As MIREI watched the millions of protesters take to the street to demand justice for George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, Tony McDade, and other Black men and women killed by the police, she couldn’t stay silent. So, to help in the fight against racism and to pay homage to one of her personal music icons, MIREI recorded a version of Sade‘s 1992 smash hit, “No Ordinary Love.” Born out of her MIREI TV live stream sessions, MIREI’s “No Ordinary Love” weaves together pop, R&B, and electronica, showing why she’s an exciting new voice and one to watch.
“‘No Ordinary Love’ by Sade had an effect on me when I heard it while sheltering in place,” MIREI shares with HollywoodLife, “so I decided to cover it, and it was well-received! It’s a song about one-way love after sacrificing everything for someone who seemingly couldn’t even care less. In a normal situation, this would just be about an unhealthy relationship, but this time it hit differently. Instead of ‘No Ordinary Love,’ it’s ‘No Ordinary Life’ – people are sacrificing themselves and working so hard, but everything they love was taken by this novel virus.”
“After I covered it, another tragic thing happened in Minneapolis,” continues MIREI, indicating the death of George Floyd at the hands of four Minneapolis police officers. “I am so heartbroken and frustrated by the racial injustice and the system I’m seeing in the US, but my message towards these situations also remains: this is no ordinary love or life. I’m dedicating this song to all the frontline workers for COVID-19 and people who are fighting racial injustices endlessly. All we can do now is to stay strong and keep sending love to each other. So that together we can change the world.”
MIREI is also hoping her version of “No Ordinary Love” can help in the fight for equality. Proceeds from the sale of the song will be donated to the NAACP. “The NAACP has a proven history fighting for these important issues and causes,” says MIREI. “They are also helping Asian Americans who are subject to violent attacks and discrimination due to COVID-19. I’m so honored to get a chance to release my music during this difficult time, but also glad to support people with my donation and spreading the word with my platform.”
2020 was supposed to go different for MIREI. In January, she released Take Me Away, her English-language debut. Then, the COVID-19 pandemic hit, forcing her to postpone her sold-out Japanese tour indefinitely. “Everything was canceled due to the worldwide COVID-19 outbreak, and I needed to find a way to use my time creatively while quarantined by myself,” MIREI shares with HollywoodLife. “I thrive off connecting with my fans, talking with them, and learning new things, so I started live-streaming weekly – it’s now called MIREI TV, and I’m on IGTV every Friday at 7pm EDT. At first, they were just to talk, sing, and laugh together, but it turned into something more like a talk show format.” It was out of these sessions that she first covered “No Ordinary Love,” and it was clear that this was a chance for her to do some real good.
It was also a way to celebrate Sade. MIRE says her video for “No Ordinary Love” is “my answer to Sade’s original video, which is a homage to the Little Mermaid fairy tale. I was singing as much as I could while he searched for me everywhere, finding clues from the videos of me, but I was stuck in his phone’s display. It’s all filmed throughout Tokyo -I’m sure you’ll enjoy how beautiful the city is. I’ve made it the center point for all of my videos…there might be a connection there, almost a prequel to the others. You can experience how it feels stuck in Tokyo, it’s beautiful but frustrating.”
“No Ordinary Love” is out now.