Yoasobi (stylized in all caps) is a Japanese music

superduo A supergroup is a musical group whose members are successful as solo artists or as members of other successful groups. The term became popular in the late 1960s when members of already successful rock groups recorded albums together, after which t ...

formed 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 ...

, composed of Vocaloid producer Ayase, and singer-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 ...

. Represented by the slogan "novel into music", the duo has released songs based on

novels A novel is a relatively long work of narrative fiction, typically written in prose and published as a book. The present English word for a long work of prose fiction derives from the for "new", "news", or "short story of something new", itself ...

posted on , a novel-centered social media operated by their label, which is also from various media like novels written by professional authors, books, and letters. After going

viral Viral means "relating to viruses" (small infectious agents). Viral may also refer to: Viral behavior, or virality Memetic behavior likened that of a virus, for example: * Viral marketing, the use of existing social networks to spread a marke ...

on social media, Yoasobi's 2019 debut single, " Yoru ni Kakeru", gave them their breakthrough by reaching atop the ''Billboard'' Japan Hot 100 for six non-consecutive weeks and the 2020 year-end chart, and becoming the first song to be certified diamond for streaming by Recording Industry Association of Japan (RIAJ). It was followed by other successful singles, such as ''

Blue Period Blue Period may refer to: *Picasso's Blue Period The Blue Period ( es, Período Azul) is a term used to define the works produced by Spanish painter Pablo Picasso between 1901 and 1904 when he painted essentially monochromatic paintings in shades ...

''-inspired " Gunjō", and '' Beastars'' second season themes "

Kaibutsu is a song recorded by Japanese duo Yoasobi from their second EP, ''The Book 2'' (2021). It was released digitally on January 6, 2021, the same date as the duo's debut extended play (EP), '' The Book'', through Sony Music Entertainment Japan. As ...

" and "

Yasashii Suisei is a song recorded by Japanese duo Yoasobi from their second EP, ''The Book 2'' (2021). It was released as a stand-alone digital single on January 20, 2021, through Sony Music Entertainment Japan, and released as a double A-side CD single togeth ...

". The group's first two EPs, ''

The Book ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in ...

'' and ''

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 ...

'' (both 2021), both peaked at number two 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 ...

. They also released the English EPs, ''

E-Side ''E-Side'' is the debut English-language extended play (EP) (second overall) by Japanese duo Yoasobi. It was released digitally on November 12, 2021, through Sony Music Entertainment Japan. It consists of performances of eight tracks from the duo' ...

'', and ''

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 ...

''.

History

2019–2021: Formation, "Yoru ni Kakeru" and ''The Book''

Both members of Yoasobi had active music careers before forming the duo. Ayase, a producer, songwriter, and former vocalist of rock band Davici, began using Vocaloid to produce songs. He uploaded his first song, "Sentensei Assault Girl", on the video hosting website Niconico in 2018 and gained popularity with his 2019 song "Last Resort". Then, he released his debut extended play (EP) '' Ghost City Tokyo'' in December of that year. Lilas Ikuta, performing 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 in Yoasobi, is a singer-songwriter and a then-member of the cover group Plusonica from 2017 to 2021. She released her solo

demo CD A demo (shortened from "demonstration") is a song or group of songs typically recorded for limited circulation or for reference use, rather than for general public release. A demo is a way for a musician to approximate their ideas in a fixed for ...

: ''15 no Omoi'' (2016), and two EPs: ''Rerise'' (2018) and '' Jukebox'' (2019) through independent label After School. In 2019, Ayase received an offer from , a novel-centered social media website operated by

, to collaborate on a project to produce songs inspired by novels written on the website. After discussion about vocalists, he found Ikura 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 ...

