Idol (Yoasobi song)

is a song by Japanese duo Yoasobi from their third extended play (EP), The Book 3 (2023). It was released on April 12, 2023, through Sony Music Entertainment Japan, serving as the opening theme of the Japanese anime series Oshi no Ko. Written by Ayase and based on Aka Akasaka's short story "45510", "Idol" is a pop track with hip-hop elements, depicting the two-faced nature of a star in the Japanese idol industry, as well as perspectives on the anime's character Ai Hoshino from her fans, her B-Komachi's bandmates, and herself. Naoya Nakayama directed the accompanying animated music video for the song, which premiered on April 13 and exceeded 100 million views in a month, the fastest among Japanese acts.

Music critics praised the song as a "perfect" representation of Hoshino. Commercially, one of Yoasobi's most successful songs, "Idol" topped the Oricon Combined Singles Chart and Billboard Japan Hot 100, the latter for 21 consecutive weeks, making it the longest-running number-one song in the chart history. It became the highest charted Japanese act on the Billboard Global 200 at number seven, and the first J-pop song to top the Global Excl. US. "Idol" broke the record for the fastest song to earn 500 million streams in Japan within 28 weeks and was certified platinum for downloads and three-time platinum for streaming by the Recording Industry Association of Japan (RIAJ). The song won Best Animation Video and Song of the Year from the 2023 MTV Video Music Awards Japan.

Background and release

An anime adaption of manga series Oshi no Ko was announced in June 2022. During a livestream on its official YouTube channel on February 19, 2023, the anime series revealed the opening theme which would be performed by Yoasobi, titled "Idol". As a "super huge" fan of the manga, member Ayase stated that he had personally read Oshi no Ko before and written a demo about it in around 2022. It was initially titled "Kyūkyoku no Ōgi", portraying a girl who is the strongest and unbeatable fighter, showing some dark side, reminiscing about Street Fighter character Chun-Li. The demo was originally expected to release as a Vocaloid song, but the plan was changed after the duo received the offer to perform the opening theme; he interwove the demo and the new composition to be the final version.

"Idol" first featured in the anime's trailer, and the full-length version played for the first time in an extended 90-minute first episode, titled "Mother and Children", which premiered on March 17 at selected movie theaters in Japan. After the first show of their Denkōsekka Arena Tour on April 5 at Nippon Gaishi Hall, Nagoya, where they first perform the song, Yoasobi announced that "Idol" would be available on digital music and streaming platforms on April 12, the same date as the anime's televised premiere. A month later, the duo teased a snippet of the English version via video clip uploaded via Twitter, showing Ikura during recording the song in the studio, and later released digitally on May 26. The limited CD single and 7-inch formats of the song was released on June 21, and July 26, respectively. Subsequently, "Idol" was included on the duo's third extended play The Book 3, released on October 4.

"45510"

The basis of "Idol" is "45510", a short story by Aka Akasaka, Oshi no Ko writer. The title refers to the initials of the fictional idol group B-Komachi founding members—Takamine, Nino, Ai, and Watanabe—when typing on a telephone keypad. Each number corresponds when feeding hiragana inputs:  as "4",  as "55",  as "1", and  as "0". The story was first published via Weekly Young Jump website on April 13, shortly after the anime's first episode televised premiere, before being included as a poster booklet on the physical releases.

The story depicts the points of view of an unidentified one of B-Komachi's former founding members, who found former center Ai Hoshino's livestream 16 years after her death. It showed Hoshino talking to her fans, making her reminisce about the past and her jealousy of Hoshino. After the video stopped and can not found more, the former member tried to log in B-Komachi's blog operated by four founding members, which the password is "45510", and found Hoshino's unpublished posts, written about her bad feeling, wanting to be like the past. The former member decided to delete it because she did not want to show Hoshino's weak side to everyone. Even though she disliked Hoshino, the protagonist also respected Hoshino as a "perfect and ultimate idol".

