With more than 500 million streams and an international audience spanning Scandinavia to Asia, Danish-Japanese pop artist Mina Okabe continues to expand her reach beyond her home country. Following the release of her second album, Papaya, she is now entering a new creative era with “It’s A New Day,” released October 23 as the first single from her forthcoming third album.
The new track signals a shift away from the dreamy, singer-songwriter-driven pop that has defined much of Okabe’s music so far. While her songwriting remains rooted in personal experiences and emotional honesty, she is embracing new influences, experimenting with her voice, and allowing more playfulness into her sound.
Since releasing her debut single in 2020, Okabe has built an international following through her understated approach to songwriting. Her debut album, Better Days, achieved 4× Platinum certification in South Korea, while her growing profile earned recognition from Spotify, which named her a RADAR artist, and Apple Music, which selected her as an artist to watch. In 2024, she received another milestone when she was named New Artist of the Year at the Japan Gold Disc Awards.
Her international momentum has also taken her to stages across the world, including Roskilde Festival in Denmark, Seoul Jazz Festival in South Korea, and Summer Sonic in Japan. Her second album, Papaya, further expanded that journey, with the record created across Copenhagen, London, and Los Angeles alongside multi-platinum producer Leroy Clampitt.
After establishing her musical identity across her first two albums, however, Okabe began questioning the expectations she had placed on herself as a songwriter.
“After making and releasing my first two albums, I felt ready to experiment. I started asking myself what would happen if I let go of how I think I should sound. I knew from the very beginning of this process that I wanted to try using my voice in different ways, and I found myself being drawn to new ways of describing situations and emotions,” Okabe explains.
That shift has also changed the way she approaches her lyrics. Previously, she often described her songs as diary entries. Her newer material draws more heavily from conversations with friends, covering everything from embarrassing stories after a night out to deeper discussions about life and the future. Musically, she has increasingly gravitated toward rock, folk, and indie pop, finding inspiration in artists including Joni Mitchell, HAIM, Alvvays, and The Velvet Underground.
“It’s A New Day” offers the first glimpse into this evolving direction. Its bright melodies and playful production initially suggest an uplifting pop song, but beneath the surface, the lyrics explore the difficulty of escaping a negative headspace. Rather than presenting an easy solution, the track considers the importance of patience and learning to give yourself room to work through difficult emotions.
“‘It’s A New Day’ is about trying all sorts of ways to get out of a bad headspace but not being very successful at it. I think the overall message is about practising patience and going easy on yourself. It sounds like a happy song, but if you listen carefully to the lyrics, it’s pretty sad. The ending does have some words of encouragement though,” Okabe says.
The contrast between upbeat melodies and more complicated emotions introduces a central element of her upcoming album. Humor and sarcasm coexist with vulnerability, allowing Okabe to approach familiar themes from a different perspective.
“I’m so happy to have this song be the first single from the coming album, because I think the sarcasm in the lyrics and the playfulness in the melodies and production give a good introduction to what’s to come,” she adds.
Written alongside Nick Madsen and Mads Koch, “It’s A New Day” also reunites Okabe with two collaborators who helped shape several songs on Better Days. After spending time apart creatively, the trio returned to the studio with new perspectives. The writing process proved more experimental than usual, with the song repeatedly reworked over several days rather than taking shape around a guitar or piano in a single session.
“It felt like a puzzle we were trying to solve. It has been really fun to challenge myself with different ways of writing and to be okay with the process taking time,” Okabe says.
As she prepares to release her third album, Mina Okabe is moving beyond the expectations that shaped her earlier work. Where Better Days and Papaya reflected experiences from her early twenties, her next project explores a new stage of personal and creative growth.
The emotional honesty that has connected Okabe with listeners remains central to her music, but she is now giving herself more freedom to experiment with how those feelings take shape. Describing the new chapter in three words, she points to a direction that is playful, honest, and emotional. With “It’s A New Day,” Okabe opens the door to a fresh sound while staying connected to the sincerity that has defined her career.
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