Kenshi Yonezu Crossover J-Pop Superstar's New Album Lost Corner Dominates Charts Across the Globe
NEW YORK, NY (September 11, 2024) – Global crossover J-pop artist KENSHI YONEZU continues to reach new heights with his latest album LOST CORNER, reaching the Top 50 across three Billboard US charts (his highest-ranking effort to date in the US) and the Top 10 on Spotify's weekly Top Albums to debut globally at No. 7 on the list. Available everywhere now, the album features selections from Yonezu's creative output the last four years, including “Chikyugi - Spinning Globe,” his theme to Hayao Miyazaki's Oscar-winning film The Boy and the Heron, “KICK BACK,” his history-making track that became the first-ever Japanese language song to reach RIAA® Gold certification, plus eight brand new never-before-heard songs, including recent singles “RED OUT” and “Garakuta – JUNK.”
Kicking off release week with a bang, the album was one of Spotify's most popular new releases the weekend following its August 21 debut, reaching No. 7 on their Top Global Albums chart and marking the only Japanese artist on the chart for that week. On Billboard's US charts, LOST CORNER reached No. 41 on their Top Current Album Sales chart, No. 14 on the World Albums chart, and No. 35 on the Emerging Artists chart, which is based on multiple charts such as the Billboard Artist 100 and includes new artists who are rising rapidly, surpassing the chart position of “KICK BACK” (certified gold by RIAA) as his highest chart placement to date. On iTunes, the album is currently in the Top 20 across 8 countries and regions, including the US where it sat at No. 3 on their all-genre chart.
LOST CORNER has reached audiences across the world, appearing in New York's Times Square with a giant Spotify ad featuring Yonezu and YouTube Music's Godzilla; while in Los Angeles, his limited-edition “KENSHI YONEZU ‘LOST CORNER’ POP-UP in LA” celebrated the release of the album with exclusive merch by Brooklyn-based art collective MSCHF as well as YouTube Music outdoor ads on Sunset Boulevard. His outdoor Spotify ads appeared across Asia in Manila, Bangkok, Seoul, and Jakarta, even expanding to Spain with specialty Spotify advertisements and LED visuals matched to a soccer match between Barcelona and Valladolid at FC Barcelona's stadium. Meanwhile, in Mexico City, a giant outdoor advertisement appeared to commemorate the album release, while in Hong Kong, album cover posters could be seen on streets everywhere, quickly reaching viral status on social media and showcasing the worldwide anticipation and reaction to LOST CORNER.
No stranger to the world of fashion, Kenshi Yonezu has also announced an exclusive line of graphic tees in collaboration with UNIQLO, as part of their ongoing UT series celebrating pop culture from around the world. All captured on the canvas of UT, the Japanese Culture UT by Kenshi Yonezu will begin selling in stores from September 23rd – more information here. To celebrate the launch of this UT collection, a special AR program will be available to experience at each store. Please check with your local store on the day of release for details.
Yonezu's new world tour – KENSHI YONEZU 2025 TOUR / JUNK – in which the J-pop icon will take his new album across the world with shows in Asia, including his first-ever dome performance in Japan and his first-ever headlining dates in Europe and the United States, with stops in London, Paris, New York, and Los Angeles. To celebrate his biggest tour yet, Yonezu has released a teaser video featuring live footage from his “KENSHI YONEZU 2023 TOUR – FANTASY,” giving fans a taste of what can be expected from his electrifying live performances – watch here. A schedule of dates is below, with venue and ticketing information to be announced shortly.
KENSHI YONEZU 2025 TOUR / JUNK – SCHEDULE:
JAPAN
Thursday, January 9: Miyagi (Sekisui Heim Super Arena)
Friday, January 10: Miyagi (Sekisui Heim Super Arena)
Friday, January 17: Niigata (Toki Messe Niigata Convention Center)
Saturday, January 18: Niigata (Toki Messe Niigata Convention Center)
Wednesday, January 22: Kanagawa, JP (Yokohama Arena)
Thursday, January 23: Kanagawa, JP (Yokohama Arena)
Tuesday, January 28: Aichi, JP (Aichi Sky Expo)
Wednesday, January 29: Aichi, JP (Aichi Sky Expo)
Thursday, January 30: Aichi, JP (Aichi Sky Expo)
Saturday, February 8: Fukuoka (Mizuho PayPay Dome Fukuoka)
Sunday, February 9: Fukuoka (Mizuho PayPay Dome Fukuoka)
Saturday, February 15: Osaka (Kyocera Dome Osaka)
Sunday, February 16: Osaka (Kyocera Dome Osaka)
Friday, February 21: Hokkaido (Sapporo Dome)
Wednesday, February 26: Tokyo (Tokyo Dome)
Thursday, February 27: Tokyo (Tokyo Dome)
ASIA
Saturday, March 8: Shanghai
Sunday, March 9: Shanghai
Saturday, March 15: Taipei
Sunday, March 16: Taipei
EUROPE
Sunday, March 30: London
Tuesday, April 1: Paris
UNITED STATES
Friday, April 4: New York
Sunday, April 6: Los Angeles
In addition to the new tour dates, Yonezu will bring his KENSHI YONEZU 2023 TOUR / FANTASY to movie theaters across the world, with exclusive film screenings beginning in September in 11 cities around the world. KENSHI YONEZU 2023 TOUR / FANTASY was taped during Yonezu's last concert performance held in Yokohama, Japan, at the Yokohama Arena on July 2, 2023. The show features some of his chart-topping hits, including “Lemon,” “Chikyugi - Spinning Globe,” “KICK BACK” and many more, giving fans the chance to experience the raw emotion and passion of Yonezu's music as well as his electric stage presence as it unfolds on the big screen. The film, acquired by Crunchyroll and distributed by Crunchyroll and Sony Pictures Entertainment, will screen from September 24 to 28, exclusively at Regal LA LIVE in Los Angeles, Regal Union Square in New York, Cineplex Yonge Dundas in Toronto, and in select cinemas in the ten markets below.
