Singer-songwriter Mitski Miyawaki (known by her first name) has found a rush of popularity from the app Tik Tok. The common trend of running from the camera as her song, “Nobody” plays, is what sparked the world to her attention. Her official ‘sound’ on the platform has been used to create 496.2 thousand videos on the Tik Tok app alone.

Mitski has now come out of her two-year musical hiatus as of Oct. 5, 2021 with her song “Working For The Knife.” This song was very unexpected from her and was not brought to her fan’s attention until Oct. 4, 2021 by a post to her Instagram. 

“Working For The Knife” is a highly relatable song to most individuals. Mitski explains how creative outlets are silenced by the day-to-day life of the average person. In the very beginning of her song, she says “I cry at the start of every movie, I guess ’cause I wish I was making things too, but I’m working for the knife.” The power held in this lyric adds great value to the song overall and shows the struggles of a creative block.

What is the knife exactly? Well, the knife is referring to a grueling nine to five job most Americans work. Jobs of this nature lock employees in cubicle environments with blank walls to sit in their own thoughts while allowing no expression. The knife could also be referring to even worse off jobs such as sweatshops due to the fact it is never truly clarified within the song. 

The ending of her song explains how although ‘the knife’ is the most practiced way of work, it is not the only option. Mitski says, “I always thought the choice was mine, and I was right I just chose wrong,” showing her audience that they have different paths they can take instead of the traditional route.

Although the nature of the song is very sad,it shows beauty in the way such a negative emotion is portrayed. It shows there is light in dark places and that there is such a thing as positivity in negative spaces. Without her creative oppression, this song would never have been a piece of art for the world to endure, along with the idea that individuality has the ability to shine through when it is truly granted. 

Along with the drop of her single, a 2022 tour was released. Mitski will be traveling to North America and the United Kingdom for her tour. The tour is scheduled to start on Feb. 17, 2022 and last until May 15, 2022. North American tour tickets were not on sale for a week before they sold out, ticket sales started on Oct. 6, 2021 and were sold out by Oct. 8, 2021. The popularity of this event added an extra tour date in North America with very few tickets still available in the United Kingdom.