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Rob Thomas is making his return Down Under. The Matchbox Twenty frontman will head to Australia and New Zealand this October and November for a headline solo tour in celebration of his forthcoming album All Night Days and the 20th anniversary of his 2005 debut solo album …Something to Be. Explore Explore See latest videos, […]
Brandy Senki released their first album, BRANDY SENKI, on May 14. The band, which formed in August 2022, is made up of Hazuki (guitar and vocals), Minori (bass), and Bori (drums). They’ve picked up a tremendous amount of momentum, selling out shows on both their first solo tour of Japan, in January 2025, and their upcoming BRANDY SENKI 1ST ALBUM RELEASE TOUR, which will begin in June.
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Their major label debut album, BRANDY SENKI, is the culmination of their efforts so far. It’s a collection of 13 songs including “Musica,” which brought them to the attention of the world at large, “Coming-of-age Story,” which generated a ton of buzz when it was shared by NJZ’s Minji, and “Fix,” a dramatic song that depicts the weaknesses we all have. Billboard JAPAN took the opportunity of this momentous release to talk with Brandy Senki about how they felt as they enter this new stage of their musical careers.
To start off, could you tell us about Neon Oasis Fest 2025, the Taiwanese music festival you just finished performing at in late April? What did you think of your first overseas show?
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Hazuki: Standing up there on stage, you could feel the love, even in another country with a whole different language. Also, the way people listened was a little different than the way Japanese audiences do. There were people who were really amped up, but there were also people slowly swaying to the music. There was this striking feeling of personal freedom. It was a lot of fun.
Your new album, BRANDY SENKI, is the same as your band’s. What led you to choose this name?
Hazuki: There are only really a few times when you can self-title an album. This album has lots of songs that we’d released in the past, so we talked about making it a self-titled album to share the message that “this is what Brandy Senki is today.” That’s why we called the album BRANDY SENKI.
I think the first song on an album is important. Why did you pick “The End of the F***ing World” to start off the album?
Hazuki: We thought a lot about how someone who didn’t know Brandy Senki would feel when they listened to the album for the first time. We thought it would be good to start with a song that would get the listener excited, like “What’s about to start?” This song was perfect for that.
You’ve said that this song was influenced by the British show The End of the F***ing World. When you write poetry or music, Hazuki, are you usually influenced by things like novels or movies?
Hazuki: Always. But being inspired by a single work, like I was with “The End of the F***ing World,” is unusual.
Could each of you share a song on the album that is especially important to you?
Bori: For me, it would be “The End of the F***ing World.” There’s this bouncy beat that goes through the entire song, and it was a bit of a struggle to perform. Now, having finished the song, whenever I hear it or when I play it live, I’m glad I put in the effort.
Minori: For me, it’s the fifth song, “Water Mirror.” We’ve been playing it pretty much since our first show. I think it was also the first song that I wrote a bass line for after Hazuki sent me a demo. So, for me, it’s an important song because it represents a lot of firsts.
Hazuki, what about you?
Hazuki: I’d probably answer that question a different way every day (laughs). Today, I’d say the first song, “Spring.”
The lyrics of “Spring” are very evocative of summer. They mention the beach, and a shirt, and a “Sicilian painting,” which conjures the image of the seaside.
Hazuki: The reality is that, for the people in the song, spring hasn’t even come yet, let alone summer. The heart of the song is this longing to go to the beach, this yearning for Sicily, that kind of feeling. But time just passes in this room.
You’ve also been playing “Last Live” since your early live shows, right?
Minori: It goes back to right around when we were starting out, but we changed the arrangement a little when recording it.
How so?
Minori: In the middle, when the tempo changes in the bridge. There’s a drum fill there now, but that wasn’t there originally.
Bori: We decided to make that part, so we changed the arrangement around that.
Hazuki: We were thinking of a cool way to speed up the tempo of the song.
I also saw the music video. It has this very “kawaii” feel to it. What did you and the director Nathalie Scarlette talk about when making it?
