---

💿 Rina reviews: This Hell | Sawayama | Rina
📀 Rina revision: Sawayama (The Random J Pop Revised Expanded Edition)
🗄️ Rina shit: That time Rina performed This Hell on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon | That time Rina performed at Coachella | That time Rina got shafted because of racism and xenophobia | That time Rina met Hikaru Utada | That time Rina released a gay anthem and gave it an awful music video