Music News

Billboard Japan unveiled its year-end charts for 2024, and Mrs. GREEN APPLE is Artist of the Year, based on the Artist 100 ranking compiled from results of both the Japan Hot 100 and Hot Albums charts. Additionally, frontman and principal songwriter Motoki Ohmori (vocals and guitar) dominated the year-end Top Composers and Top Lyricists charts for the second year in a row.

This year, the three-man pop-rock band released a new song every month from April to August. “Lilac,” the opening theme song for the anime series Oblivion Battery, stayed at No. 1 on the Streaming Songs tally for 18 consecutive weeks, becoming popular as the trio’s new signature number. “Ao to Natsu,” the group’s hit from 2018, broke its personal record for most weekly streams on the Streaming Songs chart released Aug. 14 with 6,969,716 weekly streams, coming in at No. 4 for the week. Now in its 11th year as a band, Mrs. GREEN APPLE continues to expand its reach.

The group consisting of Ohmori, Hiloto Wakai (guitar), and Ryoka Fujisawa (keyboards) also kept busy doing live shows, including collaborative concerts at the Yokohama Arena with other acts in May, a domestic stadium tour entitled Zenjin Mito to Weltraum in July that drew about 150,000 people in total, and a ten-show mini-residency at K-Arena Yokohama that ran from October to November. In recent news, the band released a new song called “Bitter Vacances” written as the theme for the upcoming live-action movie Saint Young Men, due in Japanese theaters Dec. 20. And to make the upcoming 10th anniversary of their major debut a magical year, they have just announced numerous plans, including a 100,000-person outdoor live concert over two days, the release of their best album ’10’, and their first solo performance in Korea. What were the band members feeling as they faced their music while racing through a super-busy year? Ohmori, Wakai, and Fujisawa chatted with Billboard Japan, looking back on a fruitful 2024 and sharing some visions for the new year.  

Mrs. GREEN APPLE is No. 1 on Billboard Japan’s year-end Artist 100 chart for 2024. How do you feel about this result?

Fujisawa: I’m very grateful. I was so surprised that I teared up a little.

Wakai: We released a lot of songs this year, so I’m genuinely grateful that they’ve reached so many people in a proper way.

Ohmori: I topped the year-end Top Lyricists and Top Composers charts last year, and those results allowed me to believe in the things I create and the things we think are interesting, and work on them in a positive way for the past year. I’m happy to have received this kind of recognition in what was such a fun year. I hear from people that our songs are being used at sports days in schools ranging from elementary to high school, and that really gives me a sense of how well our songs are known and how they’re being received. I don’t really feel it when I’m going about my daily business, but when I hear that [the songs] are close to someone’s everyday life, it really hits home.

Wakai: They’re also being sung as choral pieces [in schools].

Fujisawa: From the end of last year to this year, we had a lot of opportunities to enjoy ourselves with our fans, like going on our own tour, performing live with other acts, and doing more headlining shows in the summer. It kind of surprised me that so many people knew about us.

There must have been many first-time visitors to your concerts.

Ohmori: Looking out from the stage, I did notice that people of all ages were in the audience. Like grandmothers bringing their grandchildren. It gives us confidence to know that we’re doing shows that families can feel safe and enjoy together.

The band has been busy touring and releasing new music this year. If you were to sum up the year, how would you describe it?

Ohmori: It was fun. Last year, it was like saying hello for the first time [after becoming a three-man band], but this year, I think we were able to reaffirm our unchanging relationship and stance on songwriting as we tried to live up to expectations and adapted to our changing surroundings. I was writing songs for our five-month consecutive release, but it wasn’t like I was pushing myself too hard and I can say that it was a very meaningful and enjoyable year.

Wakai: We really did a lot of things and it was really fruitful.

Fujisawa: Each member had more opportunities to flourish this year, and there were many moments when I saw the other two working hard and was like, “They’re so cool” and “I’m so proud of them.”

Wakai: There are a lot of YouTube videos of people covering “Lilac” on guitar, and personally, it felt like there were more instances where I felt like I was being recognized as a guitarist and that made me happy.

You added some original arrangements at your residency shows (Mrs. GREEN APPLE on “Harmony”) and they were awesome.

Wakai: The crowd seemed to enjoy it, so I was glad.