Hazuki: Nathalie came up with pretty much every aspect of the music video, starting from the initial idea. For us, filming in Akihabara or a roller skating rink was really novel. We were really impressed with how great the visuals came out.
Minori: Nathalie really loves Brandy Senki. She understood the lyrics Hazuki had written at a deep level, which was wonderful. Nathalie’s Australian, so she understands what Japan looks like from the outside. She sees beautiful things that we overlook because we take them for granted. It’s wonderful having someone who notices those things and can depict them. I’m always impressed at how she can make these interesting music videos that wouldn’t have even occurred to us.
Bori: It was all shot guerilla-style, too. We set up a drum set in a truck, and there were tourists out there taking photos of us. It was a very different experience than the usual filming of a music video, and really stimulating.
Then there’s the lead single, “Fix.” That word has a lot of different meanings, right?
Hazuki: It’s used to mean a lot of different things, so we thought it would be an interesting name for a song. You can fix something in place, or you can fix something that’s broken. In the song, we use it in different senses, singing about whether you can fix these relationships between people–between yourself and others.
There’s also a brand-new song, “Memento Waltz” Does the title simply mean “don’t forget this waltz?”
Hazuki: Yes. We wanted to make a waltz, or rather a song in triple meter. That was our starting point.
It also has a string part. Was this was your first time using strings since “Nightmarish – Acoustic?”
Minori: “Nightmarish – Acoustic” had strings, too, but this was our first time using strings that were performed live. On the album, there are strings on “Memento Waltz” and also on “Untitled”
“Untitled” is an acoustic piece. When was it written?
Hazuki: We wrote “Untitled” over a year ago. It’s the only song on the album that I think you could call a pure love song.
To close off with, are there any new things that you’ve been trying your hand at, or that you want to try to do in the future?
Minori: I like going on long train trips, but you need to have a whole day free to do that. I want to make time for myself and learn about trains throughout Japan.
Bori: In a certain sense, I’m taking on the challenges of drumming. Ever since I started playing in a band, I’ve been learning different beats and really making them part of my own repertoire. Lately, I’ve been reexamining just what a drum is, and learning more about drums — how do you get a better sound? What form should you use when drumming? That sort of thing.
Hazuki: I just want to work hard on writing our next song.
—This interview by Tatsuya Tanami first appeared on Billboard Japan
FRUITS ZIPPER’s “Kawaiitte Magic” blasts in at No. 1 on the Billboard Japan Hot 100, on the chart released May 21.
This song by the seven-member girl group is the theme song for the animated movie Oshiri Tantei: Star and Moon that hit domestic theaters on Mar. 20. The CD version sold 292,341 copies to rule physical sales, powering the track to No. 1 on the Japan Hot 100. It’s the first chart-topper for the ASOBISYSTEM group — here’s a list of the FRUITS ZIPPER’s chart record so far:
“NEW KAWAII” (Peaked at No. 10)“Watashi no ichiban kawaii tokoro” (No. 13)“Kagami” (No. 48)“Fruits Basket” (No. 67)
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Mrs. GREEN APPLE’s “Lilac” holds at No. 2, coming in at No. 13 for downloads (2,329 units), No. 2 for streaming (8,457,867 streams), No. 91 for radio airplay, and topping video views and karaoke. The three-man band continues to dominate the top 10, with “KUSUSHIKI” following at No. 3, “Tengoku” at No. 4, and “Darling” at No. 10.
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XG’s “MILLION PLACES” debuts at No. 6, coming in at No. 2 for sales (39,404 copies), No. 11 for downloads (2,193 units), No. 4 for radio and No. 93 for video.
Elsewhere on the Japan Hot 100, Gen Hoshino’s “Star” soars 84-12 this week, following the release of his new album Gen on May 14. The music video accompanying “Star” also arrived recently, and the track comes in at No. 72 for downloads, No. 76 for video, and rules radio.
