When I meet Rina Sawayama at the Royal Vauxhall Tavern, London is boiling in its first prolonged heatwave since 1976. Temperatures have almost reached 90 degrees, and the 150-year-old pub—one of London’s most historic LGBTQ venues, also known for being where Princess Diana, disguised in male drag , went dancing with Freddie Mercury—is bathed in the kind of blistering sunshine that makes your eyes water.

As we meet, it's obvious to me why the British-Japanese R&B pop singer’s team suggested the location be RVT. Sawayama is gearing up to launch her new single, "Cherry," but she is keen to talk about something else instead: her pansexuality.

“I will always want to be honest about my own experiences,” Sawayama emphatically tells me once we’re safely tucked away in a mercifully cool corner of the pub.

Feted by Vogue, the Guardian, The Fader, and Noisey, Sawayama first burst onto the scene as a tangerine-haired, cyberpunk-influenced musician slash model. Tracks like “Cyber Stockholm Syndrome” and “Where U Are” explored romance and alienation in our internet-obsessed society to critical acclaim; “I know you're sad and lonely / But I got one hundred tabs / Open in my mind but closed for business / Just so you're aware,” she croons on “Tunnel Vision,” a track off her debut mini-album, RINA. Pitchfork crowned it one of the 20 best pop and R&B albums of 2017.

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Sawayama’s latest single is best described as a dizzying sugar-rush of confessional pop, with an emotional gut punch lurking in its aftertaste. “Down the subway / You looked my way / With your girl gaze / That was the day / Everything changed,” she sings over joyful synth twinkling. But, as with many Sawayama songs, there’s a bittersweet catch, albeit one set to a hook catchy enough to make Max Martin cry with jealousy. Just as the protagonist of “Cherry” feels that rush of queer desire, she’s flooded with shame: “Even though I’m satisfied / I live my life / Within a lie / Holding on to feelings / I’m not used to feeling / Cos ooh they make me feel alive.”

“I love the format of the late 90s sound and I love the melodies, but obviously back then it was a lot to do with ‘me and this boy and the boy breaks my heart,’ you know?” Sawayama says. “Why can’t you do a bit of politics? I love disguising it in that way.” She takes a long, considered sip of her sparkling water. “Definitely this song, ‘Cherry,’ is my most personal but political.”

Sawayama previously called herself bisexual, but now identifies as pansexual. She’s never spoken on record about her sexuality before, but she figured it was clear to anyone listening to her songs: “I’ve always written songs about girls. I don’t think I’ve ever mentioned a guy in my songs, and that’s why I wanted to talk about it.”