is a Japanese

singer Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or without ...

and

songwriter A songwriter is a musician who professionally composes musical compositions or writes lyrics for songs, or both. The writer of the music for a song can be called a composer, although this term tends to be used mainly in the classical music gen ...

. She is best known as the vocalist of the duo

Yoasobi Yoasobi (stylized in all caps) is a Japanese music superduo formed by Sony Music Entertainment Japan, composed of Vocaloid producer Ayase, and singer-songwriter Ikura. Represented by the slogan "novel into music", the duo has released songs ba ...

with producer

Ayase Ayase may refer to: Places *Ayase, Kanagawa, Japan *Ayase, an area in Adachi, Tokyo, Japan ** Ayase Station, train station in Adachi, Tokyo People *Ayase (music producer) (born 1994), Japanese vocaloid producer *, Japanese actress *, Japanese foot ...

, under the

stage name A stage name is a pseudonym used by performers and entertainers—such as actors, comedians, singers, and musicians. Such professional aliases are adopted for a wide variety of reasons and they may be similar, or nearly identical, to an individu ...

Ikura, and a former member of the

cover Cover or covers may refer to: Packaging * Another name for a lid * Cover (philately), generic term for envelope or package * Album cover, the front of the packaging * Book cover or magazine cover ** Book design ** Back cover copy, part of co ...

group . After numerous singles and extended plays, Ikuta released her debut studio album ''Sketch'' in March 2023 and peaked at number four on the

Oricon Albums Chart The Oricon Albums Chart is the Japanese music industry standard albums popularity chart issued daily, weekly, monthly and yearly by Oricon. Oricon originally published LP, CT, Cartridge and CD charts prior to the establishment of the Oricon Albu ...

Early life and education

Lilas Ikuta was born on September 25, 2000, in

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...

, Japan, and has three older siblings. She moved to

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

USA The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

, in 2001, living there until she was three years old. Ikuta learned

piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keyboa ...

when she attended the first year of elementary school, and then

acoustic guitar An acoustic guitar is a musical instrument in the string family. When a string is plucked its vibration is transmitted from the bridge, resonating throughout the top of the guitar. It is also transmitted to the side and back of the instrument, ...

in sixth grade. She was also a member of the school's music club from third to sixth grade. Ikuta wrote her first song when she was still at elementary school and performed her first concert when she was a middle school student. She told in a ''Cinematoday'' interview that her wish to become a musician was set when her parents promised to write songs for each other for

Valentine's Day Valentine's Day, also called Saint Valentine's Day or the Feast of Saint Valentine, is celebrated annually on February 14. It originated as a Christian feast day honoring one or two early Christian martyrs named Saint Valentine and, throu ...

and

White Day White Day is celebrated annually on March 14, one month after Valentine's Day, when people give reciprocal gifts to those who gave them gifts received on Valentine's Day. It began in Japan in 1978; since then, its observance has spread to seve ...

. She attended

Nihon University , abbreviated as , is a private university, private research university in Japan. Its predecessor, Nihon Law School (currently the Department of Law), was founded by Yamada Akiyoshi, the Minister of Justice (Japan), Minister of Justice, in 1889. ...

's College of Art in April 2019, and graduated in March 2023. Ikuta has cited

Taylor Swift Taylor Alison Swift (born December 13, 1989) is an American singer-songwriter. Her discography spans multiple genres, and her vivid songwriting—often inspired by her personal life—has received critical praise and wide media coverage. Bor ...

as her major music influence.

Career

2015–present: Solo career

In 2015, Ikuta participated in several casting and auditions, including Singin'Japan hosted by

Sony Music Entertainment Japan , often abbreviated as SMEJ or simply SME, and also known as Sony Music Japan for short (stylized as ''SonyMusic''), is a Japanese music arm for Sony. Founded in 1968 as CBS/Sony, SMEJ is directly owned by Sony Group Corporation and is opera ...

where was selected as a finalist. In 2016, she participated in the new artist training course called the Lesson sponsored by SMEJ and released her demo CD ''15 no Omoi''. She later became a member of

group until 2021. In February 2018, Ikuta made her first debut televised appearance at '. She released her first two extended plays ''Rerise'' in April 2018, and ' in November 2019 through independent label After School. In 2020, Ikuta performed the Japanese version of the end-credit song "Rocket to the Moon" for computer-animated fantasy film '' Over the Moon'', and released new single "Hikari", accompanied Kissme's exhibition ''Atta Koto Aru no ni, Hajime Mashite''. On March 9, 2021, Ikuta released "Answer" for Tokio Marine & Nichido Life Insurance's Anshin Disability Insurance advertisement. She covered

Seiko Matsuda , known professionally as , is a Japanese pop singer and songwriter, known for being one of the most popular Japanese idols of the 1980s. Since then, she is still actively releasing new singles and albums, doing annual summer concert tours, win ...

