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It’s finally starting to dawn on the members of Sum 41. This is really it.
“For the first time, this really feels like the end,” says Deryck Whibley in an exclusive interview with Billboard Canada.
The frontman of the quintessential Canadian pop-punk band is speaking over Zoom from his studio in Las Vegas during a rare break from Sum 41’s “Tour of the Setting Sum.”
Back from Australia and looking ahead to the final leg of the tour in the band’s home country, Whibley is coming to terms with the finality of a decision he announced in 2023: after more than two decades together, Sum 41 is coming to an end.
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Now — following a world tour that has stretched on for nearly a year and a final album that has brought them some of the biggest success since their years as high schoolers breaking out of the garages of the Toronto suburb of Ajax, Ontario in the early 2000s — the band has just one concert left, Jan. 30 at their hometown Scotiabank Arena.
“I never had an idea of when to end it or how to end it or if I’d even end it,” Whibley admits. “There were lots of times I thought this is going to be the thing I do forever. But I just couldn’t deny the feeling that this was the time. Something internally was telling me it was time to move on. It even surprised me.”
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It surprised his bandmates, too. “Blindsided” is the word Whibley uses.
Two of those members, bassist Jason “Cone” McCaslin and lead guitarist Dave “Brownsound” Baksh, he’s known since his first year of high school. The others, drummer Frank Zummo and guitarist Tom Thacker (also of vital Vancouver punk band Gob), have been with the band for years. They all had settled into a locked-in performance peak and momentum that had brought them through the pandemic and towards an album they all recognized as one of the best in their sizable discography.
That now-final album, Heaven :X: Hell, has exceeded those expectations. It hit No. 37 on the Billboard Canadian Albums chart and No. 23 on the Top Rock & Alternative Albums chart. In 2024, “Landmines” hit No. 1 on the Alternative Airplay chart, breaking the record for the longest gap between No. 1 hits – 22 years after “Fat Lip” ruled in 2001. Another single, “Dopamine,” soon followed, hitting No. 1 on the same chart near the end of the year.
But ending the band now gives Sum 41 the opportunity, for the first time since those early days, to control their own fate. The band, and especially Whibley, has had an unbelievably eventful career – from record-breaking album deals to struggles with addiction, tabloid infamy to multiple near death experiences. And now, they are going out on a high, ending with an induction into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame on March 30 with a final televised performance in Vancouver on the Juno Awards broadcast.
“There’s a story there, and I’m proud of the whole story,” says Whibley. “It’s a validation of everything we’ve been working for, from playing in the basement as teenagers to now – here we are. We’ve gone through all the ups and downs, sticking through it all and getting to a point where we could write our own ending the way we wanted to.”
For Whibley, writing that ending has meant coming to terms and processing everything Sum 41 has been through as a band, and everything he has been through personally. And doing so has also cast what we know about the band in new light.
In 2024, while Sum 41 was basking in the success of “Landmines,” Whibley set off another explosion.
In his autobiography, Walking Disaster: My Life Through Heaven and Hell, published by Simon & Shuster in March, Whibley revisits the band’s whole history. He writes about going from high school to becoming one of the biggest Canadian punk bands of all time, mixing rock star tales with introspective and raw reflections on living with addiction and possible PTSD.
As he re-explored the band’s history, he kept coming back to something he had not spoken about publicly and had only shared with a few people in his life, not even his bandmates.
Greig Nori, Whibley’s mentor and Sum 41’s manager from their early days until his eventual firing in 2005, he writes, groomed and sexually abused him over the course of many years. It started when Nori was 35 and Whibley was 16, he says in the book, and it often made it hard for him to celebrate the band’s biggest successes.
It took him many years to recognize what he went through as misconduct, he says, and it was his then-partner Avril Lavigne and his now-wife Ariana Cooper who told him that what he went through was abuse. He still won’t use a specific word to describe it, instead choosing to just recount what he went through without labelling it.
“This was my first time truly confronting it [in the book],” Whibley says. “I have heard other people’s stories of grooming and abuse and thought, is that what happened to me? It was still a question mark, but the stories were similar. I couldn’t deny that it felt manipulative. As an adult now in this position that I’m in, I can see how easily that 16-year-old kid could have been manipulated. I see how I fell into it.”
Nori, the former leader of the band Treble Charger, has denied the allegations. As SooToday has reported, Nori has filed a notice of action seeking more than $6 million in damages from Whibley and Simon & Schuster for “libel, breach of confidence, intrusion upon seclusion, wrongful disclosure of private facts, and placing the plaintiff in a false light.” Whibley has reportedly responded with his own notice of action seeking $3 million in damages from Nori for accusing him of lying in his memoir and damaging his reputation.
Through representatives, Whibley declined to comment on the legal actions, which were filed shortly after our initial interview. However, in that conversation, he did talk about the possibility his accusations could make their way to the courtroom.
“In a way, I hope it does,” he says. “I’d love for him to go under oath and talk about it in front of a jury and a judge. I have nothing to hide at this point. It’s all out there. I already went public with it. Let’s see what you have to say, Greig.”
Though he accepts the possibility of a legal battle, Whibley says writing about his experiences was as much about Nori as about himself. Going public means he no longer has to hold his story in and deal with its effects on his own. But it’s also about helping others who may have had similar experiences.
After the book came out, Whibley went and read all of his Instagram comments and messages. He’d checked his personal DMs so rarely in the past that he had to ask his wife to show him how. But he wanted to be there for people who recognized something in his writing.
“I’ve had so many messages of people messaging me on social media, and also people who I know who have come up to me and said, ‘I went through something similar,’” he says. “People who have never said anything in their lives. No matter what happens, it’s worth it if I can help people.”
When he was first approached about writing a book, Whibley didn’t quite get it.
“I thought it was going to be really boring,” he says. “‘High school band makes it.’ Cool, that’s fun. But what else is there to say?”
As he started putting it all on paper, he realized just how consistently eventful and unpredictable Sum 41 has been.
“There’s always something good or bad happening, and we’ve never really taken a break.”
