"Imagining" is a song recorded by Rina Sawayama, taken from her sophomore album Hold the Girl, which was released on 16 September 2022 through Dirty Hit.
The song's title was revealed by Sawayama on an Instagram post in June 2022.[4]
An alternative version of the song, featuring Ghanaian-American singer Amaarae, was included on the Bonus edition of Hold the Girl, released on 8 December 2023
Composition[]
So much of the confusion around so many mental health issues is that you don't know if it's real, and you assume that everyone else is feeling this way, so you minimize what you're experiencing.
— Sawayama on "Imagining" for Apple Music[5]
"Imagining" is an UK garage[1][2] track with nu-metal influences,[6] that sees Sawayama addressing a mental health crisis and captures a loss of control[3] featuring a hyperpop chorus that "documents an anxious fever dream."[7][2]
Sawayama thought that "Imagining" is "like being in a club and feeling completely lost," which is the energy she wanted for its production. "It's very repetitive, the chorus is really shouty, and the lyrics don't make the most sense. It's sensory overload," she added.[5] According to Abigail Firth, from Dork magazine, "Imagining" is "one for the Rina EP stans". She wrote, "boasting pitched up vocals and a nu-metal chorus that explores her self esteem".[6] Neil Z. Young from AllMusic felt that the song fuses PVRIS' alterna-synth attack and Charli XCX's future-pop sheen with urgent alt-rock riffs and '90s house beats.[8]
Critical reception[]
On his review of the album Hold the Girl, Sam Franzini from The Line of Best Fit felt that the album's best moments come "when Sawayama is not afraid to experiment with her already multidimensional sound". He expatiated, "even though some tracks like the bouncy, pitched-up 'Imagining' would be familiar to hyperpop listeners, it feels like she is, once again, expanding her palette even farther than it has previously gone."[9]
Lyrics[]
Could we be imagining?
Could we be imagining?
Could we be—
Wide awake
Didn't mean to lose my precious mind today (Mind today)
Sick and tired of waking up so far away (So far away)
I don't know if Mercury's in retrograde
Am I okay? Nah
I don't wanna get too close, shit gets complicated (Ah)
I don't wanna take it off, emotionally naked (Ah)
Really don't feel too good, fake it till you make it (Ah)
I don't wanna talk right now, got me agitated
I'm imagining
So tell me, what the fuck is up? What's happening?
Right now, my sanity is gone, it's vanishing
I know I do this to myself, it's damaging
I-I-I-I-I, I'm imagining
So tell me, what the fuck is up? What's happening?
Right now, my sanity is gone, it's vanishing
I know I do this to myself, it's damaging
I-I-I-I-I (Oh)
Could we be imagining?
I-I-I-I-I
B-bellyachеs, lidocaine
Suddenly, I find it hard to concentratе, yeah
Struggling to recognize the sight of me, ooh
I just wanna short-circuit the night away
Am I okay? Nah
Related Songs
Mourir au large (sunset version)
Safia Nolin
Send My Love To John
Rina Sawayama
Frankenstein
Rina Sawayama
[Pre-Chorus]
I don't wanna get too close, shit gets complicated (Ah)
I don't wanna take it off, emotionally naked (Ah)
Really don't feel too good, fake it till you make it (Ah)
I don't wanna talk right now, got me agitated
I-I-I-I-I-I-I'm imagining
So tell me, what the fuck is up? What's happening?
Right now, my sanity is gone, it's vanishing
I know I do this to myself, it's damaging
I-I-I-I-I, I'm imagining
So tell me, what the fuck is up? What's happening?
Right now, my sanity is gone, it's vanishing
I know I do this to myself, it's damaging
I-I-I-I-I, I'm imagining
So tell me, what the fuck is up? What's happening?
Right now, my sanity is gone, it's vanishing
I know I do this to myself, it's damaging
Could we be imagining? (Could I be imagining?)
Could we be imagining? (Could I be imagining? I-I-I-I)
Could we be imagining? (Could I be imagining?)
Could we be imagining? (Could I be imagining?)
Could we be imagining? (Could I be imagining? Yeah)
Could we be imagining? (Could I be imagining? Yeah)
Could we be imagining?
Could we be imagining?
–ing, –ing, –ing, –ing (Could I be imagining? Yeah)
(Could I be imagining? Yeah)
(Could I be imagining? Yeah)
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Mylrea, Hannah (16 September 2022). "Rina Sawayama – 'Hold the Girl': the NME review". NME. Retrieved on March 10, 2024.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Young, Martyn (16 September 2022). "Rina Sawayama – Hold The Girl | Album Reviews". musicOMH. Retrieved on March 10, 2024.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Zoladz, Lindsay (15 September 2022). "For the Gloriously Over-the-Top Rina Sawayama, Less Is Less". The New York Times. Retrieved on March 10, 2024.
- ↑ Rina Sawayama [@rinasonline] (30 June 2022). "Rina Sawayama on Instagram". Instagram. Retrieved on July 4, 2022. “signed so many Hold The Girl CDs !!!! gonna sign lots of vinyls soon too 😵💫😵💫😵💫 it looks stunning omg 😭😭😭 my baby 😭😭😭”
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Rina Sawayama. "Hold The Girl by Rina Sawayama on Apple Music". Apple Music. Dirty Hit. Retrieved on September 22, 2022.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Firth, Abigail (16 September 2022). "Rina Sawayama - Hold The Girl". Dork. Retrieved on March 10, 2024.
- ↑ Siroky, Mary (14 September 2022). "Hold the Girl Album Review: Rina Sawayama's Healing Pop". Consequence. Retrieved on March 10, 2024.
- ↑ Yeung, Neil Z.. "Hold the Girl - Rina Sawayama | Album". AllMusic. Retrieved on March 10, 2024.
- ↑ Franzini, Sam (15 September 2022). "Rina Sawayama: Hold The Girl review - sharpens her sound while leaving room for experimentation". The Line of Best Fit. Retrieved on March 10, 2024.
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