The Billboard Japan Hot 100 combines physical and digital sales, audio streams, radio airplay, video views and karaoke data.
See the full Billboard Japan Hot 100 chart, tallying the week from May 12 to 18, here. For more on Japanese music and charts, visit Billboard Japan’s English X account.
SM ENTERTAINMENT artist and NCT member CHENLE has made a powerful return with his Chinese special album Lucid, which shattered pre-order and release records. Produced by TME Producers’ Studio, co-produced by SM ENTERTAINMENT, Lucid includes three tracks: the pre-release single “Tear Bridge,” the title track “Lucid,” and “Cosmic Joke” feat. Bibi Zhou. Before his album […]
Mariah Carey and Pitbull are returning to Australia this October as headliners of Fridayz Live 2025, the revived touring festival celebrating R&B, hip-hop and pop.
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Announced Thursday (May 22), the stadium run will also feature sets from Wiz Khalifa, Lil Jon, Eve, Tinie Tempah and Jordin Sparks. It marks Fridayz Live’s first edition since 2023, and organizers MG Live and the Hit Network are calling this year’s return “bigger than ever.”
The four-city tour kicks off Oct. 17 at Brisbane Showgrounds, followed by Sydney’s ENGIE Stadium on Oct. 18, Langley Park in Perth on Oct. 24, and Marvel Stadium in Melbourne on Oct. 25. Events are all 18+ except for selected licensed all-ages areas in Sydney and Melbourne.
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Carey’s appearance marks her first Australian performance in over a decade, having last toured the country in 2013. The five-time Billboard Hot 100 chart-topper — whose enduring hits include “Fantasy,” “We Belong Together”, and “Touch My Body” — will bring her vocal powerhouse status to a new generation of fans.
Joining her is fellow Billboard icon Pitbull, returning to Australia for the first time since 2012. The Miami rapper — known as “Mr. Worldwide” — boasts over 100 million single sales globally and is behind hits like “Give Me Everything,” “Timber”, and “Hotel Room Service.”
Fridayz Live will also showcase hip-hop heavyweight Wiz Khalifa, who charted 11 Hot 100 entries in 2011 alon, crunk pioneer Lil Jon, known best for anthems like “Turn Down for What,” will also return while Eve — one of the defining female MCs of the 2000s — brings her chart-topping hits and GRAMMY-winning collaborations.
Also joining the bill are UK rapper Tinie Tempah (“Pass Out,” “Written in the Stars”) and pop vocalist Jordin Sparks, whose breakout single “No Air” with Chris Brown peaked at No. 3 on the Hot 100 in 2008.
There will be no sideshows or encore dates, with promoters emphasizing that fans will only have one chance to catch this full lineup in each city.
Presales begin May 26 for Telstra Plus members, followed by ANZ Circle pre-sales on May 29, a general Fridayz Live pre-sale on May 30, and general public onsale June 2.

The members of King Gnu chatted with Billboard Japan for its Monthly Feature series spotlighting currently notable artists and works. The popular four-man band’s latest single “TWILIGHT!!!” was written as the theme song for the blockbuster anime movie Detective Conan: One-Eyed Flashback and dropped digitally on April 18.
Last year, the “SPECIALZ” band’s first-ever domestic five-dome tour entitled King Gnu Dome Tour “THE GREATEST UNKNOWN” drew crowds totaling 380,000 people. Soon after, the quartet embarked on its first Asia tour visiting Taipei, Singapore, Shanghai, and Seoul, expanding its overwhelming presence outside of its home country.
The band’s new single is being featured in the latest movie version of the hugely popular Detective Conan anime, also known for having a history of famous theme songs. “TWILIGHT!!!” fuses ’80s synths and Afro-inspired grooves to create a danceable track that transforms incredibly live. The four members — Daiki Tsuneta, Yu Seki, Kazuki Arai and Satoru Iguchi — talked about this new single, which they say is an extension of a new way of working they settled upon during the making of their most recent album THE GREATEST UNKNOWN.