Lyrics and composition

"Idol" is a pop track based on hip-hop elements with church choir-like gothic rendition. The Japan Times described the song as "a mix of varied influences that draws from Akihabara livehouses and Atlanta hip-hop," that "connected by a piano dash that has come to define Ayase's production." It is driven by the "bright and poppy" and "idol-like bubblegum" sound, and includes several "dizzying" transitions and "complicated" structure, such as "gritty" sub bass, orchestral and electronic-sounded chorus, and trap beat-styled rapping etc. The production was inspired by American musician Ghostemane's strong lows and bass guitar played at Indonesia rapper Rich Brian's performance. Ikura's vocals in the song has been described as "cutest idol in the world"-like "sweet and clear" voice, with "deep sarcastic" snarls and "K-pop-esque" "rapid-fire" raps.

"Idol" features uncredited background cheering shouts by Akihabara-based B-boy group and YouTuber Real Akiba Boyz, and gospel-styled background vocals sang in English, for praising idol. The lyrics tell only until the end of Oshi no Kos first episode, expressing the two-faced nature of people in the entertainment industry, specifically among Japanese idols. It shows the three perspectives on Ai Hoshino. The first part expresses the eyes of fans and media about her perfection and making herself look mysterious, by answering fans' questions, and herself about not knowing how to love someone and no longer distinguishing between truth and lies. The second tells B-Komachi's members' jealousy but respect and gratitude for Hoshino as the "perfect and ultimate idol". The last depicts Hoshino's point of view of her secret about lies, greed, and imperfection, as well as her motherhood of twin children, Ruby and Aqua, that she hopes someday her lies become true.

Critical reception

Upon its release, "Idol" generally received positive reviews. Danny Guan from Game Rant praises "Idol" as a "perfect" representation of Ai Hoshino, and "jumping from brooding rap verses to energetic J-pop melodies with ease, flipping moods at the drop of a hat."  Writing for Yahoo! News Japan, Suzie Suzuki compared the song as a parody of Kyoko Koizumi's 1985 single "Nantettatte Idol" and 2010s female idols, and commented, "it is too well done and has reached a metastructure of 'more idol song-like than a normal idol song.' " Real Sounds Mio Komachi dubbed the song "standing out" among Yoasobi's discography, feeling "the essence of a Vocaloid song", and the "perfect" portrayal of Hoshino with an "almost inorganic" voice, while Tsuki no Hito described the song "having this chaotic sense of balance that incorporates K-pop homage […], and explodes with a clear chorus that is typical of J-pop."

Noriko Ashizawa from Spotify Japan described that "Idol" "has a composition in which the scene changes rapidly in a different sense from K-pop," and "the Vocaloid-like irregular melody progression is not similar to any overseas song." Rockin'On Japans Miho Takahashi called the song "a perfect work that could not be better," while Mikikis S.H.I. "a song that represents 2023", stating about "emphasiz[ing] the impression of the performer's presence rather than the musicality." Patrick St. Michel of The Japan Times wrote that the song is "disorienting […] but it's certainly catchy." For the English version, ComicBook.coms Nick Valdez praised that it "captur[ing] the spirit of the original version perfectly." Cinemas+s Gumi commended for retaining most of the message conveyed by the Japanese original lyrics. Joshua Fox of Screen Rant gave a mixed review, commenting that the song, "while still great to listen to, falls short of the Japanese version"; "the lyrics are largely exact translations with little to no alterations," so "the flow of the English version ends up feeling off in some parts." Fox compared the song to the complete re-writing in English of Hikaru Utada's "Hikari", "Simple & Clean".

Music video

An accompanying music video for "Idol" premiered on Yoasobi's YouTube and Ayase's Niconico channels on April 13, 2023, at 12:30 JST, shortly after Oshi no Ko first episode televised premiere. Directed by Naoya Nakayama, and produced by Doga Kobo, which also was in charge of anime production, the music video features the same animated visuals as Oshi no Ko, portraying the "bright and dark" symbolism of Ai Hoshino, and her twin children, Aqua and Ruby. It became the duo's fourth music video to accrue 100 million views, after "Yoru ni Kakeru", "Kaibutsu", and "Gunjō", as well as the fastest music video to reach this mark by any Japanese act within 35 days, surpassing the 62 days record of NiziU's "Make You Happy". As of early September, the music video has gained 300 million views on YouTube. The English version's music video was released later in conjunction with the song on May 26.

