is a song by Japanese 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 ...

from their second EP, ''

The Book 2 ''The Book 2'' is the second Japanese-language extended play (EP) and third overall by Japanese duo Yoasobi. It was released on December 1, 2021, through Sony Music Entertainment Japan, eleven months after their debut EP '' The Book'' (2021). It c ...

'' (2021). It was released as a

single Single may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Single (music), a song release Songs * "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004 * "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008 * "Single" (William Wei song), 2016 * "Single", by ...

on August 9, 2021, through

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 ...

. The song was written by

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 ...

and based on Hatsune's letter ''Ongaku-san e'', which won the Letter Song Project, a collaboration with radio show '' Sunday's Post''. "Loveletter" peaked at number three on the

Oricon , established in 1999, is the holding company at the head of a Japanese corporate group that supplies statistics and information on music and the music industry in Japan and Western music. It started as, which was founded by Sōkō Koike in Nov ...

Combined Singles Chart, and number four on the ''Billboard'' Japan Hot 100.

Background and release

On August 30, 2020, '' Sunday's Post'', Tokyo FM's radio show owned by

Japan Post Service , is a Japanese post, logistics and courier headquartered in Tokyo. It is part of the Japan Post Holdings group. History Japan Post was formed on 1 October 2007 after the privatisation of its predecessor, Japan Post. On October 1, 2012, Japan ...

, announced a collaborative contest with

called Letter Song Project to perform a song based on a letter written by listener about thoughts or expectations under the theme "thank you". The winner was announced on July 25, 2021, as sixth-grade student Hatsune's letter, titled , which spells out gratitude for music. The song, titled "Loveletter", was aired for the first time on the radio show on August 1, and released on August 9 to

digital music Digital audio is a representation of sound recorded in, or converted into, digital form. In digital audio, the sound wave of the audio signal is typically encoded as numerical samples in a continuous sequence. For example, in CD audio, samp ...

and

streaming Streaming media is multimedia that is delivered and consumed in a continuous manner from a source, with little or no intermediate storage in network elements. ''Streaming'' refers to the delivery method of content, rather than the content it ...

platforms. Later, the song appeared on Yoasobi's second extended play ''

'', released on December 1. The English version was included on the duo's second English-language EP ''

E-Side 2 ''E-Side 2'' is the second English-language extended play (EP) and fourth overall by Japanese duo Yoasobi. It was released on November 18, 2022, through Sony Music Entertainment Japan. The EP consists of eight tracks from the duo's songs in the E ...

'', released on November 18, 2022.

Composition and lyrics

"Loveletter" was written by

, a member of the duo, and composed in the key of

G major G major (or the key of G) is a major scale based on G, with the pitches G, A, B, C, D, E, and F. Its key signature has one sharp. Its relative minor is E minor and its parallel minor is G minor. The G major scale is: Notable compositi ...

at 100 beats per minute with a running time of 3 minutes and 32 seconds. The song is described as a "magnificent" song that depicts a vivid spread of music and love with various feelings. "Loveletter" featured brass band club from Osaka Tōin Senior High School, who also co-starred in their online concert, Sing Your World.

Commercial performance

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

, "Loveletter" debuted at number one on the

Digital Single Chart dated of August 23, 2021 with 37,281 download units, becoming their seventh number-one song on the chart. The song also peaked at number three on the Combined Singles Chart, and number 18 on the Streaming Chart. For ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

Japan Hot 100 The ''Billboard Japan'' Hot 100 is a record chart in Japan for songs. It has been compiled by ''Billboard Japan'' and '' Hanshin Contents Link'' since February 2008. The chart is updated every Wednesday at Billboard-japan.com ( JST) and every Thur ...

, "Loveletter" opened at number four, behind SixTones's "

Mascara Mascara is a cosmetic commonly used to enhance the upper and lower eyelashes. It is used to darken, thicken, lengthen, and/or define the eyelashes. Normally in one of three forms—liquid, powder, or cream—the modern mascara product has vario ...

BTS BTS (), also known as the Bangtan Boys, is a South Korean boy band formed in 2010 and debuting in 2013 under Big Hit Entertainment. The septet—consisting of members Jin, Suga, J-Hope, RM, Jimin, V, and Jungkook—co-writes and co-produ ...

' "

Butter Butter is a dairy product made from the fat and protein components of churned cream. It is a semi-solid emulsion at room temperature, consisting of approximately 80% butterfat. It is used at room temperature as a spread, melted as a condiment ...

" and "

Permission to Dance "Permission to Dance" is a song by South Korean boy band BTS. It was released through Big Hit Music and Sony Music on July 9, 2021, as a stand-alone single. The song was also included as part of the CD release of the group's previous single "But ...

". It also topped the Download Songs with 31,392 download units, and reached number 17 on Streaming Songs. "Loveletter" also peaked at number 96 on the ''Billboard'' Global Excl. US.