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First, tell us about your KING GNU LIVEHOUSE TOUR 2025 CLUB GNU EDITION that ran from February to March. Most of your performances of tracks off your albums CEREMONY and THE GREATEST UNKNOWN probably took place in arena-sized venues or larger, so were there any new takeaways or insights when you performed them in a club setting?
Kazuki Arai (Bass): The audience was really close to us, so I think there was more tension because of that. We could feel the passion from the audience directly without loss, which was unconsciously reflected in our staging and performance. But our dome tour was followed by our Asia tour, so it wasn’t like we suddenly downscaled to club-sized venues, because we also did halls during our Asian trek in between and there was also a bit of time after that as well, so it was a bit more of a gradual process.
Satoru Iguchi (Vocals/Keyboards): During the Asia tour, the show in Seoul had this really great vibe, so we thought it’d be nice to see that in Japan at a venue around the same scale. The Seoul crowd sang a lot and cheered really loud. It’s not like our fans in Japan aren’t energetic, but they are shy, it’s just how Japanese people tend to be. So regarding our domestic fan club tour, we did hope that we’d be able to perform with that kind of energy again.
You also seemed to actively hype up the audience on many occasions, Mr. Tsuneta.
Daiki Tsuneta (Guitar/Vocals): It’s no fun when people are just listening to you. There’s no point in performing live like that, is how I basically feel. Our energy level of the day changes depends on whether or not we get something like a response, to the point where we might seem like a different band.
Your new song “TWILIGHT!!!” is the theme song for the movie Detective Conan: One-Eyed Flashback. It’s tied into a work that’s been on the air since you were kids and has been loved for a long time.
Iguchi: Yes. I used to watch the anime at the time.
Tsuneta: I used to read the manga.
Yu Seki (Drums): Of the movie versions, I liked Detective Conan: Crossroad in the Ancient Capital.
What was the reaction like when you announced the tie-in?
Arai: I have friends who are fans and when I told them directly, they went crazy. They were like, “That’s so awesome!” A lot of people contacted me about it, so personally, there was a lot of response.
The movie is set in Nagano Prefecture, where Mr. Tsuneta and Mr. Iguchi are from.
Arai: Did you get a feel of home when you saw it?
Iguchi: Yeah, I did. Yatsugatake (mountains) and Zenkoji (temple) appear in the movie.
When you were tapped to write the movie theme song, what kind of song did you envision when you first started working on it?
Tsuneta: Personally, when I’ve been asked to write a song for an anime show, singing about that work itself doesn’t sit well with me. Because when we perform that song live, I’ll be like, “Who is this song about, anyway?” and won’t feel comfortable with it. I believe strongly that the song has to be ours that it has to be a King Gnu song. In that sense, I’m not writing about any of the characters in particular, but the inspiration from the world of Detective Conan that I felt after seeing the movie is there, so I suppose what’s most important is maintaining a good sense of distance. I’ve been conscious of that since “SPECIALZ” (opener for the Shibuya Incident story arc of the anime series Jujutsu Kaisen). Though of course I do want it to overlap with the anime as well.
Arai: I was thinking about something like that too. Like SLAM DUNK, anime songs from back then weren’t about the content of the work itself, you know?
Tsuneta: I’m aware of things like words that resonate with the audience, but try not to narrow it down too much. I really try to keep in mind that the music has to be believable when we play it as a band.
I think the sound is a new departure for King Gnu, with synths that have an ’80s feel, for example. Did you have a clear idea of what you wanted to do from the demo stage?
Tsuneta: Yes, I’ve really been into that ’80s feel recently. I used lean more into alternative music before and that kind of sparkly, disco vibe wasn’t something I liked. But now that I’m at this age, I’m starting to like that type of music because I think it’s refreshing in a different way.
Did you come across any particular works that sparked that interest?
Tsuneta: The Weeknd, Daft Punk, I’ve been wanting to try stuff like that recently.