, where she had uploaded some of her music, and formed the superduo. The duo's name Yoasobi originates from the Japanese word (''yoasobi''), which means "nightlife", as a wish that they could take on various playful challenges by comparing their individual career to daytime and their Yoasobi career to nighttime. The duo uses the slogan "novel into music" to represent themselves. The first song released by Yoasobi, " Yoru ni Kakeru", based on Mayo Hoshino's short story '' Thanatos no Yūwaku'', published on Monogatary.com and won the Monocon 2019. The music video was initially uploaded via YouTube on November 16, 2019, before subsequently being officially released on December 15. During the COVID-19 pandemic in Japan, the song went

on social media as did Ikura's '' The Home Take'' performance on YouTube, bringing it to top several music streaming service charts in Japan. Five months after its release, "Yoru ni Kakeru" ascended to number one on the ''Billboard'' Japan Hot 100 for three consecutive weeks and spent six weeks atop the chart. The single finished 2020 as the year's top Japan Hot 100 song, making it the first non- CD single to top the year-end chart. It also became the first diamond-certified song for streaming in Recording Industry Association of Japan (RIAJ) history, surpassing 500 million streams. "Yoru ni Kakeru" won the Song of the Year at the 2020 MTV Video Music Awards Japan and the 2021 Space Shower Music Awards. Following the debut single, Yoasobi released their second single " Ano Yume o Nazotte" on January 18, 2020. Like "Yoru ni Kakeru", the song also based on Monocon 2019-winning short story, '' Yume no Shizuku to Hoshi no Hana'', written by Sōta Ishiki. The next song, " Halzion", based on Shunki Hashizume's ''Soredemo, Happy End'', was released on May 11. It was marked as the first song collaborated with a professional novelist, whereas the first two were

amateur An amateur () is generally considered a person who pursues an avocation independent from their source of income. Amateurs and their pursuits are also described as popular, informal, autodidacticism, self-taught, user-generated, do it yourself, DI ...

writers, as a promotional project by

Suntory (commonly referred to as simply Suntory) is a Japanese multinational brewing and distilling company group. Established in 1899, it is one of the oldest companies in the distribution of alcoholic beverages in Japan, and makes Japanese whisky. Its ...

to advertise energy drink branded Zone. In the second half of the year, they released the single, " Tabun", on July 20. It was based on the short story of the same name by Shinano, which won Yoasobi Contest Vol. 1. Inspired by the manga ''

'' and based on the brand's short story '' Ao o Mikata ni'', " Gunjō" was released on September 1, to accompany Bourbon's Alfort Mini Chocolate advertisement. On December 18, the duo released "

Haruka Haruka may refer to: People *Haruka (given name), a Japanese given name *Haruka (model) (born 1975), Japanese fashion model Music * "Haruka" (Melody song) * "Haruka" (Scandal song) * "Haruka" (Tokio song) * "Haruka" (Yoasobi song) Other uses * ' ...

", a song based on screenwriter Osamu Suzuki's novel ''Tsuki Ōji''. On December 31, Yoasobi concluded the year at the

71st NHK Kōhaku Uta Gassen The was the 2020 (Reiwa 2) edition of NHK's television special Kōhaku Uta Gassen, held on December 31, 2020, live from NHK Hall (Tokyo, Japan), and broadcast in Japan through NHK General Television and NHK Radio 1, and worldwide through TV Japan ...

with their debut "Yoru ni Kakeru" performance as a duo at Kadokawa Culture Center. All singles released before preceded the duo's debut EP ''

'', released on January 6, 2021. It was added three additional tracks, including " Encore", based on Kanami Minakami's Yoasobi Contest Vol. 1-winning ''Sekai no Owari to, Sayonara no Uta'' and used for

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advertisement. The EP debuted at number two on both the

and the ''Billboard Japan'' Hot Albums, selling over 150,000 copies as of 2021. It topped the Oricon Digital Albums Chart for five consecutive weeks and the year-end chart with 100,000 downloads in 2021 alone, making it the only album to reach this milestone that year. ''The Book'' certified gold for both physical and digital release by RIAJ.

