Photo/Illutration Yoasobi's composer and lyricist Ayase and vocalist (Provided by Ken Murakami)

J-pop is a tough sell overseas, but in recent years more musicians are challenging that perception and finding success abroad.

One of the artists leading the charge is Yoasobi, which is celebrating its fifth anniversary.

The duo's hit single “Idol” gained popularity among audiences overseas and led to their first U.S. solo concert and appearances at major music festivals this year.

Yoasobi's 30-year-old composer and lyricist Ayase and 24-year-old vocalist ikura say they do not feel bound by language barriers.

“The world isn’t as daunting as people might think,” the duo said.

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Since its debut in 2019 with “Yoru ni Kakeru” (“Into the Night”), Yoasobi has become a regular on the charts.

Many of the duo's songs have complex structures, with shifting rhythms and key changes, but always feature catchy melodies and memorable hooks.

Ikura effortlessly clears high notes and sails through rapid-fire lyrics in time with their tempos, even showing off some playful rap in “Idol.”

“Idol” is the opening theme song for the anime adaptation of the series “Oshi no Ko” (roughly “my star”), which was a major hit in Japan and made history as the first Japanese-language single to reach No. 1 on the Billboard Global chart excluding the United States. 

“We want to put out J-pop we’re proud of and reach many people in Japan and around the world,” ikura said.

Ayase, who was once part of a rock band and has a love for music from the United States and Europe, said he chooses to focus on J-pop because he “doesn’t want to be confined to any single concept or genre when creating music.”

“I think J-pop is a genre that mixes interesting elements from all over, such as Latin, samba and R&B,” Ayase said. “We want people to experience the essence of J-pop through Yoasobi.”

Some of his favorite Japanese artists are Exile, Kobukuro, Sukima Switch, aiko and Maximum the Hormone―all with very different styles.

“I think J-pop is the perfect genre for exploring all kinds of music in creative and fun ways,” Ayase said. “There is an incredible sense of accomplishment when we create something that can only be described as ‘J-pop,’ and then ikura breathes life into it with her vocals to complete the song.”

While many of their tracks have English versions, Ayase said, “We hope (the English versions) help overseas listeners discover our music, but the originals are always in Japanese.”

“I don’t really feel limited by language barriers,” he said. “Even if we don’t understand the lyrics of Western songs, we can still get into the music and kind of follow along and sing, too.”

In 2022, Yoasobi held its first overseas concert in Indonesia, where fans enthusiastically sang along in Japanese.

“It was amazing,” ikura said. “The energy was incredible and it made me so happy.”

Ayase said, “With our hard work and the global reach of J-pop, I think (Japanese) will become a language that feels more familiar to people.”

Hopes are high for even greater success abroad, but, “We don’t want to draw arbitrary lines between Japan and other countries―we just want to go wherever people want to see us,” Ayase said. “For us, heading to Asia or Europe to perform isn’t any different from going to a part of Japan we haven’t visited yet.” 

The duo most recently performed at Osaka's Kyocera Dome in October and will take the stage at Tokyo Dome on Nov. 9 and 10.

Ikura said, “'Idol' reached international audiences because people in Japan loved it first.”

“We’re not planning to focus only on overseas audiences―we just want to go out and connect with as many people as possible,” she said.

(This article was written by Chiho Yashiro and Shiki Iwasawa.)

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