Japanese-British singer-songwriter Rina Sawayama is a force to be reckoned with her emotive vocals pushing pop into new realms. It's hard to describe Sawayama's music (like all great artists) fully. Still, my best effort is, it is akin to teleporting in a 'Y2K' time machine, mixing the lush pop of Britney with nu-metal Korn, the gothic themes of Evanescence, and the production of late 90's heavyweights Timbaland and The Neptunes. Quite the mix and serves as a reminder of a unique time in music history, at the turn of the century, where all these polarising artists could simultaneously sit amongst each other in the charts. 

To mix all these variegated genres is a challenging feat, but Sawayama seems to do it with stunning ease on her debut album 'Sawayama'. 

Single "Bad Friend" is the most sincere synth-pop track from the album; regarding the song, Sawayama said, "it's about a deteriorating friendship during a trip to Tokyo and, how Westerners come to Tokyo and have a great time but can be very disrespectful to Japanese people."

Finally, someone created the friend break-up ballad we all need and can resonate with!!

With a vocoder Acappella chorus, gospel-inspired middle eight, painfully nostalgic verses (such as the subtle reference to Carly Rae Jepsen's 2012 hit single "Call Me Maybe", and a crescendo soulful choir finale, this is a song that you won't forget in a hurry. It sparkles and shines; it's thought-provoking; it's euphoric and drowned in painful hindsight. "Bad Friend" is a poignantly relatable song for any listener with the message that someone you used to be so close with now lives a life that you can't relate to at all, a painful passing of ships. Such honesty and vulnerability in music are a sight to behold. Sawayama calls herself a 'bad friend' throughout the song, in a candid act of self-awareness. Still, the powerful bridge where she heartbreakingly sings, "Put your hands up if they're bad at this stuff", is a saving grace of taking responsibility and connecting with the listener on a personal level. As it's a situation and emotion we have all sadly experienced, and after all, the great unifier is that we are all confused, flawed people who make mistakes. 

"Bad Friend" is accompanied by a video shot in black and white and has a distinct film noir aesthetic. It sees Sawayama playing a drunken old businessman, quite the experience!!; you can watch it below.