YOASOBI Discusses the Creation of Chart-Topping Hit ‘Idol’ & Performing Live: Interview

“Idol,” the newest single from YOASOBI, the musical duo known for producing songs inspired by novels, is absolutely sensational. Written as the opening theme song to the anime TV series 【OSHI NO KO】, it was based on a demo song that Ayase, who was a fan of the manga series the show was based on, wrote before YOASOBI was even approached to work on the song. The lyrics were based on the short story 45510, by 【OSHI NO KO】‘s creator, Aka Akasaka.

【OSHI NO KO】, which bluntly and realistically depicts both the glittery surface and the dark underbelly of the entertainment industry, was generating tremendous buzz even before the show began airing. The opening song, “Idol,” became a topic of interest as soon as it was announced. “Idol” was released on April 12, the same day the series began airing, and it appeared on the Billboard Japan Hot 100 on April 19, claiming the top position, where it remains even now. On June 10, it also topped the Billboard Global Excl. U.S. chart. The song’s popularity is spreading worldwide.

Billboard Japan spoke with the duo about the story behind the creation of “Idol,” the Hajimete no EP (literally “the first EP”) that sprang from a collaboration with Naoki prize-winning novelists, their thoughts on performing live, and their experience with their ongoing live tour YOASOBI ARENA TOUR 2023 “DENKOSEKKA.”

The Hajimete no EP, which you released on May 10, was a collaboration with the four Naoki Prize-winning novelists Rio Shimamoto, Mizuki Tsujimura, Miyuki Miyabe, and Eto Mori. Each of them wrote a short story, which you wrote songs for. You started this project in February 2022, and now you’ve finally finished the completed, packaged product.

Ayase: The EP includes not only the CD, but also the original short stories, so it represents the culmination of this collaboration and the pure embodiment of YOASOBI, a unit that turns novels into music. We began working on the project about a year ago, so I feel a tremendous sense of accomplishment.

ikura: It’s the first time I’ve ever worked on a project for this long. Right after we formed YOASOBI, we had been talking talked about wanting to do a project like this, and I think that now, in our fourth year of breakneck activity, the new EP has encapsulated our true value. The short stories that were written for the project are truly wonderful, and I think the project itself is a great treasure.

I’m sure that there are some challenges that you took on for “the first” time with this EP. Looking back on the process, what stands out in your memory?

Ayase: First off, I was able to write the songs that expressed what I wanted to, in that moment, for the whole EP. For example, in “Mister,” I wanted to make city pop, and in the closing song, “Seventeen,” I wanted to finally try my hand at some louder music. The theme of the collection of short stories is “stories to read when you do something for the first time,” and I think the writers also took on new challenges with their stories, so we were able to throw off convention and try new things without hesitation. I think these four songs have really expanded our repertoire. They created a chemical reaction, in a good way.

Your song, “Idol,” is the opening theme song for the anime TV series 【OSHI NO KO】, which is airing as we speak. It’s become a runaway hit. Ayase, you were a fan of the original manga, right?

Ayase: I was really surprised. I stumbled upon 【OSHI NO KO】 one day, and I devoured it, reading up to the latest issue. I had this tremendous creative desire to create something, so, inspired, I started wroting music for it. This all happened about a year and a half ago, and it’s what ultimately led to “Idol.” It was such a miraculous turn of fate.

So the song you wrote was the progenitor of “Idol?”

Ayase: It was almost identical, actually. The lyrics are totally different, of course. I wasn’t planning to release it as a YOASOBI song. Instead, I was thinking about maybe releasing it as a Vocaloid song. I remembered that a few days ago, and looking back on my notes from the time, it says “a girl who’s an incredibly strong fighter.” The mental image I had for the song was really vague — an unmatched battler, with a dark side. The rest was left up to the listener to enjoy imagining. That was the theme. That turned into “an unmatched idol.” The “ultimate idol” part of the chorus was originally about the “ultimate secret techniques.” I had even planned to name the song “Ultimate Secret Techniques.”

ikura, you started reading 【OSHI NO KO】 after you received the offer to write the music, right? What part of it drew you in?

ikura: I was surprised to see just how realistically it depicted the light and dark sides of the entertainment industry. And, what’s more, the theme was idols, which people worship as icons. Of course, I’m no idol, so some of the things depicted were different, but there were also some parts that overlapped with my own experience. When you’re working as an artist today, it’s not unusual to have some experiences that hurt you, emotionally. That’s something I’ve experienced myself. I think this anime will change the way the world looks at the entertainment industry, and how it thinks about idols.

Ayase: It’s really detailed. A lot of people will just look at it as fiction, but I actually think reality is even bleaker. So even though I do work in a similar vein as what’s depicted, with 【OSHI NO KO】 it’s like I’m stepping back and getting a bird’s eye view. I just think, “what a vicious industry.” When I wrote the lyrics, I began by just writing out several pages of my thoughts about the entertainment industry and about working in the public eye.