2021: ''The Book 2'' and ''E-Side''

In November 2020, Yoasobi announced that they would handle theme songs for the second season of the Japanese anime series '' Beastars''. Its opening theme "

", was released digitally on January 6, 2021, the same date as ''The Book'', while its ending theme, "

", was released on the 20th. Both songs were based on the anime's writer Paru Itagaki's novels ''Jibun no Mune ni Jibun no Mimi o Oshi Atete'' and ''Shishiza Ryūseigun no Mama ni'' respectively. Later, the

double A-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes; these terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record company ...

CD single of the themes was released on March 24, debuting at number two on the

Oricon Singles Chart The Oricon Singles Chart is the Japanese music industry-standard singles popularity chart issued daily, weekly, monthly and yearly by Oricon. Chart rankings are based on physical singles' sales. Until 2017, Oricon did not track download sales. In J ...

. Their first livestream concert, Keep Out Theater, was held on February 14 at Shinjuku Milano-za former construction site for 40,000 online audiences. "Kaibutsu" was ranked number five on American magazine '' Time'' 10 Best Songs of 2021, becoming the only Japanese act on it. The song also won four awards for Song of the Year (Japan) and Best 5 Songs at the 36th

Japan Gold Disc Award The is an award presented by the Recording Industry Association of Japan The is an industry trade group composed of Japanese corporations involved in the music industry. It was founded in 1942 as the Japan Phonogram Record Cultural Associa ...

in both download and streaming categories. The group released "

Mō Sukoshi Dake is a song recorded by Japanese duo Yoasobi from their second EP, ''The Book 2'' (2021). It was released as a stand-alone digital single on May 10, 2021, through Sony Music Entertainment Japan. Written by Ayase and based on Chiharu's short stor ...

", a 2021 theme song for the Fuji TV's morning show '' Mezamashi TV'', on May 10. It was based on the Yoasobi Contest Vol.3 with ''Mezamashi TV''-winning novel ''Meguru'', written by Chiharu. A song for NTT Docomo's mobile network operator Ahamo commercial, "

Sangenshoku is a song recorded by Japanese duo Yoasobi from their second EP, ''The Book 2'' (2021). It was released as a stand-alone digital single on July 2, 2021, through Sony Music Entertainment Japan. The song was featured as a background music for ...

", based on scriptwriter Yūichirō Komikado's ''RGB'', was released on July 2, as well as the standalone version of "Encore" with cover artwork to commemorate its 100 million streams. In June, Uniqlo's T-shirt brand UT partnered with Yoasobi to produced T-shirts with patterns inspired by the duo's song visuals. To promote the collaboration, they held and broadcast the free livestream concert at Uniqlo City Tokyo, titled Sing Your World, via the duo's official YouTube channel on July 4. It received 280,000 online viewers around the world. On August 9, Yoasobi released the song "

Loveletter ILOVEYOU, sometimes referred to as Love Bug or Love Letter for you, is a computer worm that infected over ten million Windows personal computers on and after 5 May 2000. It started spreading as an email message with the subject line "ILOVEYOU ...

", based on Hatsune's letter ''Ongaku-san e'', which won the Letter Song Project, a contest held in 2020 by Tokyo FM's radio show owned by Japan Post Service, '' Sunday's Post''. In the next month, the duo released "

Taishō Roman refers to the cultural and intellectual movement of Japanese Romanticism during the Taishō era, influenced by European Romanticism. The kanji for ''Roman'' is an ''ateji'' first introduced by Natsume Sōseki. According to the 2009 edition o ...