Left to right: Dave “Brownsound” Baksh, Jason “Cone” McCaslin, Deryck Whibley, Tom Thacker, Frank Zummo, .
Lane Dorsey/Billboard Canada
Whibley met McCaslin and Baksh along with original drummer (and occasional rapper) Steve “Stevo32” Jocz as high school students in Ajax in the ‘90s.
They played their first official show as Sum 41 at a battle of the bands at the Opera House in Toronto. They hatched a scheme to sell the most tickets, which would guarantee them a professional photo shoot, but despite the school bus full of friends they brought to the show, they were made to play first on the 5 pm slot and were subsequently ghosted on the prize.
But it was there they solidified their relationship with Nori (who Whibley had invited after sneaking backstage at a Treble Charger show) and Marc Costanzo of the band Len (famous for the Billboard Hot 100 No. 9 hit, “Steal My Sunshine”).
Those connections helped Whibley sign a publishing deal with EMI Publishing Canada when he was still 17. That helped them record their demos, which they sent out to all the major labels in Canada, getting a hard pass from all of them. Whibley writes in Walking Disaster that Universal Music Canada called them the worst band they had heard in a decade. (The only bite was from a smaller Canadian label called Aquarius Records, run by music industry legend Donald K. Tarlton, who they gave exclusive Canadian rights to when they eventually signed a worldwide major label deal.)
The key, they thought, was to get the labels to see them live, where they went all out in every show, which included trampolines and roman candles and flaming drumsticks. Instead of playing private shows in sterile label offices, they arranged a five-week residency at a venue called Ted’s Wrecking Yard and invited all of the industry bigwigs to see them there – and this time, they thought beyond Canada.
The shows became the stuff of local legend, and it became the spot for other thirsty bands to try to make deals too.
“There were all these other bands who thought, who’s this young kid band out of high school that’s getting all this attention? We’ve been doing this forever, we’re more punk rock than them,” Whibley remembers. “Then when all these labels started coming out to see us, every band in Toronto was all of a sudden our best friend. I remember this one band, Robin Black & The Intergalactic Rock Stars, coming to out to our shows and trying to get a record deal, like ‘f-ck this Sum 41 band, you need to sign us.’”
By the end of 1999, Sum 41 had signed a $3.5 million record deal as the first rock act on the major label Island Def Jam. At the time, it was the biggest deal ever signed by a Canadian band.
The band’s debut on the label, 2001’s All Killer No Filler, became a big hit on both sides of the border, going platinum in Canada and the United States. “Fat Lip,” with its iconic video that perfectly captures the burgeoning counterculture of the era, topped the Billboard Alternative Airplay chart, joining videos for the endlessly catchy “In Too Deep” and “Makes No Difference” (from their debut EP, Half Hour of Power, the video featured an out-of-nowhere cameo from DMX) in heavy rotation on MuchMusic and MTV.
Sum 41 were the right band at the right time. It was an era when bands like Blink-182 and Green Day were hitting the mainstream, Warped Tour was providing a home for teenagers to see punk bands on a yearly basis, skate culture was hitting its peak and Jackass was becoming a home for unapologetic juvenile humor.
They were four high school punks from the suburb, playing pranks and having house parties – and they gave their fans a front row seat. In a time before social media and YouTube, they took a camcorder everywhere they went, filming their pranks (usually involving petty property damage with eggs or fire extinguishers, though also often piss and shit) and used them as their VHS calling cards.
It resonated with fans and music media, but not so much with critics. They were often written off in the media as goofy burnout kids, trend-folllowers or mainstream rip-offs of underground bands. They were covered for their antics, but not as much for the songs.
“In a way, I think you set the tone for the way people are going to receive you. When you come in and everything’s a joke, then nothing really gets taken seriously,” says Whibley. “For the longest time, that was a pet peeve for me. I have a sense of humour, but I’m not the funny person in the band. I’m the writer and I’ve always been the writer, and I’ve always wanted to talk more about the lyrics and the music and the inspiration. I do love the humour of the band in the early days. I just always wished there could have been some kind of balance. It was very personal to me and I was very serious about it, but it did get overlooked or overshadowed.”
As the band progressed, their music got darker and heavier. Songs on 2002’s Does This Look Infected? and 2004’s Chuck often covered themes of depression and existential angst, alienation, health and societal unrest. Looking back, Whibley recognizes lyrics, like the “dead end situation,” he sings about being stuck in on “No Brains,” that may have subconsciously touched his private struggle with his feelings about what he was going through with Nori.
Chuck was also informed by a near death experience the band had while on a War Child trip to the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Gunfire broke out while they were there, and they named the album after the Canadian UN peacekeeper who saved them, Charles “Chuck” Pelletier. The album often felt far removed from the pop-punk hijinks of just a few years ago.
Around this time, Whibley dated Paris Hilton and then spent four years married to Avril Lavigne from 2006 to 2010. While Whibley was a regular of the celebrity-filled L.A. party scene, he was often mocked for his height and his unconventional rock star looks, which he says took a toll. He became an unlikely fixture of celebrity tabloids, which were rampant and often vicious in the 2000s era.
“I hated that kind of stuff,” he says. “The funny thing is as much as Avril and I ended up in some of it, we avoided it at all costs. The amount of times we were able to go in and out of back entrances to avoid being photographed was amazing. We were out quite a bit, and I would say 90% of the time we were never photographed – but we had to work at it. There’s some times we couldn’t, and that’s when you saw us.”
He was still in the public eye, but frustratingly rarely for his music.
Sum 41 photographed on Jan. 27, 2025 at Canada Life Place in London, Ontario. Left to right: Tom Thacker, Frank Zummo, Deryck Whibley, Dave “Brownsound” Baksh, Jason “Cone” McCaslin
Lane Dorsey/Billboard Canada
Over the years, Whibley struggled with addiction to drugs and alcohol and had multiple near-death experiences, sometimes in the midst of Sum 41 tours. After being hospitalized for liver and kidney failure in 2014, Whibley and his wife Ariana dedicated themselves to getting clean. He’s now been sober for 11 years.
Sum 41 took their only break during that time, though Whibley says it was barely a break – really only the length of one album cycle, with a five-year gap between 2011’s Screaming Bloody Murder and 2016’s 13 Voices.