Fujisawa: While watching Ohmori working hard writing songs at a tremendous pace for the five consecutive releases, we also played those songs at that speed, adding our own arrangements as we went along, and also performed them live again and again. How each member has been able to face things with responsibility shows the growth of our band this year.

Ohmori: Speaking of growth, or something I’ve discovered, is that I’ve come to realize once again that writing songs isn’t something I do for something or someone, but only for myself, even though I’m the type of person who thinks it’s better to enjoy fun things together with everyone. Now that more people are listening to my music, there’s greater responsibility, but in the end I only release things that I feel are good, so I don’t feel any crazy pressure or stress and really enjoy making music naturally. Being able to reconfirm that was a personal growth for me. I’d be lying if I said I don’t feel pressure, but I still feel like I’ve been able to stay natural.

Are there any other motivations that drive the three of you?

Wakai: What we talk about a lot among the members is live performances. I feel that the main source of our energy and motivation is to do something that we can genuinely enjoy ourselves and have the audience also enjoy that, too.

Ohmori: That was notable in our The White Lounge tour.

Fujisawa: Like Wakai said, when we do something we find interesting and new, and see that the people on the receiving end are enjoying it, we want to update ourselves even more. Personally, there are a lot of things I find difficult and set me back, but seeing Ohmori and Wakai working hard gives me power.

So your bandmates are friends you can rely on and also rivals you can compete with.

Ohmori: They’re really important to me. In a good way, I don’t really have the sense that Mrs. GREEN APPLE is being burdened with expectations from the public. The three of us are just having fun making music together. That’s really all there is to it. We’ve been doing this since we were in junior high school, and I think that’s what makes us Mrs. GREEN APPLE.

Lastly, what are your prospects for 2025?

Ohmori: We celebrated our 10th anniversary [since formation] in 2023 and next year will be our 10th since our debut. It’s our anniversary year, so I hope we can be close to our JAMs [Mrs. GREEN APPLE fans]. We hope to keep challenging ourselves individually, and to make the ship that is Mrs. GREEN APPLE even bigger. We also want to do lots of shows.

Fujisawa: It’ll be ten years since our debut, so I want to express our gratitude to everyone next year.

Wakai: It’ll be the last year in our twenties for Ohmori and me, so I want to make the final year one without regrets and enjoyable.

—This interview by Takuto Ueda first appeared on Billboard Japan

Billboard Japan has unveiled its 2024 year-end charts, tallying the weeks from Nov. 27, 2023, to Nov. 24, 2024.

The No. 1 Song of the Year on the Japan Hot 100 is Creepy Nuts’ “Bling-Bang-Bang-Born.” The opening theme song of the anime series MASHLE Season 2 was released Jan. 7 and racked up 547,310,791 streams during the tallying period.

“We still feel like, ‘We’re able to make a living doing music!’” shares rapper R-shitei of Creepy Nuts upon hearing the news of topping the year-end charts, “We never planned to make songs that would be listened to around the world. It’s really just about expressing what we want to get out and releasing the pent-up expressions we’ve been holding in, basically.” DJ Matsunaga adds, “Now that we’ve returned to a lifestyle focusing on music, it feels like the irresponsibleness that I had before is back. Express bad stuff like it is. It feels like we’ve regained the courage to do that.”

Coming in at No. 2 for the year is “Bansanka” by 15-year-old singer-songwriter tuki., and Omoinotake’s “IKUOKU KONEN,” the theme song of the drama series Eye Love You, follows at No. 3.

The No. 1 Album of the Year on Billboard Japan’s Hot Albums chart is Snow Man’s RAYS. The fourth album by the nine-member group sold 1,183,100 copies during the tallying period and topped the CD Sales ranking as well.

“We’re very happy that our fourth album RAYS has been crowned Billboard Japan Hot Albums of the Year 2024. We’re truly grateful to everyone who received our work and touched our music, and to the encouraging staff who were involved in the production,” says Snow Man member RAUL on behalf of the group. “RAYS has a very special place in our hearts because it can be interpreted as the culmination of the first chapter of Snow Man that sublimates the powers we’ve honed and the support we’ve received over the four years since our debut into music. It was challenging, but we always imagined our fans close by as we worked on it. We’re deeply touched that our precious fans have listened to it and given us so many positive comments.”

