Character Conversations: thuy and RINI Find New Traction as Artists

thuy and RINI took the time after recent tours and festival performances to discuss their latest accomplishments and projects on the rise. (Photos by Francis Ray.)

While winding down from career milestones they each recently had, singers thuy and RINI sat down to talk about recent career highlights and future projects on the horizon. 

The singer of the viral hit “girls like me don’t cry,” thuy is a Vietnamese American pop R&B artist, who recently performed at Coachella for the first time this past April. While RINI, a Filipino Australian R&B and soul artist who’s known for such hits like “My Favorite Clothes” and “Out of the Blue” spent the last spring touring with 6LACK.

With both artists having the opportunity to perform in front of new crowds in different locales, RINI reminisced on the past performance, stating he cherished the ability to be around new fans who would join him on his music journey. thuy also explained her experience performing at Coachella, explaining the small hiccups she dealt with while singing her set, but also adding how excited she was to perform and watch other musicians. 

RINI wasn’t the only one on the road this year since thuy was a special guest on Ella Mai’s tour. At many shows, she felt an imposter syndrome and self-doubt about how fans would perceive her. Despite this, she was grateful to have her team as a support system to reassure and push her through the concerts in each city. “It was so important that I had my team being like, ‘No, thuy, she chose you for a reason. You’re here for a reason. We got your back 100%.’ And it made me feel so good going up on that stage,” she said.

thuy raved about RINI’s latest single “Miracle” which she said his fans are reacting positively to. This single, which he recorded in Los Angeles, is about letting someone go because it’s not working out. “If you love it, you let it go. If it comes back, then it’s meant to be,” he added as messages attached to the song. With RINI currently working on a new record, thuy who had a chance to listen to the upcoming project stated that She coined this his fun era and adored that fans will get to see a new side of him outside of his usual sultry R&B music.

RINI turned the tables on his friend and asked thuy about her new song “hair down.” She revealed that she is currently working on a new project. For her recent single, she acknowledged the creative and poetic aspects that are key components of her songwriting since all of her songs have a deeper meaning. “For me, letting my hair down was like, ‘Yes, I’m going through so much change in my life right now, but I don’t want to let my anxiety get the best of me and I just wanna let loose and have fun,’” she said.

While RINI said he isn’t huge on posting but has been trying to improve his social media game, thuy gave him pointers about posting. This includes posting different parts of the song and seeing from comments what parts fans enjoy. Tips like that led to the virality of “girls like me don’t cry” which ended in her song being used in a multitude of TikToks and a dance being made based on the track This breakout success took place a year and a half after its release. However the time before the song went viral didn’t feel that long to her because she continuously worked to promote it on her platform.

Check out thuy and RINI’s latest singles in anticipation for more of their music and watch the full video above!