Chosen Family

Single by Rina Sawayama

"**Chosen Family**" is the fourth single and twelfth track from Rina Sawayama's debut studio album *Sawayama* (2020). The single, written by Sawayama and produced by Danny L Harle, was released on 3 April 2020 under Dirty Hit.

## Background

Prior to the single's release, Sawayama leaked its chords and lyrics so that fans create their own versions of the track. She also released a video featuring her favourite fan made versions of the track as well as a tutorial of how to play the song on the guitar.

Sawayama said about the song:

> I wrote this thinking about my chosen family, which is my LGBTQ sisters and brothers. I mean, at university, and at certain points in my life where I’ve been having a hard time, the LGBTQ community has always been there for me. The concept of chosen family has been long-standing in the queer community because a lot of people get kicked out of their homes and get ostracized from their family for coming out or just living true to themselves. I wanted to write a song literally for them, and it’s just a message and this idea of a safe space—an actual physical space.
>
> — via Apple Music

## "**Chosen Family (with Elton John)**"

Single artwork

Single by Rina Sawayama, Elton John

## from the album *Sawayama (Deluxe)*

### Label

Dirty Hit

In June 2020, following the release of Sawayama's debut studio album, English iconic musician Elton John called the album "the strongest album of the year so far," and that "every single track is great". On 1 December 2020, Sawayama played an acoustic version "Chosen Family" with her bandmate Vic Jamieson, on John's World AIDS Day TikTok livestream. That same month, Sawayama and John started working on a reworked version of the song, "after a 2 week quarantine and lots of testing".

The updated piano acoustic version of "Chosen Family" with Elton John was released on 14 April 2021, accompanied by a lyric video of the two performing the song. This version is featured on the deluxe edition of Sawayama's debut album, *Sawayama* and is the fifth track on John's 2021 album *The Lockdown Sessions*.

## Live performances

Sawayama performed an acoustic version of "Chosen Family" during Elton John's World AIDS Day livestream on 1 December 2020, accompanied by London-based guitarist Vic Jamieson. They also performed the song on the 2020 Attitude Awards.

It is also part of the regular set list of the Dynasty Tour, which began on 8 November 2021 in Dublin, Ireland.

## Lyrics

*Where do I belong?*

Tell me your story and I'll tell you mine

I'm all ears, take your time, we've got all night

Show me the rivers crossed, the mountains scaled

Show me who made you walk all the way here

Ooh

Settle down, put your bags down

Ooh

You're alright now

We don't need to be related to relate

We don't need to share genes or a surname

You are, you are

My chosen, chosen family

So what if we don't look the same?

We been going through the same thing, yeah

You are, you are

My chosen, chosen family

Hand me a pen and I'll rewrite the pain

When you're ready, we'll turn the page together

Open a bottle, it's time we celebrate

Who you were, who you are

We're one and the same, yeah, yeah

We don't need to be related to relate

We don't need to share genes or a surname

You are, you are

My chosen, chosen family

So what if we don't look the same?

We been going through the same thing, yeah

You are, you are

My chosen, chosen family

I chose you

You chose me

I chose (Chosen family)

I chose you

You chose me

We're alright now

We don't need to be related to relate

We don't need to share genes or a surname

You are, you are

My chosen, chosen family

So what if we don't look the same?

We been going through the same pain, yeah

You are, you are

My chosen, chosen family

We don't need to be related to relate

We don't need to share genes or a surname

You are, you are

My chosen, chosen family

So what if we don't look the same?

We been going through the same pain, yeah

You are, you are

My chosen, chosen family

We don't need to be related to relate

We don't need to share genes or a surname

You are, you are

My chosen, chosen family

So what if we don't look the same?

We been going through the same pain, yeah

You are, you are

My chosen, chosen family

## References

1. ↑ "Rina Sawayama asks fans to interpret her next single ‘Chosen Family’ and shares chords online". *NME*.
2. ↑ "Rina Sawayama Celebrates Her Queer 'Chosen Family' on Uplifting New Single: Listen". *Billboard*.
3. ↑ "SAWAYAMA by Rina Sawayama on Apple Music". Apple Music.
4. ↑ Rina Sawayama Updates (@rinasawaupdates) (16 June 2020). "Rina Sawayama Updates on Twitter". Twitter. Retrieved on September 1, 2021. “Elton John on SAWAYAMA: “This is my favourite album of the year. Thank you so much for a great album. When you do play live.. i’ll be there front row, i’m such a huge fan. Thank you Rina for everything. I adore you and will be playing your album to death for the next few months.””
5. ↑ Rina Sawayama (@rinasawayama) (1 September 2021). "Rina Sawayama on Twitter". Twitter. Retrieved on September 1, 2021. “it was a dream come true to re-work Chosen Family with Elton during lockdown last December. after a 2 week quarantine and lots of testing we got in the studio together, and the rest is history.”
6. ↑ Strauss, Matthew (1 September 2021). "Elton John Announces New Album Featuring Nicki Minaj, Young Thug, Dua Lipa, and More". *Pitchfork*. Retrieved on September 1, 2021.
7. ↑ Skinner, Tom (1 December 2020). "Sam Fender and Rina Sawayama to perform on Elton John’s World AIDS Day live-stream tonight". *NME*. Retrieved on July 5, 2021.
8. ↑ Tabberer, Jamie (4 December 2020). "Rina Sawayama performs 'Chosen Family at the Attitude Awards". Attitude.co.uk. Retrieved on June 6, 2021.