is the debut single 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 debut EP, '' The Book'' (2021). It was released on December 15, 2019, 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 based on ''Thanatos no Yūwaku'' ("An Invitation from

Thanatos In Greek mythology, Thanatos (; grc, Θάνατος, pronounced in "Death", from θνῄσκω ''thnēskō'' "(I) die, am dying") was the personification of death. He was a minor figure in Greek mythology, often referred to but rarely appe ...

"), a short story written by Mayo Hoshino, and published on the novel-centered 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 ...

, which won the Sony Music Award, and the Grand Prize from Monocon 2019. The song and story depict a man who is fascinated by a personification of death, Thanatos, who sent him a message "goodbye" and he tries to stop his girlfriend from

suicide by jumping Jumping from a dangerous location, such as from a high window, balcony, or roof, or from a cliff, dam, or bridge, is an often used suicide method in some countries. Many countries have noted suicide bridges such as the Nanjing Yangtze River Brid ...

. The English version, titled "Into the Night", was released on July 2, 2021, the same day as their tenth single " Sangenshoku" and the stand-alone single version of "

Encore An encore is an additional performance given by performers after the planned show has ended, usually in response to extended applause from the audience.Lalange Cochrane, in ''Oxford Companion to Music'', Alison Latham, ed., Oxford University Pres ...

", as Yoasobi's first English song. It was translated by Konnie Aoki.

Reception

The accompanying music video of "Yoru ni Kakeru" was published on Ayase's YouTube channel on November 16, 2019 and its view count surpassed 10 million in 5 months. Soon after its release, the song topped the popularity charts on

Spotify Spotify (; ) is a proprietary Swedish audio streaming and media services provider founded on 23 April 2006 by Daniel Ek and Martin Lorentzon. It is one of the largest music streaming service providers, with over 456 million monthly active us ...

and

Line Music Line Music (stylized as LINE MUSIC) is a subscription-based music streaming service by Line Corporation that combines existing Line Messenger app with the entertainment system that users not only can stream the music on-demand, but users can shar ...

, as well as went viral on

social media Social media are interactive media technologies that facilitate the creation and sharing of information, ideas, interests, and other forms of expression through virtual communities and networks. While challenges to the definition of ''social medi ...

such as

TikTok TikTok, known in China as Douyin (), is a short-form video hosting service owned by the Chinese company ByteDance. It hosts user-submitted videos, which can range in duration from 15 seconds to 10 minutes. TikTok is an international version ...

during

COVID-19 pandemic in Japan Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. The disease quickly ...

began. "Yoru ni Kakeru" peaked at number one on the ''Billboard'' Japan Hot 100 for the issue date of June 1, 2020, and topped for three consecutive weeks, total six weeks. The song finished 2020 as the year's top Japan Hot 100 song, becoming the first single not released on CD to top the year-end chart. The song certified diamond for streaming 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 Association, and adopted its current name in 1969. The RIAJ's activities include pr ...

(RIAJ) on October 25, 2021, making it the first ever diamond-certified song for streaming in RIAJ history.

Live performances

On May 15, 2020, Yoasobi's member Ikura appeared on the

YouTube YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...

channel ''

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 shot, mediu ...

'' to perform the re-arranged version of "Yoru ni Kakeru", as ''The Home Take''. Yoasobi gave the televised debut performance of "Yoru ni Kakeru" as a duo with band members at 71st NHK Kōhaku Uta Gassen on December 31, broadcast from Kadokawa Culture Center. During their first EP ''The Book'' promotion in 2021, they also performed the song at '' CDTV Live! Live!'' on January 18, alongside "

", and ''

Music Station is a Japanese music television program. Broadcasting live weekly on TV Asahi since October 24, 1986, it currently airs from 9PM-10PM on Fridays. The program is also colloquially known as , , and . The show is currently syndicated throughout th ...

'' on January 22.

Accolades

Track listing

* Digital download and streaming # – 4:21 * Digital download and streaming (English version) # "Into the Night" – 4:22

Credits and personnel

Credits adapted from ''The Book'' liner notes. * Ayase – songwriter, producer * Ikura – vocals * Takeruru – guitar * Mayo Hoshino – based story writer * Takayuki Saitō – vocal recording * Masahiko Fukui – mixing * Niina Ai – music video animation, cover artwork design

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Release history

References

External links

''Thanatos no Yūwaku'' on Monogatary

''An Invitation from Thanatos'' on the official website
{{Yoasobi 2019 debut singles 2019 songs Billboard Japan Hot 100 number-one singles Internet memes introduced in 2020 Japanese-language songs Songs about nights Songs about suicide Sony Music Entertainment Japan singles Viral videos Yoasobi songs