The lineup shifted, with first Baksh (in 2006) and then Jocz (in 2013) parting ways with the band, replaced by drummer Zummo and guitarist Thacker. Baksh later returned to the band in 2015, giving the band a three guitar attack and often freeing up Whibley to focus on singing and become a more theatrical frontman in live shows. They went independent, signing in 2016 to Hopeless Records then the semi-indie Rise Records for Heaven :X: Hell.
Though no longer in the cultural zeitgeist like they were in the late ‘90s and early 2000s, the band kept releasing solid albums and playing for a consistently engaged audience of diehard fans.
Then eventually, things started to change.
“It felt like things started getting taken more seriously,” says Whibley.
After outlasting the hype and the antics, the health issues and the record label feeding frenzies, Sum 41 were finally being covered on their own merits, as songwriters and performers. When Sum 41 got called for interviews, journalists actually wanted to talk about the music.
Whibley, who had done some production work for Avril Lavigne and other artists, started getting asked to write songs for other artists – some smaller and some more household names (he won’t divulge who). When Covid lockdowns paused the band’s touring schedule, he decided to give it a shot. But he was surprised at what he was being recruited to do.
“Everyone was asking for pop-punk style songs,” he says. “I thought, pop-punk? Why does anyone want pop-punk? It’s been like 15 years since I’ve written a pop-punk song.”
As he started writing, it came surprisingly easy to him. One of the first songs he wrote was “Landmines,” which he says only took him about 10 minutes to write. He kept writing, and the songs kept coming.
“After about seven songs, I thought, you know what, I actually kind of like all these songs. I don’t know if people will see them as Sum 41 songs, but I don’t want to give them away either.”
He decided to turn them into a double album, with one side pop-punk and one side metal – the two sides of Sum 41. The album, Heaven :X: Hell, has been their most successful in years. After “Landmines” brought them back to No. 1 on the Alternative Airplay chart, they followed it with another No. 1 in “Dopamine.”
“We didn’t think we would chart on radio or even get played on a single station on this record,” Whibley says. “It’s pretty phenomenal. It feels like a miracle.”
Now, it’s starting to feel a lot like 2001. Pop-punkand emo are hot again, with bands like Blink-182 and Green Day headlining festivals and Warped Tour making a 30th anniversary resurgence featuring Sum 41’s friends and fellow Canadians Simple Plan. Festivals like When We Were Young and Canada’s All Your Friends Fest are drawing nostalgic 30 and 40-somethings back to the angsty music of their youth.
Mainstream pop and hip-hop acts like MGK and Willow Smith and Machine Gun Kelly have also ‘gone’ pop-punk, fusing throwback riffs and hooks with more modern sounds. There’s a newfound appetite for Sum 41 as a touring and recording project, but this is the moment they’re taking their final bow.
“It never felt to us like we were trying to do anything except for what we loved to do. And over time, I felt like we proved that,” Whibley says. “You know, we’re leaving the music business at the time when our genre is at a peak, because we just do what’s right for us.”
Sum 41 went from being labeled a flash-in-the-pan to becoming nearly three-decade veterans of rock. They witnessed multiple music industry shifts and grew old within a scene that many other bands flamed out in.
So what is their legacy? What do they want to be their epitaph?
Whibley sums it up with one word: honesty.
“Everything for us has just always been honest,” he says. “We never gave a f-ck about anything other than what we wanted to do. That’s who we are.”
This article originally appeared on Billboard Canada.
Sum 41
Lane Dorsey/Billboard Canada
Teddy Swims has officially taken over the ARIA Albums Chart, landing at No. 1 with I’ve Tried Everything But Therapy (Part 2).
The Atlanta-born singer, whose mix of R&B, country, and soul has earned him a devoted fanbase, continues his upward trajectory following the success of I’ve Tried Everything But Therapy (Part 1) last year. Swims’ breakout hit “Lose Control” became a global phenomenon, reaching No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100.
Melbourne band Slowly Slowly continues their steady rise, scoring their third Top 10 album as Forgiving Spree debuts at No. 8. It follows Race Car Blues (No. 7 in 2020) and Daisy Chain (No. 5 in 2022), showing their continued momentum in the Australian rock scene. They also made a splash on the Vinyl Albums Chart, landing at No. 2.
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UK rapper Central Cee makes a strong entrance at No. 2 with his debut studio album, Can’t Rush Greatness.
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It’s his highest-charting release in Australia, surpassing his 2022 mixtape 23, which peaked at No. 6. Central Cee has already had massive success on the ARIA Singles Chart, spending seven weeks at No. 1 in 2023 with “Sprinter,” his collaboration with Dave.
Luke Combs is proving his staying power as his Australian tour boosts This One’s For You to a new career peak at No. 6. The 2017 album had previously topped out at No. 7 in both 2019 and 2022, but with country music’s popularity growing, Combs’ influence in Australia only continues to expand. Kane Brown, who performed at the ARIA Awards last year, also makes his mark this week, debuting at No. 41 with The High Road.
On the ARIA Singles Chart, English singer Lola Young claims her first solo No. 1 with “Messy,” jumping up from No. 3 last week. The track, which has gained serious traction on TikTok, has also gone to No. 1 in the UK, marking a breakout moment for the rising star.
Tate McRae makes her presence felt with “Sports Car,” debuting at No. 10. The track, co-written with Julia Michaels and produced by Ryan Tedder, is the third single from her upcoming album So Close To What. This marks McRae’s ninth Top 50 single, with her biggest chart success to date being “Greedy,” which peaked at No. 2 in 2023.
For the full ARIA Charts, visit ARIA.com.au.
Hitsujibungaku announced its first first U.S. tour, the Hitsujibungaku US West Coast Tour 2025, set to kick off April 10 in San Diego, California. The three-piece alternative J-pop band’s trek is scheduled to make stops in San Diego, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Portland, Oregon. Canadian pop singer Jonathan Roy will accompany the group to […]
Kenshi Yonezu blasts in at No. 1 on the Billboard Japan Hot 100 with his latest hit song “Plazma,” on the chart dated Jan. 29.
