Rina Sawayama included single "Chosen Family" on last year's full-length debut SAWAYAMA, and the artist has now shared a new version of the track featuring Elton John.
The ballad, originally produced by Danny L Harle, explores the concept of a chosen family through a queer lens. You can watch Sawayama and John perform the new version in the player below.
Sawayama called working with John "a joy and honour," sharing, "The song means so much to both of us, and recording it together was such a special experience I will never forget. I got shivers when I heard his voice through the monitor and became emotional when he added the piano parts. Elton has been such a huge supporter from before the album, and when we finally met to record this song we clicked from the get go. I hope people can hear the magic!"
Sir Elton called Sawayama "an extraordinary talent," recalling how he first came upon the Japanese-British singer-songwriter's music through SAWAYAMA single "Come Des Garçons."
He continued: "Rina doesn't just represent the cross-cultural mix of inspiration from which the best music always thrives, but a generation who have grown up with the internet and the entire history of music at their fingertips and mix together whatever they please with real love and understanding, unconstrained by old ideas of genre or boundary. To my mind, she's the brightest embodiment of this: a brilliant, confidence-oozing, endlessly fascinating songwriter and performer."
John's recent forays into present-day pop have also seen him team with Miley Cyrus and become an enforcer for Phoebe Bridgers.
The ballad, originally produced by Danny L Harle, explores the concept of a chosen family through a queer lens. You can watch Sawayama and John perform the new version in the player below.
Sawayama called working with John "a joy and honour," sharing, "The song means so much to both of us, and recording it together was such a special experience I will never forget. I got shivers when I heard his voice through the monitor and became emotional when he added the piano parts. Elton has been such a huge supporter from before the album, and when we finally met to record this song we clicked from the get go. I hope people can hear the magic!"
Sir Elton called Sawayama "an extraordinary talent," recalling how he first came upon the Japanese-British singer-songwriter's music through SAWAYAMA single "Come Des Garçons."
He continued: "Rina doesn't just represent the cross-cultural mix of inspiration from which the best music always thrives, but a generation who have grown up with the internet and the entire history of music at their fingertips and mix together whatever they please with real love and understanding, unconstrained by old ideas of genre or boundary. To my mind, she's the brightest embodiment of this: a brilliant, confidence-oozing, endlessly fascinating songwriter and performer."
John's recent forays into present-day pop have also seen him team with Miley Cyrus and become an enforcer for Phoebe Bridgers.