's "Sweet Memories" for Takashi Matsumoto's 50th-anniversary tribute album '. Ikuta re-released "Romance no Yakusoku", originally from her EP ''Jukebox'', on August 14, accompanied love reality series '. She voiced Hiro-chan in 2021 animated science fantasy film '' Belle''. Additionally in 2021, Ikuta featured on

Fujifabric is a Japanese rock band formed in 2000. While their music can be mostly categorized as alternative rock or power pop, their music usually consists of an eclectic mix of genres, including jazz, disco and progressive rock. Name origin Before the ...

's "Tarinai Sukunai" from their eleventh studio album ',

Tomorrow X Together Tomorrow X Together (, ; Tomorrow by Together, stylized TOMORROW X TOGETHER), commonly known as TXT ( ), is a South Korean boy band formed by Big Hit Entertainment, now known as Big Hit Music. The group consists of five members: Yeonjun, Soobin ...

's Japanese version of "0X1=Lovesong (I Know I Love You)" from their first Japanese EP '' Chaotic Wonderland'', and

Rei Rei or REI may refer to: Arts and entertainment *Rei, a story arc of the anime ''Higurashi When They Cry'' *Rei, a shapeshifting godlike dragon in the Australian webcomic series ''Vainglorious'' *Rei I, II and III, episodes of ''Neon Genesis Eva ...

's "Hōseki", and collaborated with

Milet Miletus (; gr, Μῑ́λητος, Mī́lētos; Hittite transcription ''Millawanda'' or ''Milawata'' (exonyms); la, Mīlētus; tr, Milet) was an ancient Greek city on the western coast of Anatolia, near the mouth of the Maeander River in a ...

and

Aimer is a Japanese pop singer and lyricist signed to SACRA MUSIC and managed by agehasprings. Her name comes from the verb "Aimer" in French, which means "to love". Aimer uses the name aimerrhythm for lyrics credits. Debuted in 2011, she has releas ...

for ''

The First Take ''The First Take'' (stylized as ''THE F1RST TAKE'') is a Japanese YouTube channel that invites singers to perform a song recorded in one take. Concept Videos on ''The First Take'' are filmed in a studio, alternating between medium and close ...

'' "

Omokage is a song by Japanese singer-songwriters Milet, Aimer, and Lilas Ikuta. It was released on December 17, 2021, as YouTube channel ''The First Take'' second collaboration project after Lisa and Uru's " Saikai". Written and produced by Vaundy, th ...

" to advertise

Sony , commonly stylized as SONY, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. As a major technology company, it operates as one of the world's largest manufacturers of consumer and professional ...

wireless Wireless communication (or just wireless, when the context allows) is the transfer of information between two or more points without the use of an electrical conductor, optical fiber or other continuous guided medium for the transfer. The most ...

noise-canceling earphones WF-1000XM4. Ikuta's "Sparkle" was released on January 17, 2022, as a theme for ''Kyō, Suki ni Narimashita: Mikan-hen, Sotsugyō-hen 2022''. She collaborated with hip-hop duo

Creepy Nuts Creepy Nuts is a Japanese hip-hop duo consisting of R-Shitei and DJ Matsunaga, who made their major label debut in 2017. Their single "Bling-Bang-Bang-Born", released on January 7, 2024, as the opening theme for the second season of the anime ...

and

for the single "

Baka Majime is a song by Japanese hip hop duo Creepy Nuts, singer-songwriter and record producer Ayase, and singer-songwriter Lilas Ikuta. It was released as a single on March 20, 2022, through Sony Music Associated Records. The song was featured on the ...

", released on March 20. It was accompanied the ''

All Night Nippon is a Japanese radio program broadcast by Nippon Broadcasting System and other radio stations from 1–5 am (JST). It preempts broadcasts from TBS Radio's programming heard on stations under both JRN and NRN (TBC Radio, CBC Radio, etc.). D ...