The track was written as the theme song for the latest installment of the Mobile Suit Gundam franchise called GQuuuuuuX -Beginning-, released in domestic theaters Jan. 17. After being released digitally on Jan. 20, the track racked up 9,235,562 streams to hit No. 3 for the metric, while coming in at No. 1 for downloads with 40,408 units and No. 4 for radio airplay. This is the eighth chart-topper — and 16th week at No. 1 — for the 33-year-old hitmaker, whose singles “Lemon,” “Flamingo,” “Spirits of the Sea,” “Uma to Shika,” “Pale Blue,” “M87,” and “KICK BACK” have previously hit No. 1.
Coming in a close second on the Japan Hot 100 is Mrs. GREEN APPLE’s “Darling.” The theme song for NHK’s television special featuring the group collaborating with teenagers called Mrs. GREEN APPLE 18 Matsuri hit No. 2 for streaming (12,054,584 streams) and downloads (19,835 units), ruled video views, and came in at No. 18 for radio.
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The three-man band’s former No. 1 track “Lilac” slips two notches to No. 3 this week. While toppling from the top spot on the Japan Hot 100, the song continues to dominate the streaming metric for the 22nd week. Mrs. GREEN APPLE’s “Soranji” is also charting in the top 10, climbing a rung to No. 7. With 6,431,698 weekly views, this track continues to hold in the top 10 for streams and is on the verge of reaching 500 million cumulative streams. Mrs. GREEN APPLE has 5 songs in the top 10 and 20 songs in the top 100 this week, with “Darling ~18 Matsuri Ver.~” bowing at No. 44.
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ONE OK ROCK’s “Puppets Can’t Control You” debuts at No. 10. The theme song for the TV drama Mikami Sensei ruled radio, while hitting No. 3 for downloads and No. 64 for streaming. Meanwhile, Chanmina’s songs continue to rise, with “Harenchi” climbing 51-47, “Never Grow Up” 79-75, “NG” debuting at No. 80, “^_^” at No. 92, and ‘B-kyu’ rising to No. 95.
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 Jan. 20 to 26, here. For more on Japanese music and charts, visit Billboard Japan’s English X account.
hololive VTuber and virtual idol Hoshimachi Suisei has announced her first new album in two years, SHINSEI MOKUROKU.
Ever since her debut, her slogan has been “A shooting star that appeared from diamonds in the rough,” and that slogan was embodied by her first album, a refreshing work with a true idol feel. She followed this up with a very different album that took her music to the next level, expressing the struggles and tumult she faced in her musical career. Now, she is releasing an ambitious third album with the theme of “revolution.” In an interview with Billboard JAPAN, Hoshimachi said, “Virtual artists have been seen as oddities. People don’t look at me as a person, but I sing my own songs and I dance my own dances. Gaining recognition for that is, to me, a revolution.”
Her appearance on a massive billboard in New York’s Times Square is a sign of the steady progress she is making in that revolution. The Spotify advertisement is unusual, as the company has done few collaborations with Japanese artists, and it is their first time collaborating with a Japanese indie artist. When Hoshimachi first heard about the project, she thought they were talking about an advertisement on Shibuya Scramble Square.
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Hoshimachi says she ultimately decided on the concept for the new album around the time she released the lead single “BIBBIDIBA” in March 2024. The theme of the song, written by Vocaloid producer Tsumiki, is a strong-willed woman—a Cinderella who isn’t content to sit back and wait for her prince to come but who goes out to seize her destiny herself. It became the first-ever VTuber song on the Billboard JAPAN charts to reach 100 million streaming plays. That same concept was also part of “AWAKE,” a Hoshimachi song written by the team of Giga and TeddyLoid, whose other credits include Ado’s “Odo.” “Modern women are drawn to and want to become strong women. I’m particularly fond of the lyrics ‘Clichéd storyteller, don’t pass the mic.’ I don’t like falling into clichés, either. I want to explore my own way of doing things. I’m singing about how people can’t leave the direction of their own lives to others who just live cookie-cutter lives.”
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The music on the album was written by a wide range of artists at the vanguard of J-pop and rock, such as Soichiro Yamauchi (Fujifabric), Enon Kawatani (indigo la End, Gesu no Kiwami Otome, etc.), Deu (PEOPLE 1), Natori, and Haruno. Hoshimachi discussed how she chose these artists. “A lot of the artists on my second album were creators active in the online scene. That’s because I’ve also always been heavily online, and those were the artists I was listening to. With this third album, I decided to take a step outside the bounds of the online scene.”
The music videos for the album’s songs are also unique. The videos for “BIBBIDIBA” and “AWAKE” combine anime and live action. Hoshimachi explains, “I really want to break into the real world. I thought about how I, as a virtual figure, could get closer to 3D people, so I went with this approach of fusing our worlds.” The entire video for “Venus Bug” is live action, a rarity for a VTuber.
“Kireigoto,” for which Hoshimachi wrote both the lyrics and music herself, is of particular note. This marks her first time writing her own lyrics and music. “I wanted to do that on my second album, but I ran out of time. Or, I guess I should say, I had a hard time getting myself going. When I was talking to someone on the staff, I mentioned that for sure I wanted to do it on my third album, and they started making concrete deadlines and plans, like ‘okay, have this done by that time’ or ‘let’s have these folks work on the music video.’ That’s when I knew I simply had to make the song, and I set my mind to it. I ended up going way over the deadline, though.”
The lyrics to “Kireigoto” include the line “I sing because I hate spewing platitudes.” It expresses a dilemma that Hoshimachi herself often confronts. “I’ve been online for a long, long time, and a lot of the people in the online communities I’m in live in big cities. That meant it was easy for them to meet up, but since I lived far from anywhere, I could never attend. Then, years later, after I finally made it to the city, I’d reach out to my friends from back then and they’d say ‘I can’t, I’m not young anymore, it’s just too tiring.’ These were people who were already adults back when I was a kid. It made me really sad to see that people changed like this as they got older.” Looking back on this experience, she spoke about how she always wanted to remain lively and young at heart, giving up as little as possible. “But I know that’s just painting a rosy picture. I hate platitudes, and I hate when I’m the one saying platitudes, so I just sing. That’s what the song is about.”