What were your first impressions of the demo?
Seki: It had an Afro feel to it, but I sensed that he wanted to take it in a city (sophisticated) direction. I personally found it kind of difficult because it wasn’t in my deck of cards.
Tsuneta: The beats are definitely Afro-oriented. I imagine it’s super hard for our audience. They’ll probably have a hard time grooving to it.
Seki: But when I listened to the finished song, I think we settled on a really good place.
Tsuneta: It has a mixture feel to it, doesn’t it?
The chorus also references Jersey club.
Seki: Yes, it does. We did sneak in a little bit of that context of club music. But we hadn’t decided on anything until the four of us got together to play it. We just inserted the samples and were like, “Let’s figure it out during rehearsals.” That’s how King Gnu’s new songs are finished up these days. We have no idea where we’ll end up, so we just get the samples ready and sit down and figure it out. And it all seems to work out somehow.
Arai: It works out, doesn’t it? It was the same with “Asura”
Seki: Both “Asura and “IKAROS” worked out.
Speaking of which, “Asura is one of those songs that transformed during your live performances.
Arai: It feels like that this time, too.
Seki: I think I’m getting more comfortable with the instruments. I use electronic drums on this one.
I see. What about the bass?
Arai: The bass ended up copying the groove and nuances that Daiki had included in his demo. We tried various takes, but agreed that it’d be better if the bass could be heard together with the beat. We usually just put in what each of us wants to do, but this time, I think we were more conscious of putting (the bass and drums) together as a set than in other songs. The nuances (Tsuneta) wanted were already apparent in the demo stage, so in the end we went full circle and settled on that. Our approach was to make it work with a minimum of bass sounds.
Seki: Since we’re a band, doing things like that can be awkward or difficult, but I did want to try it out. I’ve noticed that some of the songs that are popular overseas feature the bass guitar and bass drum doing the same thing.
Tsuneta: I’ve been thinking that it’d be better if (the bass and drums) aren’t divided. They’re often separated when a band is producing the song, but in today’s mainstream music, they’re very much one and the same, so that was something I wanted to try. “Nekko” was the complete opposite, with each member playing their own part, very much like a band, and I was getting a bit tired of that. Both have their merits, of course, and we’ll separate them in our live performances, but I thought we could try something like that in the production.
It’s also a continuation of your production style after THE GREATEST UNKNOWN, isn’t it?
Tsuneta: Yes. I felt pretty confident about “SPECIALZ” and “Asura and realized there aren’t any bands that can create these kinds of sounds. My current mood is to pursue that further.
How was the vocal recording process?
Iguchi: My voice has a lot of overtones, so it doesn’t work too well with Auto-Tune, and it took me a while to find a good place to land. It also took me a while to get used to the rhythm patterns. So it was pretty fun in terms of it being a challenge, but we started rehearsing recently and I’m finally getting used to it and want to record it again. I feel like I could sing it better now.
Tsuneta: You mean you’re evolving?
Iguchi: Yeah, basically.
Arai: Daiki also said, “I should have recorded the guitar.”
Tsuneta: I added some guitar for the live performance, and thought it sounded great.
Seki: That happens a lot with this band. The songs change again after playing them live.
Iguchi: Yeah.
Tsuneta: Very few of the songs are done the same way as the original recordings.
You constantly update them.
Tsuneta: So next time, it’d be cool if we have the luxury of rehearsing, then recording. We could probably make them even better if we try to input them first, then record them based on that.
Seki: That would make them really King Gnu.
Arai: Yeah, make them purer.
We look forward to your upcoming music.
Tsuneta: I think the next one is another completely different type of song, so I can’t wait to release it. It’ll probably help people understand this one better.
I see. Is “TWILIGHT!!!” symbolic in some way in terms of where the band is at musically?
Tsuneta: It’s quite symbolic in one aspect, but only in one aspect. We’ll be releasing some more new songs, and only then will certain things become apparent.