'' 55th-anniversary stage ''Ano Yoru o Oboe Teru''. The single "Lens", a theme for TBS drama ', was come on June 14. Ikuta featured on

Tokyo Ska Paradise Orchestra , commonly abbreviated by fans as Skapara or TSPO, is a Japanese ska and jazz band formed in 1988 by the percussionist Asa-Chang, and initially composed of over 10 veterans of Tokyo's underground scene. At the time, the band's sound was unlike t ...

's single "Free Free Free", released on July 27. She was in charge of

Fuji TV JOCX-DTV (channel 8), branded as and colloquially known as CX, is a Japanese television station based in Odaiba, Minato, Tokyo, Japan. Owned and operated by the it is the key station of the Fuji News Network (FNN) and the Fuji Network Sys ...

2022 FIFA World Cup The 2022 FIFA World Cup is an international association football, football tournament contested by the men's national teams of FIFA's member associations. The 22nd FIFA World Cup is taking place in Qatar from 20 November to 18 December 2022 ...

's theme "Jump", came on November 20. In January 2023, Ikuta released "Tanpopo" for

NHK , also known as NHK, is a Japanese public broadcaster. NHK, which has always been known by this romanized initialism in Japanese, is a statutory corporation funded by viewers' payments of a television license fee. NHK operates two terrestr ...

's Drama 10 '. Her debut studio album ''Sketch'' was issued on March 8. It debuted at number four on the

, and number two on the ''

Billboard Japan ''Billboard Japan'' is a sister organization of the U.S.-based music magazine ''Billboard''. It is operated by the Japanese Osaka-based company Hanshin Contents Link (a subsidiary of Hanshin Electric Railway), holding an exclusive licence from ''Bi ...

'' Hot Albums. Ikuta features on

Chiaki Satō is a Japanese actress and musician. She was the vocalist and guitarist for the band Kinoko Teikoku. She was born in Iwate Prefecture, and attended the private Yakumo Gakuen High School in Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially th ...

's single "Senkō Hanabi" from her third studio album ''Butterfly Effect''. The song was released on June 14. She released the single "P.S." for the movie ''1 Byō Saki no Kare'' on July 7.

2019–present: Yoasobi

Vocaloid is a singing voice synthesizer software product. Its signal processing part was developed through a joint research project led by Kenmochi Hideki at the Pompeu Fabra University in Barcelona, Spain, in 2000 and was not originally intended to b ...

producer

, who was asked to form a music project as part of a collaboration with the creative writing social media

Monogatary.com , often abbreviated as SMEJ or simply SME, and also known as Sony Music Japan for short (stylized as ''SonyMusic''), is a Japanese music arm for Sony. Founded in 1968 as CBS/Sony, SMEJ is directly owned by Sony Group Corporation and is opera ...

, reached out to Ikuta after seeing a video on

Instagram Instagram is a photo and video sharing social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. The app allows users to upload media that can be edited with filters and organized by hashtags and geographical tagging. Posts can ...

and asked her if she was willing to start a music project with him, becoming the start of the duo

. Their debut single "

Yoru ni Kakeru is the debut single by Japanese duo Yoasobi from their debut EP, '' The Book'' (2021). It was released on December 15, 2019, through Sony Music Entertainment Japan. The song was based on ''Thanatos no Yūwaku'' ("An Invitation from Thanatos"), a ...

", which was released in late 2019, went viral and became a musical success in Japan which resulted in Yoasobi gaining first popularity in Japanese music scene.

Discography

Studio albums

Extended plays

Demo albums

Singles

As lead artist

As featured artist

Guest appearances

Film

Concerts

* 1st One Man Live: Bouquet (2019) *

MTV Unplugged ''MTV Unplugged'' is an American television series on MTV showcasing musical artists usually playing acoustic instruments. The show aired regularly from 1989 to 1999 and less frequently from 2000 to 2009, when it was usually billed as ''MTV Un ...

: Lilas Ikuta (2022) * 1st One Man Tour: Sketch (2023)

Notes

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ikuta, Lilas 2000 births 21st-century Japanese women singers Japanese women pop singers Japanese women singer-songwriters Japanese singer-songwriters Living people Nihon University alumni Singers from Tokyo Sony Music Entertainment Japan artists Yoasobi members