On February 1, she will put on a solo show at the Nippon Budokan. Back before she joined hololive, when she was on her own as an artist, she talked in her very first self-introduction video about her dream: playing at the Nippon Budokan. Reflecting frankly about her feelings at the time, she shared, “I was a little worried that if my dreams came true I’d lose my drive. I also worried that perhaps my listeners would be left with the feeling that they’d watched my story through to its very end and they’d drift away. But now, I’ve actually got my sights set on a lot of things after I play at the Budokan. I’m going to be really busy (laughs). My schedule is packed, so I don’t think there’s ever going to be an end. And I now trust my listeners to stick with me.”
The Nippon Budokan is known as one of Japan’s most prestigious concert venues, but the way Hoshimachi talks about it, it is just one point in her journey. She shared her vision for what lies beyond. “I’ve talked about this for a long time, but I want to create a world in which virtual beings are part of everyday life. I like science fiction set in the near future, like Coil – A Circle of Children. I hope we can see that kind of future in our own lives. That’s why I want to help bring in a new era.”
“There are a lot of people who speak negatively about virtual beings. Whenever I see that, I think ‘they’ve got low resolutions.’ People will say things like ‘all they do is push a button to dance or sing,’ and I just think ‘that’s not true.’ But if people are going to be that way, then, fine, I don’t care, I’ll just become even more active. I’ll force my presence down their throats, like ‘Here, eat up, this is the virtual world.’ If I do that, their resolution might just improve. That’s why I hope to create even more opportunities for people to be exposed to me.”
—This article by Takuto Ueda first appeared on Billboard Japan
The Japan Culture and Entertainment Industry Promotion Association (CEIPA) has announced matsuri ’25: Japanese Music Experience LOS ANGELES, a concert featuring performances by Ado, ATARASHII GAKKO! and YOASOBI, which aims to introduce world-class Japanese music to the global stage. Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news Scheduled to take […]
BAND-MAID kicked off 2025 with a new digital single called “Zen,” released Jan. 13. The track is being featured as the opening theme song for ZENSHU, an original TV anime series produced by MAPPA. The collaboration between the all-women rock band and animation studio hailing from Japan with fans around the world is poised to gain a wide global audience suitable to celebrate the start of a new year.
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The five members of BAND-MAID chatted with Billboard Japan about the production process of the new single, the tracks on Epic Narratives, their first studio album in three and a half years, and their outlook for what is already looking to be a super-busy 2025 for the group.
“Zen,” your new single, has a different flavor from the songs on the Epic Narratives album. Did you start working on it after you finished the album?
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Miku Kobato (Guitar/Vocals): It was around the same time. We were asked to write it when we were still working on the album. KANAMI started off by coming up with a number that fit the requirements for the tie-in while also having a different feel from the album.
KANAMI (Guitar/Vocals): I was given the script for the main story and received quite specific requests regarding the music, so I simplified the image I had in mind to create the track.
MISA (Bass/Vocals): When I listened to the demo, I thought that this song had a strong melody, so I made the bass line feel solid to bring it out. I usually tend to play bass lines that move around a lot, but this time I tried to really focus on the melody and held back on being too technical.
AKANE (Drums/Percussion): I was also very aware of making a melody-oriented beat. Since many of BAND-MAID’s songs have fast BPM, this one might sound a bit mid-tempo, but I tried to avoid making it sound simply like a chilled-out mid-tempo track by adding little details, like creating beats with fills, that would become the hook. Basically, though, I wanted people to listen to the vocals throughout the song, so it’s a simple beat that supports the vocals.
It might be a little simple for BAND-MAID, but when you compare it to songs by other rock bands, it’s not laid back at all.
AKANE: Right. [Laughs] When the melody line is extended like this and the drums are keeping a simple eighth-note groove, it sounds mid-tempo when our band does it. But I didn’t want to erase its speedy feeling, so was conscious of creating a beat that wouldn’t get boring. In terms of the anime, it’s like being reincarnated in another world. I added a furious drum fill before the final chorus, and had these two themes of another world and the real world in my mind when I recorded it.
Kobato: I’ve felt that there are surprisingly few songs with a simple feel recently, so I’m thinking of playing the guitar parts in our live shows [the band calls its concerts “Okyuji,” meaning “to serve”] in a way that would complement the catchy melody, po. SAIKI sings in a way that really brings out the story, so I tried to sing the chorus in a way that would support her from behind, changing the nuances and singing with a lot of range. The chorus work is rich, so I tried to sing it with that in mind, po.
SAIKI, when you wrote the lyrics, what did you focus on in the work it accompanies?
SAIKI (Lead vocals): The title “Zen” was there from the demo stage, and the ZENSHU team were like, “Perfect, that’s great,” so we kept it. I was able to really get into the work by watching all the episodes as moving images, and picked out words from the story and incorporated them into the lyrics. ZENSHU taught me all kinds of things about being an animator, the profession of the protagonist, and thought it’d be nice to convey how creators like that feel. I think musicians and animators are the same in that we both create, so there were lots of parts I could relate to as a musician, and the lyrics in the chorus also reflect how we feel as BAND-MAID.
When (an anime) is based on a work that exists, you might already like it and be able to get into it right away, but since ZENSHU is an anime by MAPPA with an original story, I imagine it must have been difficult to grasp its worldview and reflect that in the lyrics.
SAIKI: It was. [Laughs] But I went over the plot and script and everything many times and worked on it after becoming a fan before anyone else. I felt that the song was “kayou [vintage Japanese pop music] rock.” We don’t often do songs in that style, and because of that, I figured my lyrics would reach people without sounding off, so I did pretty much what I pleased. As a vocalist, I recall recording it in a simpler way. In the first verse, I did simple chorus work, and from the second verse I tried to show off my own quirks, and added more and more harmonies to each chorus.
In terms of the performance, the descending part at the end of the chorus is memorable. What was the inspiration for that arrangement?
