YOASOBI

At the close of 2019, J-pop duo Yoasobi achieved swift prominence through their first release, “Yoru ni Kakeru,” which climbed to the summit of the Billboard Japan Hot 100 and earned platinum status. Throughout the following year the pair delivered four additional singles while preparing their initial full-length project.

Producer Ayase, who focuses on Vocaloid productions created with synthesized vocal software, had already built an audience via his own 2018 track “Sentensei Assault Girl” and the EP that followed, whereas vocalist Rira Ikuta—performing under the name Ikura—had previously issued a pair of solo EPs. The two artists joined forces in late 2019 as Yoasobi to create “Yoru ni Kakeru,” drawing its narrative from a short story by author Hoshino Mayo. Once the song spread rapidly through Ayase’s YouTube channel, its official version dominated multiple streaming rankings and reached number one on the Japan Hot 100 by June 2020. Subsequent releases such as “Halzion” and “Gunjou” achieved comparable results, heightening expectations for the January 2021 arrival of the duo’s debut album, The Book.