Did you make any new discoveries?

Ayase: I realized that I was even more dissatisfied than I’d thought I was (laughs). I feel nothing but gratitude to all the fans that support us, but there are a lot of times where I just can’t accept that the industry is like it is. At least, as creators, we’re creating things and expressing things starting from zero, which is a godsend. I’m guessing that people who do work where they have to create together, collaborating with lots of other people, like idols or voice actors — they must have it so much harder than us. I thought a lot about that.

“Idol” was based on the short story 45510 by Aka Akasaka. It’s written from the point of view of a former member of B-Komachi, an idol group which Ai was once a member of, and which was managed by Ichigo Production. What interactions did you have with Akasaka about the story?

Ayase: When I got the first draft, I went to meet with Akasaka, and I made a request to change the point of view of the story. I really wanted Ai to be the protagonist. However, talking with Akasaka, I came to understand that what makes Ai the ultimate idol is that nobody can know her true essence. The common ground we reached was the short story that’s been released, which is based on Ai and the events surrounding her as she’s seen by a fellow member of B-Komachi. I realized that with this, I could write a story about Ai but maintain that air of mystery. I’m very grateful to Akasaka for creating this wonderful short story.

Reading the lyrics to “Idol,” as you say, the first half describes Ai as seen through the eyes of a third party. However, in the second half, the perspective switches to Ai’s own point of view, and you get a glimpse of her secrets. How did you interpret the roles of Aqua and Ruby when you were writing “Idol?”

Ayase: The existence of Aqua and Ruby is key. The song only depicts the story up to the end of the first episode. I thought that if the opening theme song was always one about what Ai was thinking when she was alive, what happened to her, and her love for Aqua and Ruby, that people would never forget about Ai, and she would become a legend.

ikura, what did you think about the lyrics to the song?

ikura: The first half is sung from a different point of view from Ai’s, so at first I didn’t know what kind of tone or nuance I should use. I thought about it long and hard, and eventually came to the conclusion that if I just made those decisions on my own, it would be disrespectful of the source material. So, first, I learned the melody line and listened to music that would give me ideas for the rap portion. Then, as far as the tone, I’d think about it at the same time as we were doing the recording. I’d never really used this approach before.

Ayase: For the rap part, I’d originally thought of it as being really hardcore, but ikura’s not a rapper, so we tried a few different approaches and realized that the best approach wouldn’t be to try to imitate real hip-hop, but instead to make the cutest rap ever. There were a lot of parts where the song changed a lot from my initial conception through the actual singing process.

What was your concept for the sound production?

Ayase: I wanted strong lows, like GHOSTEMANE. Last year, when we did a show in Indonesia, I saw Rich Brian’s performance, and listening to the trap sound live, I was blown away by the way the bass rolled out. It felt amazing. I thought, “I want to use this in our live shows, too,” and I added an 808 bass. So I was thinking about the kind of sound I wanted to play live.

ikura: In the melodic parts, I sang like a cute idol, while in the rap parts I took a dark, hard approach. This duality of light and dark was something that I hadn’t really used in our previous songs, and I’m looking forward to really expressing that contrast when performing live.

The last time you performed it was on your live TikTok show the other day, right?

Ayase: I want people to hear the song performed live in-person. We’ve made special sound effects, and I’ve asked the audio crew to crank up the volume. The first day of our tour, I thought we’d blow the roof off (laughs). Seeing how well the song goes over when performed live, and how fun it is to play, has me really motivated for this summer’s festivals.

In your interview right after your solo show at the Nippon Budokan at the end of 2021, you talked about your ambitions for 2022. You said that you wanted to make YOASOBI a strong live band, and a festival powerhouse. The first milestone toward that was playing in ROCK IN JAPAN FESTIVAL 2022. That was YOASOBI’s summer festival debut, right?

Ayase: During last year’s ROCK IN JAPAN, we were still feeling our way around. It was so much fun performing in a festival, being the headliner, and performing in front of that huge audience. I think we put on a really fresh, wonderful, exhilarating show. But after that we’ve also had the experience that comes with going on an arena tour and playing at overseas festivals, so I feel like now we’re tougher than ever. I think we can go out there with our even more powerful songs and performances, with our even higher level of quality, and confidently play for the most discerning music aficionados in the audience.

ikura: We went into last summer’s festivals giving 120%, both mentally and physically, but there were a lot of times when we wouldn’t have made it without our fans. In our current arena tour, we’re working to better draw in our audience and create a live experience where everyone comes together as one. In summer festivals, unlike our tours, the audience doesn’t just consist of YOASOBI fans, so I’m really excited to see how much we, in our current state, can entertain these non-fans, as well. Festivals really put musicians to the test, so I hope we can continue meet the challenge. We’re still growing as a band, and I hope we can overcome these obstacles and show people what a strong band we are.

–This interview by Takuto Ueda first appeared on Billboard Japan