KANAMI: I wanted to create a kind of conclusion to the song. I also considered ending all together with the members, but since the work is about reincarnation, I wanted to include a fantasy-like image.
Your guitar solo, on the other hand, has an ascending, chaotic nuance that’s cool.
KANAMI: Thank you, I like it myself. It’s quite difficult technically, but I always want to play melodies that stick in your ears, and I think I’ve created a guitar solo that leaves a strong impression.
On the Zepp tour last year, you also performed songs off your new album Epic Narratives. How do you feel about the album now?
Kobato: After we “served” them live, we were like, “This album is really good after all,” and our masters and princesses [fans] have told us that that they felt the album was even more wonderful after hearing it live, so that made me happy, po.
SAIKI: It really struck me once again how much we love performing live, and felt that our music is something that is completed by “serving” it to the audience.
The music video for the song “Memorable” off your new album features scenery from overseas. It’s a song you feel strongly about, isn’t it?
Kobato: Yes, po. After COVID restrictions were lifted and we were finally able to go on another overseas tour, we thought it’d be a good idea to write a song about how we felt then, so KANAMI wrote the chorus during the tour. From there, we filled the song with memories of our U.S. tour, like including the English phrases we spoke on the stage and making it so that the people who came to see us at the time could envision the scenery when they listened to the song. The song turned out like that because we decided to write a straightforward ballad with a tempo we’ve never done before as BAND-MAID, po.
Lastly, please say a few words as a New Year’s greeting to your to your masters and princesses.
KANAMI: Happy New Year! I’m really looking forward to 2025, especially because we’ll be able to “serve” [play live] in lots of different places. I’ll write more songs this year and work hard so that we can entertain everyone. Thanks in advance.
SAIKI: This year we’ll be releasing not only the new single “Zen” but also an EP, and there’s more good news to come. I hope you’ll all stay healthy and look forward to it!
AKANE: Last year we were able to perform with some bands we respect, like Incubus and The Warning, and our dreams are steadily coming true. I hope we can continue to make the dreams of BAND-MAID as a whole come true again this year.
MISA: I think we’ll be able to “serve” a lot this year, so I plan on cherishing each show. I want to grow personally and grow as a group and make it a fun year.
Kobato: We’ll be “serving” in lots of different places this year, and there are also lots of things we haven’t announced yet, so I think the year will really pass faster than the last, po. I’m really excited about it, and think that 2025 will bring joy, surprise and all sorts of other feelings to our masters and princesses, so I hope you look forward to it, po. One of our strengths is that we work both in Japan and abroad, so we’d like to continue doing projects that our masters and princesses overseas can enjoy too. I’m looking forward to meeting lots of masters and princesses in 2025, po.
Anything else you want to add as a message to your masters and princesses outside of Japan?
Kobato: We’ve received lots of passionate requests from overseas for us to come and “serve” them, and we also really want to meet lots of people everywhere. We hope masters and princesses from outside Japan can come see us “serve” at Billboard Live this year, and we’ll be “serving” on many other occasions as well, so we’d love for you to plan a trip to Japan and come and see us, po!
—This interview by Takayuki Okamoto first appeared on Billboard Japan
Gracie Abrams is back on top. Her sophomore album, The Secret Of Us, has reclaimed the No. 1 spot—leaping from No. 6—on the ARIA Albums Chart for the week of Jan. 20, fueled by the release of its deluxe edition on vinyl.
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The record previously hit No. 1 in July 2024 and has continued to be a favourite with fans since its release. Abrams’ first album, Good Riddance, peaked at No. 30 in 2023, making her latest success a milestone in her career.
Sydneysiders Dear Seattle celebrated their highest-ever chart debut as their third album, TOY, entered at No. 4. This marks the band’s first time in the top 10, surpassing their prior records: Don’t Let Go peaked at No. 45 in 2019, and Someday climbed to No. 31 in 2022.
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Meanwhile, Robbie Williams made a strong debut at No. 5 with the soundtrack to Better Man, his biopic. The album features 13 tracks, including re-recordings and fresh cuts, contributing to Williams’ 15th top 10 solo album in Australia. Williams has previously claimed five No. 1 albums in the country, with Greatest Hits (2004), Intensive Care (2005), Rudebox (2006), Reality Killed the Video Star (2009), and The Christmas Present (2019). The biopic has also sparked renewed interest in Williams’ extensive catalog, with fans revisiting his biggest hits.
Mac Miller also returned to the ARIA chart with Balloonerism, debuting at No. 12. The posthumous release features collaborations with SZA and his alter ego Delusional Thomas, showcasing tracks recorded in 2014. It’s Miller’s third top 10 album in Australia, following Swimming (No. 7, 2018) and Circles (No. 3, 2020).
Meanwhile, Luke Combs’ upcoming Australian tour, which kicks off in Brisbane on Jan. 24, has also propelled his albums back up the ARIA chart. His 2017 debut album, This One’s For You, rises from No. 11 to No. 8 (it previously peaked at No. 7 in 2019 and again in 2022), whileFathers & Sons leaps from No. 77 to No. 20, continuing its impressive run after peaking at No. 3 last year.
On the ARIA Singles Chart, Rosé and Bruno Mars’ “APT.” extended its reign at No. 1 for an 11th non-consecutive week, becoming the longest-running chart-topper since Miley Cyrus’ “Flowers” in 2023. Abrams also continues to dominate the singles chart, with her track “That’s So True” holding steady in No. 2.
For all the latest chart updates, visit the ARIA Charts.
As documented from BTS‘ industry-shifting trilogy albums to the multidimensional universes created by the likes of ATEEZ and aespa, storytelling has become a crucial point to help power K-pop acts to top the charts and connect closely with their ever-growing global fanbases. With 20 years in the industry, Jaden Jeong remains so committed to his musical lores that he refuses to abandon them — even years after its original group has effectively dissolved.
