Rina Sawayama is back, and she sounds relieved about it. The singer-songwriter, who recently took a two-year break from making music, has returned with a new album on the horizon, a role in the John Wick spinoff Caine, and a recurring part in Apple TV’s Prodigies. She also just signed on as Haku Vodka’s first-ever Brand Ambassador.
The partnership came alongside the launch of Haku’s first campaign, titled “Made to Shine,” which celebrates “individuality and ingenuity” while encouraging people to “look beyond the familiar.” Sawayama collaborated with the brand on creative direction and the craft vodka cocktail menu for an exclusive launch party held earlier this week.
Burnout and the Long Road Back
Sawayama’s hiatus began in 2024, when she stepped away from the spotlight to recalibrate. She said the decision was driven by exhaustion, not by choice. “I took time away starting in 2024,” she said. “I just felt so overwhelmed and pretty exhausted.”
The problem wasn’t a lack of success. “Every day, you’re doing something incredible, like a mind-blowing dream come true,” she explained. The issue was the pace. “Yet the more I pushed myself to do a month with no break — as in no weekend for several weeks — because every opportunity was exciting, the more I lost sensation. Physical sensation, emotional sensitivity, I just lost it.”
When she finally took time off, she moved to Tokyo, a city she hadn’t lived in for 30 years. “I just wanted to see what came,” she said. The experience of regaining feeling allowed her to trace back through her personal history and draw connections between emotions that felt unrelated.
“The record is about the one emotion that ties it all together,” she said. “It’s an exploration of that.”
The Slow Return to Music
The comeback wasn’t immediate. Sawayama admitted that she didn’t think she would return to music for about six months to a year. “There was a time, fresh out of that burnout feeling, that I didn’t think I could do it,” she said. “I felt like I couldn’t write the music. I felt like I couldn’t promote the music.”
The road back involved a two-year battle with writer’s block. “One day I’d want to try again, and then the next day I’d feel like I couldn’t write music,” she said. “There was just this two-year-long battle with writer’s block.”
But the struggle itself became the training. “It’s actually doing that and training the muscle of doing and showing up for the art when you fucking don’t want to, that actually trained me to love the art again,” she said. By the time she hit her stride, she had written about 30 to 40 songs.
“I was like, ‘Oh, I love this again,'” she recalled.
From Vodka Launch to Stanley Cups
The partnership with Haku started when the brand approached Sawayama. She had never tried vodka before, but she genuinely loved it on first taste. Suntory, the company behind Haku, has a long legacy, particularly with its whiskey commercials, which have become a cultural phenomenon.
Sawayama’s involvement went beyond signing on. She worked closely with the brand on the creative direction for the launch party and the craft vodka cocktail menu. She insisted on featuring Japanese DJs to honor the brand’s heritage.
Asked about artists who bridge the gap between the West and the East, she pointed to Mitski. “She is the first artist that comes to mind,” Sawayama said. “I just think she’s so authentic, and she really is such an artist.”
She also cited Naomi Osaka, noting that the tennis player’s boldness on the court and in her outfits is “amazingly brave and really inspiring.”
The Essentials That Follow Her Everywhere
Sawayama revealed that she is surprisingly organized about her travels. She packs her underwear and socks in Muji fabric boxes so she can transfer them directly to a suitcase. She also packs her clothes on hangers.
“I never wear as many outfits as I think I’m going to wear,” she said, so that extra space is taken up by the hangers.
Her studio and set essentials are equally obsessive. She carries a million notebooks, including several Moleskines, which she loves because they are available worldwide. She has her preferred pen, complete with refills she knows she can find in Japan.
And then there are the Stanley Cups. “I have like five different ones,” she said. “I have like two in each country.” She doesn’t know why she collects them, but she admits it is tied to her childhood.
What Comes Next for Sawayama
Sawayama is gearing up for 2027, with her third studio album on the way. She is reprising her role as Shimazu Akira in Caine and has a recurring role in Prodigies alongside Ayo Edibiri and Will Sharpe.
The Haku partnership adds another layer to her schedule. The campaign, “Made to Shine,” launches with the exclusive party she helped design.
Sawayama’s honesty about her burnout is refreshing. She talked about hitting rock bottom first.
“I feel really grateful that I was able to [take time off], and that my fans are still interested in the music,” she said.
Key Facts Box
- Album: Third studio album, due in 2027
- Role: Shimazu Akira in Caine
- TV series: Recurring role in Apple TV’s Prodigies
- Brand partnership: Haku Vodka, inaugural Brand Ambassador
- Campaign: “Made to Shine”
- Songs written: About 30 to 40 during her recovery period
- Tokyo move: 30 years since she last lived there
Schedule at a Glance
| Event | Date / Year |
|---|---|
| Album due | 2027 |
| Caine role | Reprising Shimazu Akira |
| Prodigies role | Recurring, with Ayo Edibiri and Will Sharpe |
| Haku launch party | Earlier this week |
| Campaign title | “Made to Shine” |
The comeback has been a long time coming, and Sawayama sounds ready for it. The burnout is behind her, the songs are ready, and the Stanley Cups are packed.
Source material: “Rina Sawayama on Releasing New Music After Two-Year Break: ‘I Didn’t Think I Would Return’,” Variety.
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