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Rina Sawayamawants to get fit.
If someone was like, Amazing, Rina.
Id be like, Absolutely not, no thank you.
Like her goal of getting in performance shape, its all in service of her fans.
The deluxe single, LUCID, was a long time in the making.
Can you walk me through its journey?Oh my God, so long.
We started writing it in 2018, and the initial idea was that BloodPop would release it.
But then, obviously, he got signed onto doChromatica, and plans changed.
Its literally been sitting there in that form for about two years, which is so crazy.
I dont think I would have done that many sessions at that point, either.
I dont think Id written Comme des Garcons at that point.
[The other two originals] were actually ones that didnt make it onto the record.
And honestly, if Paradisin wasnt on the record, Bees & Honey would be on there.
If Akasaka [Sad] wasnt on the record, then We Out Here would have been on there.
But I wanted it to flow through really nicely.
The deluxe also has remixes by other artists, it has covers of other artists.
Whos piquing your interest right now?I would love to collab withChloe x Halle.
I just love that genre of alternative pop R&B.
I think Gaga would be amazing.
Elton John would be sick.
Im reaching high here.
Miley would be so great, too.
Dua yeah, all the pop queens.
Youve really kept up momentum this year, especially theTonight Showperformance in October.
I was so excited, because also this year, I havent performed live.
I even auditioned a band the end of last year and then never saw them again.
Thats why there was a lot of movement with the camera, and I made it quite theatrical.
I didnt think we needed any more of that.
Why decide to bring on a band for tour?It was all going to be live instruments.
Ive already toured with two dancers and a DJ before.
Listening toSAWAYAMAthis year, its easy to pull this apocalyptic thread that runs through it.
I always want to check that that the song isdonedone.
If its not big, then its absolutely as meaningful as possible and very intentional.
Were you expecting anything last week?If I wasnt on Twitter, I dont think Id expect anything.
There were some betting websites that had my name on it, and all sorts.
You know, its quite random.
Obviously its unavoidable when, after it all came out, everyone was like, Snub!
Thats literally my whole timeline.
I think its crazy that people even thought that I would be up for Best New Artist.
But I know that its a big, old machine, and I dont really understand it yet.
But I wasnt like, That was mine to take!
I was like,Oh God, what if its too disjointed?
What if its too crazy?
This is music that people didnt think platforms likeThe Tonight Showwould even go for.Yeah, I think so too.
You should never underestimate peoples willingness to take on something thats a bit weird.
And I think people will get on board.
At the beginning, I was terrified.
But the second album, youve got to hurry up a little bit.
So then I feel okay.
I actually think I can write now, which is awesome.
Before, I thought everything was a bit of a fluke.
But yeah, Ive already written songs that I love so much more than whatevers on the record.
This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.