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The founder and CEO of Korean-pop label and creative house Modhaus, Jeong’s work touched generations of K-pop fans with various involvement in superstar acts ranging from Lee Hyori and Wonder Girls to INFINITE, NCT, and OnlyOneOf, but most famously found his name associated alongside his work with girl group LOONA. Jeong acted as creative director for the 12-member outfit since its start in 2016, overseeing music and a larger narrative where the outfit introduced each girl through her own solo album. Despite drawing in fans like Grimes, Kim Petras and multiple queens from the RuPaul’s Drag Race franchise, he parted ways with LOONA’s label BlockBerry Creative in 2019 over a vague difference in creative direction. His exit not only marked a shift in LOONA’s sound (from forward-thinking synth and hyper-pop confections) but also abandoned the larger musical lore the 12 were developing (which included officially teased songs, a ballad project, international expansion, and more).
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But on Jan. 17, 2025, LOONA members HeeJin, HaSeul, Kim Lip, JinSoul, and Choerry — who recently reformed as ARTMS under Modhaus — dropped their “X1” teaser trailer featuring what fans thought sounded awfully similar to a sound previously teased from LOONA in 2019, the presumably lost track titled “BURN.”
Speaking openly about the behind-the-scenes dealings from the past as well as his future creative directions for the first time with Billboard, Jeong says that he and ARTMS will continue LOONA’s legacy through future music releases and touring beginning with the upcoming digital release of ARTMS’ “BURN.”
All 12 of LOONA’s members have successfully returned to the K-pop scene either as soloists (like members Chuu and Yves) or in a new group (as HyunJin, YeoJin, ViVi, Go Won and HyeJu did for two years as Loossemble), Jeong says he watches over all of their creative moves and is cognizant to be sensitive about the amount work that everyone has put into the group.
While shooting new content for ARTMS’ upcoming music as well as a new album for Modhaus’ experimental 24-member girl group tripleS, Jeong says he’s under the weather but still speaks a fiery passion about his past, current and future work that speaks to detail-oriented-yet-grandiose creative vision.
Why are you and ARTMS releasing “BURN” now when LOONA could not? How did you come to this decision?
I am well aware that many fans were looking forward to “BURN,” and for me as well, as it was the very last project I worked on right before leaving BlockBerry Creative. So, when Modhaus signed ARTMS, we wanted to release this song, it was just that we knew the timing would be important. We didn’t release “BURN” as the first song because if we released “BURN” with the reveal of ARTMS, it could have made it look like LOONA Version 2 and weakened ARTMS’ identity. So, we wanted to start ARTMS’ own story and work to where the story can lead up to its release.
Before we look forward to ARTMS, I’d like to reflect on how we got here. I remember learning your name for being closely associated with LOONA, but you left for somewhat vague reasons. The LOONA members left the label as well. Is there more you can share today?
So, this overall situation is quite tricky to express with words…I feel like my departure, or the reason for it, can sound like a criticism against someone, some organization, or a situation; that’s why I’ve avoided answering. But after all this time, if I were to give a little more insight into this…as you know, the members have left after going through a legal proceeding. You can say my whole situation is similar to what the members went through.
That gives some insight because you’ve explained your system with tripleS and the necessary amount of albums to sell for a unit to release more. It paints a picture of the financial realities facing K-pop acts. LOONA had 12 members, so I’ve heard theories wondering if it was difficult to financially justify the large-scale project you envisioned.
Answering about the financial side might sound like I’m criticizing one party over another, so I will only answer from my own side of things…so, like any other team, you start off the group through investments. Then you go through steps where you’re able to recoup [the investments] and make a profit. In the case of LOONA, I actually marketed it as a very expensive project, a group that would require a lot of money to be invested. However, in actuality, there was very compact spending and budgeting. In mentioning that, you can say, for example, that three billion Korean won [about $2.1 million] is a lot of money, while some can say that is a tight budget — it can change according to perspective. But when I’ve worked on groups, it’s not as if I was only working as the producer, but I had to calculate budget and expenses. There were many members for LOONA and we marketed it as an expensive project despite the consolidated spending, so we believe there could have been some illusions or misconceptions. However, especially considering the 12 members, there was a good turnaround, even financially.
So, what was “BURN” going to be with LOONA and what will it be ARTMS?
For the sake of comparison, tripleS is a group where fans’ decisions and interactions are very involved in creating the journey and next project. However, we planned out LOONA from the start. We had [the singles] “Hi High” and “Butterfly,” which are actually very different in concept and style, but I believe the fans could see how those two songs ultimately emerge and connect. The track after “Butterfly” was meant to be none other than “BURN,” so that’s why the “Butterfly” activities ended with a teaser trailer for “BURN;” this was all planned out.
I never told this to anyone in the world, but after “BURN,” we planned to work on [singles titled] “RUN” and then “ONE.” The three are a trilogy, just like how “Hi High” and “Butterfly” connect. “BURN” is about burning oneself, burning one’s identity away…you know, during puberty, you leave behind and “shed” your younger self? It’s like leaving that part of you behind as you grow in your identity. So, the trilogy is about “BURN” and burning oneself, “RUN” where the 12 members run their individual paths, and “ONE” is when the 12 members come together as “one.” For ARTMS, the story I have is that they came out with “Birth” and “Virtual Angel.” Angels can be interpreted in many different ways — for us, the wingbeat, or the act of flapping the wings, can be viewed as a butterfly. Now, “BURN” is meant to burn these very wings so it’s the perfect follow-up. Or that’s how we view it. [Laughs]
Where does ARTMS go from here?
I don’t want to spoil everything, but snippet videos for “BURN” were filmed in Europe and will be released soon. ARTMS is working on a lot of music that will be intertwined with “BURN.” I don’t want to outright share the spoiler, but you can think of it as something after the burn, something from the ashes, almost like a new self and identity. You’ll just have to see how it goes.
But I also have “RUN” and “ONE” in store, but can’t share everything so you’ll just have to look forward.
Sounds like a phoenix is rising soon. But this is all so fascinating; where do you pull your inspiration from?
I don’t think there is anything special, I am like anyone else: the books from my youth, Hollywood movies these days, advertisements, I get inspiration from many different things. It’s not like I have a special talent related to this. However, I do like new things quite a lot. I gain this sense of enjoyment in showcasing something that has yet to be achieved or never before seen.
