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Chosen Family – Rina Sawayama ft. Elton John
Chosen Family by Rina Sawayama & Elton John is out now!
Today sees London based critically acclaimed recording artist Rina Sawayama release a special rendition of Chosen Family featuring Elton John!
It was such a joy and honour to rework Chosen Family with the legendary Elton John. The song means so much to both of us, and recording it together was such a special experience I will never forget. I got shivers when I heard his voice through the monitor and became emotional when he added the piano parts. Elton has been such a huge supporter from before the album, and when we finally met to record this song we clicked from the get go. I hope people can hear the magic!
Originally produced by Danny L Harle and written by Rina, Danny, and Jonny Latimer, the powerful ballad is an emotional ode to her LGBTQ+ family with the new version also featuring Elton’s iconic vocals and piano playing.
The powerful ballad explores the concept of a chosen family through a queer lens – highlighting the many members of the LGBTQ+ community who have been ostracised by their family, friends or community after coming out find love and comfort in their new ‘chosen’ family.
When I was sent Comme Des Garçons for my Rocket Hour show, I stopped in my tracks and thought, “who is this?” It just blew me away from the first listen. We've since become friends, and it's such a huge honour and a genuine thrill to be asked to duet with Rina. She is just an extraordinary talent. Rina doesn’t just represent the cross-cultural mix of inspiration from which the best music always thrives, but a generation who have grown up with the internet and the entire history of music at their fingertips and mix together whatever they please with real love and understanding, unconstrained by old ideas of genre or boundary. To my mind, she’s the brightest embodiment of this: a brilliant, confidence-oozing, endlessly fascinating songwriter and performer.