[Japanese Perspective] "Global Stars Beyond Japan": The Band 'Yoasobi' Dominating Billboard and Oricon

A Unique Concept: Turning Novels into Songs
English Version Released to Celebrate Global Fans

Famous Korean idol groups such as BTS are now targeting the global market, making their way onto the Billboard charts. Recently, Japan has also seen a surge in the J-POP wave, with a sensational band dominating platforms like Spotify and Billboard Global (excluding the US), drawing significant attention.

This band gained widespread attention by singing the theme song for the anime "Oshi no Ko." The song has become popular not only in Korea but also worldwide, leading to the recent release of an English version.

Let me introduce you to "Yoasobi," a two-member co-ed band that currently tops the Japanese music charts.

Yoasobi member photo. (Photo by Ikura Official Instagram)

Yoasobi is a unique two-member co-ed band with the concept of "turning novels into music." Ayase, born in 1994, is responsible for songwriting and composition, while Ikura, a female singer-songwriter born in 2000, serves as the vocalist.

Their formation began through a novel submission website. A staff member from the online novel submission site approached Ayase with the idea of creating a "unit that turns novels into music." Ayase then discovered Ikura's performance videos on social media and reached out to her.

The group name "Yoasobi" (夜遊び) means "night play" in Japanese. Considering that Ayase was a university student before becoming a singer-songwriter, they regarded their individual main jobs as "daytime" and their activities together as "nighttime." The idea was to enjoy their collaborative time freely, as if going out to various places at night.

Their debut song, "Yoru ni Kakeru" ("Racing into the Night"), became the fastest track to surpass 700 million streams on the Oricon streaming ranking. This song was also adapted from a novel called "Thanatos no Yuwaku" ("The Temptation of Thanatos"). The novel starts with a serious depiction of a protagonist attempting to end their own life, but Yoasobi aims to express the grotesque and sense of alienation hidden within beauty. This is reflected in the song’s fast tempo and the chorus that appears less than a minute after the song begins.

A screenshot of the YouTube Korea ranking uploaded on Yoasobi's Twitter. Yoasobi's song "Idol" took first place. (Photo by Yoasobi official Twitter)

From their debut, Yoasobi achieved massive success and began to rise rapidly. In particular, the theme song "Idol" for "Oshi no Ko" marked the peak of their career. The Japanese version of this song reached No. 1 on Billboard Japan's "Hot 100," charted on Spotify Global Top 200, and Apple Music Global Daily Top 100. The music video has surpassed 100 million streams and ranked sixth in global music video popularity, demonstrating remarkable achievements. Recently, the English version was also released, further boosting its popularity.

One reason behind the popularity of "Idol" is the different meanings the word "Ai" carries in various countries. Like their other works, this song was also adapted from an original novel, with lyrics written from the perspective of the anime’s main character, Hoshino Ai.

The protagonist's name, "Ai," is read as "love" (愛) in Japanese, while in English, it is pronounced as "I," meaning oneself. This wordplay has contributed to attracting global fans beyond Japan.

Because their songs are based on novels, the composition process involves meeting with the original authors to align their interpretations of the work and carefully considering the appropriate vocal tone for each character.

What stands out is their interest in K-POP, as revealed in interviews. While their music is based on melodies familiar to Japanese listeners, they have expressed a desire to incorporate the latest trends from overseas. In fact, in an interview with Billboard Japan, they directly mentioned groups like Mamamoo and IZ*ONE.

There is growing anticipation for what kind of music these rising J-POP stars will release in the future. Perhaps such soft power is breaking down the barriers between countries.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.