" on September 15, based on Natsumi's novel ''Taishō Romance'', won Yoasobi Contest Vol.2. Additionally in September, they were chosen to be a mascot for the 59th Sendenkaigi Award, an advertising award held by Sendenkaigi, and held an exhibition, titled Semiconductors Create New Realities, at Ginza Sony Park as part of Sony Park Exhibition. A theme of NHK's SDGs children's television series '' Hirogare! Irotoridori'', " Tsubame", featuring children group Midories, was released on September 15, based on Nana Ototsuki's short story ''Chiisana Tsubame no Ōkina Yume''. Yoasobi's second EP, ''

'', was released on December 1, preceded by the singles released in 2021, and " Moshi mo Inochi ga Egaketara", a soundtrack for Suzuki's 2021 stage of the same name and based on it. The EP debuted at number two on the Oricon Albums Chart, and atop the ''Billboard Japan'' Hot Albums. Additionally, it topped the Oricon Digital Albums Chart. ''The Book 2'' was certified gold for physical release by the RIAJ. Yoasobi held their first face-to-face one-off concert since their debut in 2019, Nice to Meet You, at

Nippon Budokan The , often shortened to simply Budokan, is an indoor arena located in Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan. It was originally built for the inaugural Olympic judo competition in the 1964 Summer Olympics. While its primary purpose is to host martial arts con ...

on December 4–5 for 14,000 offline audiences. The duo participated in the

72nd NHK Kōhaku Uta Gassen The was the 2021 (Reiwa 3) edition of NHK's television special Kōhaku Uta Gassen, held on December 31, 2021, live from the hall A of Tokyo International Forum (Tokyo, Japan), and broadcast in Japan through NHK General Television and NHK Radio 1, ...

on December 31, performing "Gunjō" on the main show with orchestra, and "Tsubame" as part of a special show with Midories and two mascots from ''Hirogare! Irotoridori''. Furthermore, Yoasobi started releasing English-language songs in 2021. The first English single, " Into the Night", translated from "Yoru ni Kakeru" by Konnie Aoki, was released on July 2. After that, they also released three other tracks: " RGB" and "

Monster A monster is a type of fictional creature found in horror, fantasy, science fiction, folklore, mythology and religion. Monsters are very often depicted as dangerous and aggressive with a strange, grotesque appearance that causes terror and fe ...

" in July, and " Blue" in October. All singles preceded the group's debut English-language EP ''

'', released digitally on November 12. The EP debuted atop the Oricon Digital Albums Chart, and number nine on the ''Billboard Japan'' Hot Albums. Yoasobi won two Artist of the Years at the

2021 MTV Video Music Awards Japan The 2021 MTV Video Music Awards Japan were held on December 18, 2021. Main awards Best video of the year Official Hige Dandism - "Cry Baby" Best solo artist video ;Japan Gen Hoshino - "Fushigi" ;International Billie Eilish - " Happier Than E ...

and the 2022 Space Shower Music Awards, and Special Achievement Award at the 63rd Japan Record Awards.

2022–present: ''Hajimete no'' series and ''E-Side 2''

In December 2021, Yoasobi announced a collaboration with four Naoki Prize-winning novelists to write and sing four songs based on the novelists' stories under the theme of "a story to read when you do omethingfor the first time". The collaboration contains Rio Shimamoto's ''Watashi Dake no Shoyūsha'', Mizuki Tsujimura's ''Yūrei'', Miyuki Miyabe's ''Iro Chigai no Trump'', and Eto Mori's ''Hikari no Tane''. All novels were first published as a book, titled ''Hajimete no'', on February 16, 2022, by Suirinsha. The first single of the project, "

Mr. ''Mister'', usually written in its contracted form ''Mr.'' or ''Mr'', is a commonly used English honorific for men without a higher honorific, or professional title, or any of various designations of office. The title 'Mr' derived from earlier ...

", based on Shimamoto's story, was released on the same day the book published, followed by the song based on Mori's novel " Suki da" on May 30. The third song was issued on November 18, titled "

Umi no Manimani is a song by Japanese duo Yoasobi from their EPs, '' Hajimete no – EP'' and ''The Book 3'' (2023). It was released as a single on November 18, 2022, through Sony Music Entertainment Japan, as the third song from the short story collection proj ...