Iguchi: I think all four of us are more grounded now.
So your personal development is showing in your music as well.
Tsuneta: I mean, Kazuki is raising a kid and we’re all at an age where such things are relevant.
You’re more deeply rooted in your daily lives in that sense.
Tsuneta: Yes. I want to face that kind of reality in the things we create and also in the way we work.
—This interview by Takuto Ueda and text by Maiko Murata first appeared on Billboard Japan
YOASOBI dropped its latest single “Watch me!” on digital platforms over the weekend (May 18) and shared the accompanying music video.
The “Idol” duo’s new number is being featured as the opening theme song for the anime series Witch Watch. The lyrics express the innocent and adorable charm of the main character Nico, with ikura’s voice adding playful touches to the song.
The accompanying animated visuals were produced entirely by the Witch Watch animation team. The video is filled with the comical and cute elements of the original story and music, using new drawings alongside selected scenes from the episodes in the show.
Ikimonogakari recently released their 11th full album, Asobi (“Play”). Following the release of their previous album, Maru, their first release since becoming a duo, Kiyoe Yoshioka and Yoshiki Mizuno have had a series of firsts: their first overseas show, their first acoustic show at the Budokan, and their first acoustic concert tour. In addition to previously released singles, the album also contains the new song “Irodori” and collaborations with artists such as Humbert Humbert, fox capture plan, Nao Matsushita, and “Yu Asobi.” Bonus tracks include “Koisuru Otome – From THE FIRST TAKE,” which generated a lot of buzz on social media. The songs on the album are the product of the duo allowing themselves to take on music with a sense of freedom, joy, and playfulness.
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Billboard JAPAN talked to the two about this new album, a second “debut” after they began a new chapter as a band.
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Let’s start by talking about what you’ve been doing overseas. In June of 2024 you performed at the 35th Golden Melody Awards in Taiwan, and then in July you performed at the Tencent Music Entertainment Awards in Macao. How was the response?
Mizuno: I was surprised at the cheering, this tremendous “Whoooooaaaaa!”
Yoshioka: The audience’s tone of voice and the volume of the cheering was totally different than with a Japanese audience. Sometimes my singing was swallowed up by the cheering.
Mizuno: When I’d start a guitar solo, there’d also be that “Whoooooaaaaa!” cheer.
Yoshioka: The audience really put their emotions and reactions into their voices.
What song got the biggest reaction?
Mizuno: “Blue Bird.” People overseas listen to it a lot, and it seems the audiences all knew it.
Yoshioka: When we performed ballads like “SAKURA,” the whole audience was swaying side to side, too. Even despite the language barrier, the emotion of the song came across, which made me really happy.
After your overseas performances, you finished your new album, Asobi. Since the last album, Maru, you’ve been busy with live shows, such as the shows in China, and also releasing new songs. You’ve had quite the packed schedule. Looking back, what do you remember about this period?
Mizuno: After releasing Maru, we did have a time when we were really focused on live shows. We put on a performance hall tour, played at a few festivals, and put on an acoustic show at the Budokan. We had a lot of opportunities to play in front of audiences, and every day was really stimulating for us. This had a positive influence on our song-writing, and I think we also changed a lot deep down inside. I also met all kinds of people through my HIROBA project and put out an album, which was a great experience. I was able to bring that experience back with me to Ikimonogakari. Sho Hasumi from Daw90000 wrote lyrics for me (on “Anohi No Koto meets Sho Hasumi”) and I got the courage to connect with people outside our circle. Yoshioka enjoyed that, too.
Yoshioka: Mizuno, who is Ikimonogakari’s leader, would actively propose new things we’d never tried before, like performing with just the two of us on stage. At first, I was really nervous, but gradually I came to enjoy doing new things. There was a lot of trial and error, of course, and it was really challenging, but the creation process also really stimulated my curiosity.
