Rina Sawayama Opens Up About Being Groomed at 17: 'It Completely Broke My Whole World Apart'

Rina Sawayama revealed the inspiration behind her sophomore album, "Hold the Girl," which stemmed from a place of trauma and hurt.

"This is the first time I'm talking about this, but essentially, through doing sex therapy-sex and relationship therapy-I realized that really something that I thought was a relationship that I had when I was 17, was actually I was groomed," the "This Hell" singer said in an interview.

She went on to explain that it took her so long to realize it because aside from finally receiving therapy, she also happens to be 33 years old, "I was finally his age."

In fact, it was the inspiration behind her song "Your Age," from the 2022 album.

"I remember distinctly how uncomfortable that made me, but I didn't put the two and two together," Sawayama continued.

"And it was through this very intense form of therapy, which I feel so lucky to be able to have access to, that I was able to come to terms with that, and it completely broke my whole world apart."

Rina Sawayama Becomes the Change She Wants to See

Aside from being groomed at such a young age, Sawayama also discussed her experience in school, which led to her feeling so much shame towards her sexuality and self.

"I was so badly slut-shamed, that I developed so much shame around my sexuality, and lost completely my sense of self, I detached from my skin like inside, I don't know how to describe it. But I just felt so afraid of things. And I'd have anxiety attacks."

However, the "XS" singer also reflected on what she could do for her younger self at this age: "I would revisit my 17-year-old self, hold her close, and tell her that it wasn't her fault."

Rina Sawayama on 'Hold the Girl'

It took the singer two years to release her second album after her debut album, "Sawayama," released in 2020.

According to reports, she was hesitant to release "Hold the Girl" because she "just wasn't ready."

She admitted that she "skirted" around the inspiration of her music in interviews for quite some time because it was "triggering" for her, however, it worked out for her in the end.

"In terms of the album, I'm really glad that I decided not to say exactly what it was because I think that would have been quite hellish in terms of talking about it."

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Rina Sawayama