Commercial performance

Japan

"Idol" opened at number five on the Oricon Combined Singles Chart dated April 24, 2023, and peaked at number one at the week of May 29, the second song since "Yoru ni Kakeru", after staying at the top five for five weeks. The song entered the Digital Singles Chart at number two, earning 33,867 units, behind only Man with a Mission and Milet's "Kizuna no Kiseki", and rose up to the top the next week with 34,070 units, marked as Yoasobi's record for the most number-one track on the chart with 12 songs, tying with Kenshi Yonezu. It spent ten non-consecutive weeks atop the Digital Singles Chart, the fifth songs to reach it in history. "Idol" debuted atop the Streaming Chart with 10,328,178 streams, the duo's third number-one song on the chart after "Yoru ni Kakeru", and "Kaibutsu", and has topped for 22 consecutive weeks, the second most weeks at number one, behind Official Hige Dandism's "Pretender" (34), and the fifth song to reach number one on the chart for more than ten weeks. With 29,975,897 streams in the week of June 26, the song became the duo's and 2023 biggest, and the second overall most accumulated streams in a single week in Oricon history, blocked from BTS' "Butter" (31 million streams), as well as the song with the most weeks exceeding 20 million streams in a single week (12), besting Official Hige Dandism's "Subtitle" (4).  Moreover, "Idol" is the second song in 2023 since Be First's "Boom Boom Back" and by the duo to reach number one on both the Oricon Digital Single and Streaming charts in the same week, and topped for ten non-consecutive weeks, tying with "Subtitle". The English version debuted at number eight on the Digital Singles Chart with 6,080 units, while the physical formats entered the Oricon Singles Chart at number two, selling 49,385 copies, behind only King & Prince's "Nanimono".

For Billboard Japan, "Idol" debuted at number one on the Japan Hot 100 for the week of April 19, 2023, earning 29,327 download units, 8,868,810 streams, and 4,334,923 video views, scoring Yoasobi's second number-one single in the country after "Yoru ni Kakeru". It stayed at the number-one position for 21 consecutive weeks, beating Official Hige Dandism's "Subtitle" as the song with the most both consecutive and total weeks at number one in the chart history. The song was finally unseated by Snow Man's "Dangerholic", King Gnu's "Specialz", and Enhypen's "Bite Me" on the week of September 13, descending to number four. For component charts, "Idol" opened at number two on the Download Songs, blocked from Man with a Mission and Milet's "Kizuna no Kiseki", and surged up to the top the next week and spent ten non-consecutive weeks on it. The song debuted atop the Streaming Songs and peaked for 22 non-consecutive weeks. It received 25,860,696 streams in the week of May 17, giving the song the second most streams overall in single week, behind BTS' "Butter" (30 million streams). "Idol" also peaked at number one on the specific-genre Hot Animation, the third song following "Kaibutsu" and "Shukufuku", for 26 non-consecutive weeks. The CD single sold 53,589 copies on its release week, landed at number two on the Top Singles Sales dated June 26, behind only King & Prince's "Nanimono". Following the 7-inch release, the single jumped from number 84 to 12 on the week of August 2 with 3,884 copies. "Idol" became the fastest song to reach 100, 200, 300, 400, and 500 million streams in Japan, according to Oricon and Billboard Japan. The song received platinum certification for download and three-time platinum for streaming from the Recording Industry Association of Japan (RIAJ), exceeding 250,000 downloads and 300 million streams, respectively.

Worldwide

Two weeks after its release, The Orchard Japan reported that "Idol" had been streamed and viewed over 100 million times. Two months later, the song reached number one on the global charts of streaming services Apple Music and YouTube Music. "Idol" first entered the Billboard Global Excl. US within two days of tracking at number 135 for the issue dated April 22, 2023, and surged up 130 spots to number five the next week. After the English version release and spent first six of seven weeks in the top ten, the song rose atop the Global Excl. US—collecting 24,000 digital sales and 45.7 million streams in that week tracking—becoming the first Japanese-language song to top the chart, and stayed on the top for three non-consecutive weeks. On the Billboard Global 200, "Idol" debuted at number 14 dated April 29, and peaked at number seven nine weeks later, setting a new record as the highest position by Japanese act on the chart, surpassing Lisa's "Homura" (8). Music critic Motohiko Tokuriki compared the success of "Idol" to Fujii Kaze's "Shinunoga E-wa", which was a hit overseas in 2022, and commented that it "has the potential to be a big step for the Japanese music industry in that it has clearly seen the world from the beginning and has been successful." During the inaugural week of September 14, 2023, the song charted at number one on the Billboard Japan Global Japan Songs Excl. Japan, which tracks the most streamed and digitally sold songs in over 200 territories outside Japan.