The album has songs with lyrics written by other creators (“Jigazou meets Yu Asobi” and “Anohi No Koto meets Sho Hasumi”). That was an ambitious choice.
Mizuno: I think it was about seven or eight years ago, we had a meeting with our staff and I said, “What about having someone else write some lyrics for us?” Our director at the time said “Don’t you think you should still keep writing the lyrics yourself?” At the time, that made sense, and I was like, “You’re right,” but years have passed since then and we’ve had all kinds of new experiences. We’ve come to see change as a positive thing, and we’re okay with people from outside the group getting involved. We feel secure now that even with outside involvement, the end result will be proper Ikimonogakari.
Yoshioka: I was really nervous at first, though (laughs). But when Mizuno said “I want to ask someone else to write the lyrics,” it felt really natural, so I took a positive outlook on it, like “I think it’ll work out fine.” Everyone on the team was like “Let’s give it a shot.”
If someone else writes the lyrics, the words will also match up with the music in a different way.
Yoshioka: Right. I’ve always sung Mizuno’s lyrics to Mizuno’s music, so I’ve developed what I guess you could call habits. After recording, I realized I’d had to get rid of those habits when I sang. It felt very natural putting the words to music, which I liked.
Mizuno: You develop habits, or perhaps color, and I hoped that by changing that color we’d produce something new. I’ve been working with Yoshioka since we were in our teens, and we’ve grown together. Yoshioka’s way of singing has become part of me, and my melodies, and the melodies of (Hotaka) Yamashita, have become a part of Yoshioka. So when you’re singing lyrics that aren’t part of that, you find that you can’t sing them the way you normally would (laughs). I was very curious about how my own melodies would sound. It was fun taking on that challenge with Hasumi’s lyrics and Yu Asobi’s lyrics.
What’s behind the title of the album, Asobi?
Mizuno: I feel like the process of creating our last album, Maru, was very stoic. On this album, fortunately, we had a lot of tie-in songs and a lot of variety. The context of each song was also totally different, so we were having a hard time coming up with a concept that would tie them all together. We were thinking about different possibilities when the conversation turned to maybe seeing the rich variety of the album in a positive light instead of trying to put everything in one box. The idea of “play” (in Japanese, “asobi”) came up through that conversation.
Yoshioka: Right.
Mizuno: Since the idea of that title, Asobi, came up, I suggested working with outside artists on the songs. A lot of different artists took part on IKIMONOGAKARI meets (a collaborative album in which 12 artists interpreted Ikimonogakari songs in new ways), and this time I wanted us to “meet” them.
Yoshioka: When the word “play” came up, everyone got really excited. The whole room lit up. It felt like if we went in that direction, we’d come up with something good. Like Mizuno said, the creation of Maru was a very stoic process, and it felt like with this album, we could go in a totally different direction. We had this fun concept in mind as we created the new album.
This has been called a second “debut” after you began your new chapter as a band, and it really is packed with songs that go in new artistic directions. Do you feel like the creation of Asobi will be influencing your future work?
Mizuno: Over the last four or five years, there have been a lot of big events in our lives. We separated from our talent agency, a member left, and Yoshioka had a baby. A lot of our songs were shaped by our story. In 2024, it felt like we really focused on the music itself, and we had a lot of fun both performing live and recording songs. We’ve walked a lot of roads, and I think now we’re really able to focus on “what I should sing as a singer,” “what I should write as a songwriter,” and “what kinds of artists we should work with as a group.” We’ve come full circle, back to where we started, and we can move forward from here. I hope a lot of people listen to our new album, and, personally, I’m really happy to be able to look forward to the future.
Yoshioka: As I mentioned earlier, we’ve taken on a lot of different challenges, like playing at the Budokan as just a duo or performing street shows. We’ve worked with a lot of artists on our album. We’ve kept trying new things, and that’s become normal for us now. I think we’ve created a great album, and I feel like we’ll keep diving into new things in the future. In the past, I’ve been the type that gets nervous about new things (laughs), but I’ve come to see how fun taking on new challenges can be. I’m glad we’ve been able to open this door that will lead us in new directions.
