J-pop has been quietly cropping up on Korean streaming platform charts for some time. Kenshi Yonezu (米津玄師) became a dependable artist after releasing “Lemon” in 2018, and since then, Japanese singers like Aimyon (あいみょん), Vaundy, Fujii Kaze (藤井 風), Yuuri (優里), Ado, Yorushika (ヨルシカ), and imase have been welcomed by the general public over the past five years.  This development can come as a shock to the music listeners who remember the 2000s, when the doors to Japanese culture had been opened wide and enjoyed a brief but intense period of popularity. 

YOASOBI sits at the heart of this new trend. The duo debuted with the song entitled “Racing into the Night (夜に駆ける)” in 2019, and they have since been building a strong fan base. They released “Idol (アイドル),” the opening theme song to the animation called Oshi no Ko (推しの子) which is based on a manga series of the same title in April 12. This single release seems to tell us that their popularity has reached an all-time high. Perhaps it’s because of their lyrics, which are about being the best idol, that not only Japanese but Korean idols are uploading their TikTok challenges and taking part in the trend. Their success is official too. “Idol” topped both the Oricon Weekly Digital and Streaming charts as of June 20. It also topped the Billboard JAPAN Hot 100 and Streaming Songs charts and came in second on the U.S. Billboard Global chart. What could be the reason behind YOASOBI's popularity in Japan, Korea, and beyond?

There are two factors to their success. Firstly, they employ a strategy that makes the people want to listen to their lyrics and enjoy them multiple times over. Secondly, the two members of YOASOBI are armed with skills that they have diligently honed. 

Let’s take a closer look at how they started out. YOASOBI is made up of two members: Ayase who is in charge of writing and arranging the music, and ikura who is on vocals. What is interesting is that the group was formed as part of a project to create music based on fictional stories. Sony Music Entertainment runs a website that uploads novel and illustration submissions called monogatary.com (https://monogatary.com/, monogatari (物語) means story in Japanese). They hold a contest every year called the Monocon and have been creating various content like music and film based on the winning works. In 2019, Ayase was brought in to participate in the project for creating a song from the winner that year entitled An Invitation from Thanos. Back then, Ayase was a producer who was actively involved as a VOCALOID producer like for Hatsune Miku. Ayase who had been looking for the right vocalist found a video of ikura singing on Instagram, contacted her, and YOASOBI was formed.

This duo has many strengths. First off, all of their musical components from the melody, lyrics down to their music video are organically linked because their work is based on short stories. There is a strong foundational base to all their creations which captivates the listeners who get deeply immersed in their universe. Also, their works span a wide variety of universes and genres because they don’t limit themselves to working with one single story or writer. More recently, they have been collaborating with a lot of animations. If a fan wants to, say, look up the analysis of a certain work, they will listen to YOASOBI’s song, look up and read the short story the work is based on, then circle back to the song again, falling into a loop. It’s, really, all quite simple. It is a combination of relatable lyrics that ikura sings in her emotive voice, and Ayase’s signature quick-paced melody and instrumentals that are packed into every crevice of the song. The duo is much more rooted in the basics than the public perceives it to be. Their straightforward sound pierces the listeners’ ears. 

YOASOBI (夜遊び) means nightlife in Japanese. They named themselves so because the two members are devoted to each of their respective day jobs, but they come together at night to enjoy the evening under the name YOASOBI. How far will they take their night-time escapades? One thing is for sure: YOASOBI is taking the world to a new frontier just like Ayase said, “I want to do what no one has done before and see scenery that no one has seen before.”