“The group will be celebrating the fifth anniversary since its debut in 2025, kicking off with a best-of album set to drop on Jan. 22, the day of our debut,” he adds. “We’re also currently planning to spend more time with our fans, so we hope you’ll look forward to it!”

At No. 2 is Kenshi Yonezu’s LOST CORNER, and at No. 3 is SEVENTEEN’s 17 IS RIGHT HERE.

Mrs. GREEN APPLE takes the top spot on the Artist 100 of the Year ranking compiled from the results of the Japan Hot 100 and Hot Albums charts. The three-man band charted 17 songs on the Japan Hot 100, including hits like “Lilac” and “Que Sera Sera.”

“I’m very grateful. I was so surprised that I teared up a little,” says Mrs. GREEN APPLE keyboardist Ryoka Fujisawa. Guitarist Hiloto Wakai adds, “We released a lot of songs this year, so I’m genuinely grateful that they’ve reached so many people in a proper way.” Frontman and principal songwriter Motoki Ohmori notes, “I topped the year-end Top Lyricists and Top Composers charts last year, and those results allowed me to believe in the things I create and the things we think are interesting, and work on them in a positive way for the past year. I’m happy to have received this kind of recognition in what was such a fun year.”

Following at No. 2 on the year-end Artist 100 is back number, rising a notch from its position on the mid-year round-up. The three-man band charted 10 songs on the Japan Hot 100 including “Suiheisen” and “Takaneno Hanakosan.” At No. 3 is YOASOBI, the breakout hitmakers whose performance at Coachella in April made headlines in their home country.

As Japanese artists continue to branch out globally, Creepy Nuts’ music is reaching listeners on a global scale after “Bling-Bang-Bang-Born” became a long-running hit both in Japan and overseas. Total global streams for the hip-hop duo has jumped significantly and as a result, “Bling-Bang-Bang-Born” achieved 12 No.1s on Billboard Japan’s 2024 year-end charts, including the newly announced year-end Global Japan Songs Excl. Japan chart, which ranks songs from Japan that are being listened to in over 200 countries around the world excluding Japan. 

Billboard JAPAN Hot 100 of the Year 2024

1. “Bling-Bang-Bang-Born” / Creepy Nuts

2. “Bansanka” / tuki.

3. “IKUOKUKONEN” / Omoinotake

4. “Idol” / YOASOBI

5. “Lilac” / Mrs. GREEN APPLE

6. “Que Sera Sera” / Mrs. GREEN APPLE

7. “Show” / Ado

8. “Kaiju No Hanauta” / Vaundy

9. “Ao To Natsu” / Mrs. GREEN APPLE

10. “Dance Hall” / Mrs. GREEN APPLE

Billboard JAPAN Hot Albums of the Year 2024

1. RAYS / Snow Man

2. LOST CORNER / Kenshi Yonezu

3. 17 IS RIGHT HERE / SEVENTEEN

4. THE VIBES / SixTONES

5. SPILL THE FEELS / SEVENTEEN

6. No.Ⅰ / Number_i

7. GIANT / Stray Kids

8. No.O -ring- / Number_i

9. SCIENCE FICTION / Hikaru Utada

10. +Alpha / Naniwa Danshi

Billboard JAPAN Artist 100 of the Year 2024

1. Mrs. GREEN APPLE

2. back number

3. YOASOBI

4. Vaundy

5. Official HIGE DANdism

6. Ado

7. Creepy Nuts

8. Kenshi Yonezu

9. King Gnu

10. Aimyon

Billboard JAPAN Global Japan Songs Excl. Japan of the Year 2024

1. “Bling-Bang-Bang-Born” / Creepy Nuts

2. “Idol” / YOASOBI

3. “SPECIALZ” / King Gnu

4. “NIGHT DANCER” / imase

5. “Shinunoga E-Wa” / Fujii Kaze

6. “KICK BACK” / Kenshi Yonezu

7. “Where Our Blue Is” / Tatsuya Kitani

8. “Yoru Ni Kakeru” / YOASOBI

9. “TOKYO DRIFT(FAST & FURIOUS)” / TERIYAKI BOYZ

10. “Mayonaka no Door / Stay With Me” / Miki Matsubara