—This interview by Tomoyuki Mori first appeared on Billboard Japan
In a swift follow-up to Jin’s debut solo album, Happy, released just six months ago, BTS‘ global superstar and resident rock enthusiast returns with Echo. Released on May 19, the seven-track journey explores more of the rock-influenced soundscapes that have shaped his musical identity, for deeper stories that can resonate on a more human level. […]
For the Italian public, he is now an artist who needs no introduction. His surprising climb to second place at the Sanremo Festival 2025 with the song “Volevo Essere un Duro” (“I Wanted to Be a Tough Guy”) made him famous thanks to its mix of tenderness, irony and aesthetic and musical references to glam rock – reinterpreted in his own way. However, for the international public of Eurovision 2025, Lucio Corsi is an artist who is still to be discovered.
Italy’s presence among the “Big Five” guarantees him direct access to the final, but will he be able to replicate his unexpected success of Sanremo? He openly does not aim for victory: “Music for me is not a competition. It would make no sense: how can you compete in music? It’s not a sport,” he says, sounding sincere.
However, everyone’s eyes and ears are focused on the Saturday (May 17) final, where the 2025 Eurovision Song Contest winner will be decided. Billboard Italy interviewed the “anti-hero” songwriter after his performance in the first semifinal to gather his thoughts and impressions before the final.
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What was your first impression of Eurovision?
It was interesting to see how many rehearsals there are before the performance. They are repeated several times a day and there is great attention to every little detail. There is also great readiness to improve the shots and the sound. It is a fortune to be able to invent what we want on stage.
What are the similarities and differences between Sanremo and Eurovision?
In Sanremo everything is very concentrated: from morning to evening there are interviews, rehearsals, performances. Here, instead, everything is more dilated in time and there are fewer things on your schedule. In Sanremo you continuously breathe the atmosphere of the festival, here you can also isolate yourself: in some moments you don’t even feel like you are at Eurovision. It is also interesting to be able to encounter other types of musical expression, from other countries and with other conceptions of the songs.
You said that you particularly like Napa, the Portuguese band. Have you had the chance to meet other Eurovision artists in person?
Yes, I met Go-Jo, the Australian artist. I first met him by chance while walking in Rome: we turned a corner and found ourselves face to face. It’s a small world…. Then I met [Estonian artist] Tommy Cash here in the hotel. These encounters are among the nice things of these experiences.
After your performance, many people appreciated your reference to a glam rock sound and aesthetic. Is it an element you are counting on to appeal to an international audience?
I have always tried to find my own way of being inspired by that type of sound. I have always liked it, since adolescence. It is not something aimed at making an impression: it just interests me on the level of composition, sound, research. However, I like many types of music, from folk to prog rock. In the future, I would like to delve into other things as well. This is just a snapshot of this period of mine.
How was your “anti-hero” style received by those who didn’t know you before?
I’m very happy that the English subtitles to the lyrics did their job. I’m happy to see that foreign journalists understood the meaning of the song. I hope that can happen in the final, too. The English translation we did is the simplest possible, because it has to reach non-native speakers as well. We didn’t need a sophisticated translation but a clear, immediate text.
Your collaboration with Tommaso Ottomano, who is with you on stage, is very close: tell us about the human and professional relationship that binds you guys.
He’s like a brother. We’ve known each other since we were kids and we’ve invented everything together, from songs to music videos [Ottomano is also a director, ed.]. We both come from Tuscan, in particular from Maremma, which is a sort of Italian Wild West. Music took us away from the boredom of the province, which is also wonderful because it’s very similar to peace. Learning to deal with such boredom as kids gave us the opportunity to find escapes in music. Also, the stories of people from the provinces are very epic: since the places are “small,” these stories have to be in some way gigantic. This inspires me a lot.
Lucio Corsi
Francis Delacroix/Billboard Italy