Live performances

Yoasobi gave the debut performance of "Idol" on April 5, 2023, at Nippon Gaishi Hall, Nagoya, as the only song of the encore for their Denkōsekka Arena Tour and included it on the tour's setlist. The performance of the song from Saitama show on June 4 at Saitama Super Arena was uploaded via YouTube on June 28. The duo also performed "Idol" at the free TikTok special live concert at Theater Milano-za in Shinjuku, Tokyo on April 24 as the last song. Yoasobi added "Idol" on the setlist for Pasadena show of 2023 Head in the Clouds Festival, Rock in Japan Festival, and Summer Sonic Festival, which the latter aired at television special NHK Music Expo 2023 on September 14. The duo appeared at South Korean music show M Countdown to perform "Idol" on televsion for the first time on September 21.

Cover versions

"Idol" has been covered by other musicians and idols, notably including singer and actress Airi Suzuki performed the song at TV Asahi YouTube program Dōga, Hajimete Mimashita on June 10, which accumulated ten million views as of September. Afterwards, she included the song on the "Self-Cover Medley" of her performance at the 2023 Rock in Japan Festival in August. The song also covered by Ayaka Hirahara in opera-styled version along with dance group Avantgardey at 2023 FNS Music Festival Spring on July 12, Aya Shimazu in enka-style at Ongakunohi on July 15, and Toshi from J-rock band X Japan at three-hour special Music Station on September 29, etc.

During the semi-final of Thai singing competition Mask Singer 12 on June 21, contestant Jorin Khumpiraphan of Thai idol group 4Eve under the Siberian mask performed "Idol" on the program, which she was eliminated at this round. Japanese dance group Avantgardey performed a routine to the song mashed up with both Japanese and English versions combined at the semi-final of American televised talent show competition America's Got Talent. Fan-made and wotagei choreographies of "Idol" also gained attraction on TikTok, including among Japanese and Korean idols. Japanese YouTuber Hikakin parodied the song's music video, replaced Hoshino by himself, released on July 22.

Accolades

Track listing
 Digital download and streaming
  – 3:33

 Digital download and streaming – English version
 "Idol" (English version) – 3:33

 CD single and 7-inch
 "Idol" – 3:31
 "Idol" (English version) – 3:31
 "Idol" (anime edit) – 1:29
 "Idol" (instrumental) – 3:31

Credits and personnel

 Ayase – writer, producer
 Ikura – vocals
 Aka Akasaka – based story writer
 Konnie Aoki – background chorus lyrics, English lyrics, English lyrical and vocal direction
 BFNK – English lyrical and vocal direction
 Real Akiba Boyz – background shouts
 Ebony Bowens – background chorus
 Chloe Kibble – background chorus
 Marista Stubbs – background chorus
 Imani J. Dawson – background chorus
 Kyte – background chorus
 Lyle Carr – background chorus
 Andrew Soda – background chorus
 Takayuki Saitō – vocal recording
 Kunio Nishikawara – vocal recording (English version)
 Hiroaki Okuda – background chorus and shouts recording
 Masahiko Fukui – mixing
 Hidekazu Sakai – mastering

Charts

Weekly charts

Monthly charts

Certifications and sales

Release history

See also
 List of Billboard Global 200 number ones of 2023
 List of Billboard Global 200 top 10 singles of 2023
 List of Hot 100 number-one singles of 2023 (Japan)

Notes

References

External links

 
 "45510" on Weekly Young Jump
 

2023 singles
2023 songs
Animated series theme songs
Anime songs
Billboard Global Excl. U.S. number-one singles
Billboard Japan Hot 100 number-one singles
Internet memes introduced in 2023
Japanese idols in popular culture
Japanese-language songs
Song recordings produced by Ayase (music producer)
Songs about entertainers
Songs about fame
Songs written by Ayase (music producer)
Sony Music Entertainment Japan singles
Viral videos
Yoasobi songs