Photo/Illutration Kenshi Yonezu, left, and Hikaru Utada, who collaborated on “Jane Doe” (Provided by Sony Music Labels Inc.)

Singer-songwriter Kenshi Yonezu’s 2022 “Kick Back” earned platinum certification from the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) in September, becoming the first Japanese-language song with the distinction. 

The platinum certification is given to record-setting songs in the United States, according to his record label.

The RIAA uses its own measurements called “units” to tally music sales in the United States.

In the digital single category, the association awards gold (for a song or album selling more than 500,000 units), platinum (1 million units) and other certifications.

“Kick Back” was written as the opening theme song for the popular “Chainsaw Man” animated TV series.

Referring to how the audience went wild every time he performed “Kick Back” during his world tour earlier this year, Yonezu said in a statement, “The power, or energy so to speak, that this song has is enormous, coupled with the fact that ‘Chainsaw Man’ is popular in Japan and other countries.”

The musician also wrote “Iris Out,” the theme song for “Chainsaw Man - The Movie: Reze Arc,” a feature film adaptation of the anime series released in September, and “Jane Doe,” its ending theme song.

He collaborated with singer-songwriter Hikaru Utada for the latter.

These two songs claimed the first and second spots, respectively, on Oricon Inc.’s streaming song chart between Sept. 22 and 28.

In particular, “Iris Out” was played about 32.2 million times in that week.

According to the entertainment data tracker, the figure is the highest since it started tallying for the category in 2018.

Meanwhile, “Iris Out” ranked No. 5 on the Billboard Global 200 chart on Oct. 4. The chart covers more than 200 countries and regions around the world.

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