Rina Sawayama's 'Chosen Family' Is The Budding Queer Anthem Uniting Global Fans

By Hugh McIntyre


“Where do I belong?”


This question opens Rina Sawayama’s touching and heartfelt “Chosen Family,” and it also is one that far also several LGBTQ+ people have had to ask themselves as they navigate existing authentically in a global that still largely sees them as “other.” The query pops up constantly in the lives of these who identify as piece of the community, as they can so often feel uninvited, unincluded, or unwelcome at school, in the workplace, or worst of all, at residence. According to the Trevor Project, queer youth are “almost five times as likely to have attempted suicide compared to heterosexual youth.”


“I lost relationships with a notable amount of my actual family member soon after coming out, which was devastating for me at the time,” explained Elvis, a queer 23-year-old Sawayama fan from Dallas, Texas. “But over the years I've Been blessed to meet people that I'm lucky enough to right now know as my chosen family.”


Elvis is one of several young people around the world who have noticed solace in Sawayama’s “Chosen Family,” an ode to dedicating love and attention to those who deserve it, no matter where they come from. Because the singer croons on the chorus of the budding LGBTQ+ anthem, “We don't need to be related to relate / We don't need to share genes or a surname.”


“Chosen Family” is featured on the Japanese-English singer-songwriter’s debut full-length Sawayama, which was released in mid-2020 to widespread essential acclaim. The 13-song set is one of the most diverse releases in the pop field in terms of genre exploration, because the musician jumps from late-‘90s teenybopper pop to nu-metal to balladry. That might sound like a disaster, and in the hands of someone far less skilled, it probably could be. Thankfully, Sawayama pulls the full thing off brilliantly, and her ability to encompass so several styles and references into one project and make it all work sets her apart.


“Chosen Family,” the slowest song on the full-length, has been a fan preference since it dropped, nevertheless it recently grabbed headlines as it was re-released as a duet with none other than Elton John. “‘Chosen Family” is like a hymn,” pianist instructed them New York Times’s T Magazine in a joint interview with Sawayama. “You can hear it being performed by a gospel choir.” The track was written specifically for the LGBTQ+ community, however with the knighted legend on board, it is reaching new crowds everywhere. John’s celebrity has surely helped it spread across the globe like never before, to places where some fans desperately needed to hear it.


“I’m not close to my parents at all. I’m not out to them yet,” confessed Shoval, a 21-year-old lesbian living in Tel Aviv. “They’re religious and I’m not feeling ready right now.”


Upon hearing “Chosen Family” for the initial time, Shoval says she “felt so understood and safe, and the tears began immediately. I was thinking about my chosen family member, my closest companions. ‘Chosen Family’ is our song, our safe place.”


This is, unfortunately, not a unusual story. The Washington Post announced in 2017 that 1.6 million young people experience homelessness in the U.S. Every year; 40 percent of those identify as LGBTQ+. To put that figure into perspective, at the time, LGBTQ+ youth represented just 7 percent of the in general population. Multiple people like Shoval some days have to determine between being open and straightforward with those they love about who they really are or remaining a member of the families they were place on Earth into. That sad fact is what drove Sawayama to pen the song.


“The concept of family member has broadened for me over the years,” Sawayama told MTV News in 2020. “I think a lot of queer people especially, they require to broaden their definition of family member. Often you visualize your family members and it’s not what Hollywood teaches you — it’s not the happy nuclear family member unit. Nevertheless you could grow your own family member, make your own happiness. I have my queer family member, I have my touring family member, I have my label family member. There’s aesthetics in knowing that you could have a much wider family member that’s not just biological.”


“Chosen family member has been a queer concept for a long time,” Sawayama explained further to Pitchfork. “I know people who have been kicked out of their residence because they came out, and the song is all about accepting each other for who they are.” The idea of being ostracized from one’s family member for such an admission is still foreign to several straight people. Case in point, Sawayama claims that there have been times she’s shared the tune with others who assumed it was simply about finding someone to marry, while the true meaning is immediately clear to members of the LGBTQ+ community.


whenever she could might not directly have landed any major wins on charts, damaged any streaming records or maybe seen any of her releases go viral on TikTok, Sawayama right now counts millions of young people all around the world as fans. She was planning on touring her self-titled album in 2020, nevertheless like so several other musicians, she was forced to cancel the trek right after COVID-19 spread like wildfire around the globe. Right now, she has another venture suggested for spring 2022, one that will take her to various countries in Europe and quite several cities in North America. Amazingly, although it’s almost a full year away, several dates on the upcoming tour are already sold out.


moreover to the co-sign from John, Sawayama has also obtained Lady Gaga’s stamp of approval, as she’s set to be featured on the “Rain on Me” hitmaker’s upcoming Chromatica remix album. Specifics about the project are scarce, nevertheless there’s even a rumor she could open for Gaga on her oft-postponed Chromatica Ball tour, which Sawayama herself has publicly stated is a "actual lifetime goal."


It’s not really shocking that Gaga wanted Sawayama on board, because the two occupy a similar space in the pop world. They’re both important favorites, they both permit their rock-and-roll spirit to be heard in the music create, and so they both court the LGBTQ+ audience because they identify with them and respect them deeply. A decade ago, Gaga landed a worldwide hit with “Born This Way,” the opening song in U.S. History to rise to No. 1 on the Hot 100 that mentions the transgender community. Right now, Sawayama has joined her with “Chosen Family,” not by reaching the best of any chart, although by producing a segment of work that shoots right for the heart and describes something not often brought up in mainstream music. There really are several songs that talk about self-acceptance, of loving oneself and being true to who you are, yet Sawayama’s latest single addresses one of the darkest realities facing the LGBTQ+ community, and in doing so, she has helped more listeners than she could ever realize.


“Chosen Family” producer Danny L Harle, known among underground pop fanatics as one of the pioneers of forward-thinking collective PC Music, mentioned he “couldn’t be happier” with the answer the song has procured, including fans who have sought meaning in it while enduring displacement. He told MTV News that he’s “so glad that it helped people in a situation like that” before expressing dismay that some families still turn their own away simply for being LGBTQ+.


Daisy, a 17-year-old resident of Southampton, England summed up the impact of Sawayama’s single beautifully: “‘Chosen Family’ feels like a warm hug to me; a song that washes away all the fear and anxieties that I could have surrounding my identity. The idea of creating your own chosen family member is such an essential and reassuring message, especially to those with experiences like mine who have been outed/disrespected/rejected by those they thought they could trust as a result of coming out.” The track’s impact on so several young lives is clear, and Daisy’s final comment is one Sawayama surely wishes for all her fans: “I have never felt more happy about my sexuality than I currently do.”