is a song by Japanese singer-songwriter

Kenshi Yonezu is a Japanese musician, singer-songwriter, record producer and illustrator who began releasing Vocaloid music under the stage name in 2009. In 2012, he debuted under his real name, releasing music with his own voice. He has sold at least 4.2 mi ...

. It was released as Yonezu's 14th single on July 26, 2023, by

Sony Music Records , 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 served as the theme song for

Hayao Miyazaki is a Japanese animator, director, producer, screenwriter, author, and manga artist. A co-founder of Studio Ghibli, he has attained international acclaim as a masterful storyteller and creator of Japanese animated feature films, and is widel ...

's animated fantasy film ''

The Boy and the Heron is a 2023 Japanese animated fantasy film written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki. Produced by Studio Ghibli, the film's Japanese title references Genzaburō Yoshino's 1937 novel of the same name but is not an adaptation of it. The Japanese ...

'' (2023).

Background

"Spinning Globe" was written as the theme song for ''

'',

's first full-length directorial work in a decade. It was announced on July 14, 2023, the day of the film's release, as the film had a policy of keeping the content and cast confidential prior to its release. The song was constructed with a small chamber orchestra and Yonezu, who provided the piano track for the song. Miyazaki asked Yonezu to write the theme song four years prior to the film's release after he heard Foorin's "

Paprika Paprika ( US , ; UK , ) is a spice made from dried and ground red peppers. It is traditionally made from ''Capsicum annuum'' varietals in the Longum group, which also includes chili peppers, but the peppers used for paprika tend to be milder an ...

", which Yonezu had produced, on the radio. Yonezu commented that he grew up watching Miyazaki's films, and "Spinning Globe" is a song about ''The Boy and the Heron'' but also a song to give back to Miyazaki.

Release and promotion

The song was released a month after Yonezu's last single, "Tsuki wo Miteita (Moongazing)", and roughly a year after his last film theme song, "M87" for ''

Shin Ultraman is a 2022 Japanese superhero ''kaiju'' film directed by Shinji Higuchi and written, co-produced, and co-edited by Hideaki Anno. A reimagining of ''Ultraman'', the film is a co-production between Toho Studios and Cine Bazar, and presented by ...

''. It was first performed on July 1 and 2 at

Yokohama Arena is an indoor arena located in Yokohama, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. The capacity of the arena is 17,000 and was opened in 1989. The arena was modeled after US sports venue Madison Square Garden in New York City. It is a five-minute walk from the ...

during Yonezu's tour, Kusou, as an unreleased new song, though details were not revealed. Advance distribution of the song began on July 17, 2023. The jacket of the work was extracted from an original frame of ''The Boy and the Heron'' and chosen by Yonezu. The single was released on July 26 with two versions: first version, which has a moss green hard cover with three-dimensional leaf patterns and images of

heron The herons are long-legged, long-necked, freshwater and coastal birds in the family Ardeidae, with 72 recognised species, some of which are referred to as egrets or bitterns rather than herons. Members of the genera ''Botaurus'' and ''Ixobrychus ...

s, and a regular version with a soft cover; both have a photobook with documentary photos as well as a conversation Yonezu and Toshio Suzuki, the film's producer. The music video, filmed in

Yakushima , native_name_link = , image_caption = Landsat image of Yakushima , image_size = , nickname = , location = East China Sea , coordinates = , map = Japan#Japan Kagoshima Prefecture , map_relief ...

and directed by Hiroshi Okuyama, premiered on July 26. Two days later, a video of a conversation between Yonezu and

Masaki Suda , known professionally as , is a Japanese actor and singer. He won the Japan Academy Film Prize for Outstanding Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role. His debut song is "Mita Koto mo Nai Keshiki". Personal life Suda is a close junior to S ...

, who voiced the Grey Heron in the film and had previously collaborated with Yonezu on "Haiiro to Ao", was released. A live video of a surprise performance of "Spinning Globe" at the final concert of Yonezu's tour, Kusou, was released. Animation from

Takeshi Honda is a former Japanese competitive figure skater. He is a two-time World bronze medalist (2002, 2003), two-time Four Continents champion (1999, 2003), and six-time Japanese national champion. Personal life Takeshi Honda was born on 23 March ...

, the animation director for the film, was included in the beginning and end of the video.

Commercial performance

On July 17, 2023, the day of its release, the song ranked first on all distribution sites with a total of 25 titles for daily and real-time rankings. It also ranked first 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 ...

Daily Digital Singles Chart. It ranked third on the ''Billboard Japan'' Hot 100 released on July 26, and first on the ''Billboard Japan'' Download Songs. "Spinning Globe" also ranked first on the Oricon Weekly Digital Single ranking, Yonezu's 14th song to do so, breaking his own record for the most number-one digital singles. In the ''Billboard Japan'' Hot 100 of the following week announced on August 2, the song rose to second place and kept its first place ranking on Download Songs and second place ranking on Hot Animation. It also kept its first place ranking on the Oricon Weekly Digital Single ranking.

Charts

Weekly charts

Monthly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

{{Kenshi Yonezu 2023 singles 2023 songs Anime songs Film theme songs Kenshi Yonezu songs Sony Music Entertainment Japan singles Songs written for animated films