Back to the music, ARTMS visited the U.S. last year as part of their Moonshot World Tour. Do you have future concert plans?
ARTMS’ next tour will consist of mostly of all LOONA songs. Fans may be confused as to why there are so many LOONA songs, and why ARTMS is performing it, but as someone who really participated in producing these songs, LOONA has a huge catalog of very good songs and we wanted to keep that legacy going. I wanted to have two concepts within ARTMS, where they can tour with ARTMS but also with LOONA’s music.
ARTMS consists of five of LOONA’s original 12. Is there a way you see the remaining members connecting into this future story?
This might be a sensitive topic because I’m planning new things with ARTMS, but I still have a pretty good relationship with all the members including the soloists. And they’re all doing well in their own personal activities. Yves and Chuu are doing well as soloists, Loossemble may be going through a rocky time now and we’re still maintaining that good relationship, but it’s hard to bring all that together as everyone is doing well in their respective areas.
That being said, we’re getting “BURN,” but you teased other LOONA projects during your time — LOONA the Ballad or La Maison LOONA, music aimed at the Japanese market. Do you keep them in mind for future projects?
Like I mentioned, I do a lot of planning — maybe two to three years in advance. I do have lots of songs in store and some are previously recorded. From the fans’ perspective, it makes me really sad that so many of these songs have not been released to this day. The same goes for me as I was participating in these projects and also put a lot of effort into them — the fact that they haven’t been released yet is still saddening to me as well. I do want to showcase those songs with ARTMS but as mentioned, I don’t want to share straight them from the beginning as we’re still developing the identity of ARTMS. Also, with the unsure situation with Loossemble, we didn’t want to jump into it out of respect, but in the future I do want to integrate those songs into ARTMS’ catalog.
Your career spans 20 years at this point. Is there any moment or release you look at with pride? You collaborated on INFINITE’s INFINITIZE album, which is a high point in K-pop, in my opinion.
I really put everything into that album. The memories of those days live with me so vividly — there is a car in the music video for [lead single] “The Chaser,” where it flipped around a full 360 degrees and that memory is still fresh in my mind.
But one of the things that I liked about INFINITE is that they didn’t use [American] pop as a reference. Even now, you can say it’s a trend for many K-pop groups to mix American pop and hip-hop styles into their music. However, for INFINITE, maybe it was our youthful spirit, but I wanted to make them the standard and identity for K-pop — as in, making Korean K-pop with Korean attributes and without U.S. references. Although doing music 100 percent without U.S. reference would be difficult, admittedly. But we really had such bravado and determination.
Your work has spanned from creative direction, A&R, concept planning and, now, a CEO of your own company with Modhaus. Is there a particular role or aspect you enjoy most?
As many know, I was a freelancer when producing LOONA. Same for the other artists I’ve worked with, I was always contracted with them. I came to realize there is a certain limit to working with, as well as the funds of, other companies. Obviously, I do a lot of step-by-step planning and it was sad that it had to come to an ending. But through all the experiences I’ve gained, I thought I had to create my own company to really get that creative process going, but also support other creatives in their fields to express more of themselves freely in their work. I thought timing for that was right.
Looking ahead, what would you like to share about the future of Modhaus, tripleS, or beyond?
Firstly, when it comes to tripleS, last year we released their full, 24-member album [ASSEMBLE24] and tripleS did their activities as 24 members. Since tripleS has many members, I want to do more activities and more various, different contents with tripleS. All the members have their own brand of charm and characteristics, so there is much more content in store that we want to show to the world.
Regarding Modhaus, I truly want to make it the entertainment company that proposes and showcases new content, concepts and visions. What this means is that — well, there are many entertainment companies and several hundred or dozens of new [K-pop] teams each year. I am sorry to say this, but they are all pretty similar. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, but for tripleS, people can say “Modhaus debuted a 24-member group.” Whether the people like it or dislike it, whatever their reaction is, it is a new concept in Korea or around the world. So, we want to try and pursue a different vision and try different content — the very content that people will say, “I never saw that before” or “I’ve never seen that in K-pop.” We want to pursue and showcase that and succeed with that mindset.
Mrs. GREEN APPLE’s “Lilac” continues to rule the Billboard Japan Hot 100 for the fifth week, on the chart dated Jan. 22.
Downloads, streams and video views for the Oblivion Battery opener are down to 67%, 89%, and 95%, respectively, compared to the week before, but karaoke is up to 104%. The track holds at the top spot for the third consecutive week and for fifth time in total, with a huge lead over the track at No. 2 and below.
At No. 2 is Rosé & Bruno Mars’ “APT,.” also holding for the third week. While the track is slowing down in downloads, streams and video, it gained slightly in radio and karaoke.
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STU48’s “Chiheisen wo miteiruka?” debuts at No. 3. The title track of the girl group’s 11th single sold 165,727 copies in its first week to hit No. 1 for sales.
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Mrs. GREEN APPLE’s “Que Sera Sera” slips a notch to No. 4. Streams are down to 93% and downloads to 50% week-over-week, but radio and karaoke are up to 170% and 105%, respectively.
“CBZ (Prime time)” by BSS, a group consisting of members SEUNGKWAN, DK, and HOSHI of SEVENTEEN, bows at No. 5. The lead track of the trio’s second single “TELEPARTY” sold 63,797 copies to come in at No. 2 for sales, while also hitting No. 94 for downloads, No. 86 for radio and No. 41 for video. “’Shohikigen,” by SEVENTEEN released last year, also came in at No. 3 for sales, and the track rises to No. 20 on the Japan Hot 100 after six weeks.
In other chart moves, a number of rapper Chanmina’s tracks have climbed the Japan Hot 100 again, due to the final judging of the audition project she’s producing, No No Girls, airing on Jan. 11. “Harenchi” came in at No. 51 and “Never Grow Up” at No. 79. Also, after the movie 366 Days hit domestic theaters on Jan. 10, the song the story was inspired by, HY’s “366 Days,” has returned at No. 84. The last time this classic ballad charted was about six months ago, in July 2024.
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 Jan. 13 to 19, here. For more on Japanese music and charts, visit Billboard Japan’s English Twitter account.