“Chosen Family,” Rina Sawayama’s soaring ballad dedicated to LGBTQ+ individuals who lost family and friends after coming out, has just gotten a piano-driven makeover courtesy of Sir Elton John. A new lyric video shows Sawayama with flowing, mermaid hair and peony silk gloves, singing beside John in a glistening black blazer.
The new version scales down some of the production of the original. The British singers trade verses over John’s delicate piano playing, before duetting on the triumphant, gale-force chorus: “We don’t need to be related to relate/ We don’t need to share genes or a surname,” John and Sawayama sing, poignantly. “You are, you are, my chosen family.”
“It was such a joy and honor to rework ‘Chosen Family’ with the legendary Elton John,” Sawayama said in a statement. “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!”
John has been a longtime philanthropist and key figure in the LGBTQ+ community. In 1992, he founded the Elton John AIDS Foundation to raise awareness, fund programs, and fight discrimination against those with HIV/AIDS.
Sawayama was featured as one of our most interesting new artists of 2020. You can check out the full list here.
Rina Sawayama Tour Dates 2021
9/28 – San Francisco, CA @ Great American Music Hall
9/29 – San Francisco, CA @ Great American Music Hall
10/5 – Portland, OR @ Holocene
10/6 – Seattle, WA @ Washington Hall
10/12 – Denver, CO @ Globe Hall
10/13 – Denver, CO @ Globe Hall
10/15 – Minneapolis, MN @ Fine Line
10/16 – Chicago, IL @ Bottom Lounge
10/18 – Toronto, ON @ Mod Club
10/19 – Montreal, QC @ Corona
10/20 – Boston, MA @ Royale
10/22 – Washington, DC @ Union Stage
10/23 – Philadelphia, PA @ The Foundry at The Fillmore
10/24 – Brooklyn, NY @ Brooklyn Steel
10/25 – Brooklyn, NY @ Brooklyn Steel
11/9 – Manchester, UK @ Albert Hall
11/11 – Leeds, UK @ Beckett Students’ Union
11/13 – Glasgow, Scotland @ SWG3 TV Studio
11/15 – Birmingham, UK @ Institute
11/16 – London, UK @ Electric Brixton
11/17 – London, UK @ Roundhouse
*All original tickets honored
*Tickets from previously scheduled San Francisco show will be honored on 9/28*tickets from previously scheduled Webster Hall show will be honored at Brooklyn Steel 10/24
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