Music video

An accompanying music video of "Loveletter" was initially set to premiere on August 24, 2021, but had been postponed to August 31 due to production reasons. Directed by Satoru Ohno from ThinkR, art directed by Banishment, and animation directed by Ryō Ishii, the music video depicts the various gratitude contained in the based letter spreading on the music with the vivid scene. The music video begins with a girl holding her letter showing her love in music. It continues as she walks through her school until she sees a heart that explodes into music staves as it flies across the sky, and she runs after it. It ends up with the girl's friends joining her, chasing after the music, and enjoying it together with

musical instrument A musical instrument is a device created or adapted to make musical sounds. In principle, any object that produces sound can be considered a musical instrument—it is through purpose that the object becomes a musical instrument. A person who pl ...

s background.

Live performance and usage in media

Yoasobi gave a debut performance of "Loveletter" on music show ''

Songs A song is a musical composition intended to be performed by the human voice. This is often done at distinct and fixed pitches (melodies) using patterns of sound and silence. Songs contain various forms, such as those including the repetition ...

'' on December 2, 2021, alongside " Taishō Roman", and " Tsubame". "Loveletter" featured in the 20th anniversary commercial of Puré, starring

Marika Itō is a Japanese actress, artist, and model. She is a former member of the Japanese idol group Nogizaka46. She has played lead roles in the 2015 film ''Eyes'' and the 2021 film '' It's a Summer Film'', and supporting roles in the films ''Asahinagu ...

Credits and personnel

Song *

– producer, songwriter *

Ikura Red caviar is a caviar made from the roe of salmonid fishes (various species of salmon and trout), which has intense reddish hue. It is distinct from black caviar, which is made from the roe of sturgeon.Nichola Fletcher, ''Caviar: A Global His ...

– vocals * Hatsune – based story writer * Mikio Gōma – bass arrangement * Osaka Tōin Senior High School's Brass Band Club – brass instrument *

Takashi Umeda is a former Japanese football player. Playing career Umeda was born in Kakamigahara on May 30, 1976. After graduating from high school, he joined Japan Football League (JFL) club Seino Transportation in 1995. He played many matches from first s ...

– conductor * Takayuki Saitō – vocal

recording A record, recording or records may refer to: An item or collection of data Computing * Record (computer science), a data structure ** Record, or row (database), a set of fields in a database related to one entity ** Boot sector or boot record, ...

* Masahiko Fukui – mixing * Hidekazu Sakai – mastering * Flat Studio – cover artwork design Music video * Satoru Ohno (ThinkR) – director * Yumi Nakamura – character design, executive animation director, color scheme design * Kaori Fukui – animation director * Aoi Yamane – original animation director assistant * Takahide Ejiri – original animation director assistant * Yū Kaneshiro – original animation director assistant * Fumio Matsumoto – key animation * Yoshito Narimatsu – key animation * Yū Fukuoka – key animation * Naoko Hayashi – key animation * Haruna Hashimoto – key animation * Mitsutaka Echigo – key animation * Tetsuya Yoshimoto – second key animation * Kaichi Baba – second key animation * Kashiwaten – second key animation * Ryūnosuke Kamida – second key animation * Seiko Terashima – second key animation * Yoshi Kirishima – second key animation * Celenecosmos – second key animation * Porkky – second key animation * Leandro Duarte – second key animation * Masashi Makino – in-between animation * Shenron – in-between animation, finishing * FAI – in-between animation, finishing * GK Sales – in-between animation, finishing * Inō Akihiro – in-between animation checking * Saori Murakoshi – color style, color checking * Defer Co., Ltd. – checking assistant ** Hajime Satō ** Ayumi Nakahara ** Yuki Tozawa * Nodoka Kadowaki – production assistant * Banishment (Flat Studio) – art director, 3D CGI * Studio WHO – art production assistance * Sachiko15 – art production assistance * Anhelo – art production assistance * Shūsaku Takayanagi – 3D CGI director, compositing director * V-Sign – 3D CGI * Acca Effe – compositing * Emi Irisa – compositing * Sanneku Animation Co., Ltd. – compositing * Lucas Cisterne – compositing * Toshihide Fujii – compositing * Kiyotake Tamura – compositing * Hironobu Nagasawa – compositing * Tomoyuki Ishiyama – compositing * Shin Kuribayashi (Silver Link.) – compositing assistant * Konbu – compositing assistant * Haruka Wakai – graphic design * Shogo Saitō – production manager * Matsumoto Kohei (ThinkR) – producer * Ryō Ishii (Flat Studio) – animation producer

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Release history

References

External links

* {{Yoasobi 2021 singles 2021 songs Song recordings produced by Ayase (music producer) Songs about letters (message) Songs about music Songs in Japanese Songs written by Ayase (music producer) Sony Music Entertainment Japan singles Yoasobi songs