Rina Sawayama Is a Throwback Karaoke Queen in Her New Video

What do you think has been the most perfectly constructed pop song of the year thus far? Paramore’s “Hard Times”, maybe? Something by Carly Rae Jepsen? A lil deep cut from Bleachers, perhaps? Nah mate, you’re looking in all the wrong places. It’s a Clarence Clarity-produced song called “Alterlife” by a London artist called Rina Sawayama, who I swear I’ve been banging on about for the longest time. For real, listen to this song. It’s like something Max Martin might have written if he’d collaborated with Gwen Stefani and they were about in the 80s. It has a key change. There is some serious falsetto. I have not been able to stop rinsing it since it came out last month.

As with all perfect pop songs, it’s the kind of thing you will want to hog the mic to at karaoke, which is where her new visual comes in. Directed by a guy called Shane Lim, it’s a hazy, neon-dunked lyric video inspired by vintage Japanese karaoke booths and we’re premiering it below. In it, Rina takes on a number of different alter egos, dances around in various wigs and outfits and lip syncs her way through the song. Everything about it slaps. I am not lying. See for yourself above.

Rina will be performing at Oval Space on 2 November: click here to get tickets.

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