Rina Sawayama returns with the latest track from her forthcoming second album ‘Hold The Girl’. 

Phantom is a pop ballad that sees the singer-songwriter reassess her needs compared with the needs of others.

“I realised as an adult that I have spent my whole life pleasing other people and not realising it – constantly pushing my boundaries and not realising the difference between what I wanted to do and what other people wanted from me,” she says of the track. 

“Through the lyrics in the verse I’m trying to tell this story and then in the choruses I’m mourning the loss of my real self.”

Alongside the taster track, Rina also shared a visualiser that you can watch now. 

The hitmaker will release the follow-up to 2019’s ‘SAWAYAMA’ on September 16 – as the result of a two-week production delay – and previously admitted penning the collection during the pandemic was a challenge.

“I wrote a record during lockdown, which was really difficult,” she said. “I felt I just didn’t have anything to write about because, like a lot of people, I wasn’t doing anything. 

“But I managed to do it and it is coming out this year.”

Adding that she got the seal of approval from pal and collaborator Elton John, she continued: “We spent some time in the summer together and he has this humongous boombox which he listens to music on. 

“I played him my songs and he loved them.”

‘Hold The Girl’ is available to pre-order now.