KENSHI YONEZU 2023 TOUR / FANTASY – SCREENING DATES:
Wednesday, September 11: Seoul
Tuesday, September 24: London
Tuesday, September 24: Paris
Tuesday, September 24 – Wednesday, September 25: Los Angeles
Wednesday, September 25: New York
Wednesday, September 25: Toronto
Thursday, September 26: Sydney
Saturday, September 28: Mexico, Brazil, Peru, Chile (cities to be announced)
KENSHI YONEZU – LOST CORNER
TRACKLISTING –
- RED OUT
- KICK BACK
- MARGHERITA + Aina The End
- POP SONG
- Shinigami
- Mainichi - Every Day
- LADY
- Yumeutsutsu - Daydream
- Sayonara, Mata Itsuka! - Sayonara
- Tomaremiyo - Stop Look Both Ways
- LENS FLARE
- Tsuki Wo Miteita - Moongazing
- M87
- Pale Blue
- Garakuta - JUNK
- YELLOW GHOST
- POST HUMAN
- Chikyugi - Spinning Globe
- LOST CORNER
- OHAYO
ABOUT KENSHI YONEZU
After gaining success with Vocaloid music under the stage name Hachi, Kenshi Yonezu began producing under his real name in 2012. In addition to music, he has attracted attention for his album cover illustrations and video productions. The video for his hit single “Lemon”, the long-running theme song for the TV series Unnatural, is the most-viewed music video in Japan, and topped Billboard Japan's year-end charts for two consecutive years, leaving a mark on music history both in Japan and abroad.
His 2020 album STRAY SHEEP set a record of 1.9 million copies sold with the highest-placing Japanese artist ever to appear on the IFPI year-end global ranking chart. He continued to work tirelessly during the COVID-19 pandemic, including performing as the first Asian in a virtual concert hosted by the online game Fortnite. Collaborated globally with UNIQLO on their UT collection with the storefront collaboration displays in NY and other 8 UNIQLO stores worldwide. He was awarded an AAC Award, listed in Forbes' 100 Asian Digital Stars, and received the Minister of NEWS RELEASE Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology's Art Encouragement Prize for New Artists.
In 2022, he released “M87” as the theme song for the film Shin Ultraman, and “POP SONG” as the theme song for a PlayStation commercial. His single “KICK BACK,” the opening theme for the TV anime Chainsaw Man, made Spotify's Global Top 50, and became the first Japanese-language song certified Gold by RIAA®. He was also selected as the first and only Japanese artist to be a part of the “RIAA Class of 2023”, with which the association summarized the artists who had flourished in the year.
In 2023, Yonezu released “Tsuki Wo Miteita - Moongazing” as the theme song for the RPG game Final Fantasy XVI, and “Chikyugi - Spinning Globe” – the theme song Studio Ghibli's animated film The Boy and the Heron (Academy Award Winner for Best Animated Feature, 2024), directed by Hayao Miyazaki.
In 2024, Yonezu wrote “Garakuta – JUNK”, the theme song of the movie LAST MILE, and released his sixth studio album, LOST CORNER. Yonezu has also announced a new world tour – KENSHI YONEZU 2025 TOUR / JUNK – in which the J-pop icon will take his new album across the world with shows in Asia, including his first-ever dome performance in Japan and his first-ever headlining dates in Europe and the United States, with stops in London, Paris, New York, and Los Angeles.
As for Yonezu's music videos, “Lemon” has surpassed 870 million views, continuing to break the records of Japanese artists. It is one of the 16 music videos of his songs that garnered him a commanding record of surpassing 100 million views each (“Lemon,” “Eine Kleine,” “LOSER,” “Peace Sign,” “Haiirotoao (+Masaki Suda),” “orion,” “Flamingo,” “Kanden,” “Fireworks,” “Paprika,” “Shunrai,” “Uma to Shika,” “Spirits of the Sea,” “KICK BACK,” Foorin's “Paprika” and Masaki Suda's “Machigaisagashi”). He has over 7.26 million subscribers on his official YouTube channel.
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