", based on Tsujimura's novel. In late March, the duo released several music projects in the meantime. The first was " Baka Majime", a collaboration with hip hop duo Creepy Nuts, released on March 20, as Ayase and Lilas Ikuta since the song was not based on a novel like Yoasobi's releases. It was followed by their first video album, '' The Film'', slated on the 23rd, containing the duo's three concerts held in 2021, and their enlarged version episode of the documentary program '' Jōnetsu Tairiku''. Eventually, the ballade version of "Ano Yume o Nazotte", featured on

CalorieMate CalorieMate (カロリーメイト ''karorīmeito'') is a brand of nutritional energy bar and energy gel foods produced by Otsuka Pharmaceutical Co., in Japan. It was first released in 1983 debuting with a cheese flavored block. CalorieMate com ...

's television advertisement 2021, ''Midnight Train'', was released on the 30th, to accompany the Smash live action movie based on the novel of the same name that the song is based on. Yoasobi collaborated with Gen Hoshino to perform Hoshino's single " Sun" at '' Kimi no Koe ga Kikitai'' on May 6. Yoasobi partnered with Book Truck in July to launch a pop-up bookstore and café called Tabi Suru Honya-san Yoasobi-gō: Books & Café. In August, the duo participated in three Japanese annual music festivals for the first time: Rock in Japan Festival, Rising Sun Rock Festival, and Sweet Love Shower. They surprise-released the standalone version of "Moshi mo Inochi ga Egaketara" on August 12 to commemorate the anniversary of the stage of the same name premiere. The duo released the opening theme of the Japanese mecha anime series '' Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch from Mercury'', entitled "

Shukufuku , alternatively titled "The Blessing" in English, is a song by Japanese duo Yoasobi from their third extended play, '' The Book 3'' (2023). It was released on October 1, 2022, by Sony Music Entertainment Japan, served as the opening theme of the ...

", on October 1 digitally, and November 9 physically. The song was based on the anime's writer Ichirō Ōkouchi's ''Yurikago no Hoshi''. The duo released their second English-language EP ''

'' on November 18, preceded by " The Swallow", and " The Blessing" in the same month. The duo participated in the overseas music festival for the first time at 2022 Head in the Clouds, held at

Jakarta Jakarta (; , bew, Jakarte), officially the Special Capital Region of Jakarta ( id, Daerah Khusus Ibukota Jakarta) is the capital and largest city of Indonesia. Lying on the northwest coast of Java, the world's most populous island, Jakarta ...

, Indonesia; and Manila, the Philippines in December. They are scheduled to embark on their first concert tour, titled Yoasobi Arena Tour 2023, in six cities throughout Japan, starting in Nagoya on April 5, and concluding in Saitama on June 4. The duo will collaborate with Universal Studios Japan to write and sing a song from the 2023 novel contest held by a student-supporting campaign called Unibaru, under the theme "unforgettable episode in studying age at the park".

Members

* Ayase – producer, songwriter *

– vocals ;Band members * Zacro Misohagi – keyboard chorus * AssH – guitar * Honogumo – drum * Hikaru Yamamoto – bass

Discography

Extended plays

Singles

Promotional singles

Videography

Music videos

Video albums

Concerts

Tour * Yoasobi Arena Tour 2023 (2023) One-off * Keep Out Theater (2021) * Sing Your World (2021) * Nice to Meet You (2021)

Filmography

Television

Radio shows

Bibliography

* '' Yoasobi Novels: Yoru ni Kakeru'' (2020) * '' Yume no Shizuku to Hoshi no Hana'' (2020) * ''Haruka to Tsuki no Ōji-sama'' (2021) * ''Taishō Roman Yoasobi "Taishō Roman" Original Novel'' (2021) * ''Hajimete no'' (2022)

Awards and nominations

Notes

References

External links

* {{authority control 2019 establishments in Japan Female-fronted musical groups Japanese musical duos Japanese pop music groups Male–female musical duos Musical groups established in 2019 Pop music duos Pop music supergroups Sony Music Entertainment Japan artists