Let's go, girls. The first single from Rina Sawayama's forthcoming album Hold The Girl manages to pack a Shania Twain reference, an over-the-top guitar solo, a rebuke of paparazzi callousness, a kiss-off to haters and Paris Hilton's iconic catchphrase into the space of a single song. A glammy, country-pop inspired banger, "This Hell" is a celebration of community in the face of hardship — flippant towards self-righteous adversaries and earnest about the benefits of sticking together.
Sawayama says she wrote the song while thinking about recent religiously motivated attacks on LGBTQ rights: "When the world tells us we don't deserve love and protection," she said in a statement, "we have no choice but to give love and protection to each other." I, for one, look forward to hearing "God hates us? Alright then! / Buckle up at dawn we're riding" at Pride parties all summer long.
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