Over the past summer, I discovered the artist YOASOBI, a Japanese power-duo that has been dominating Japan’s Billboard top 100 artists. And rightfully so, as they have released many songs that are not only popular in Japan, but worldwide. I found them through one of their most popular songs and their debut single, 夜に駆ける (Yoru ni Kakeru), which translates to “Racing Into The Night.” This song left me with literal shivers throughout most of its verses, and the build up to the ending was even better. YOASOBI is known for having a lot of key changes towards the end of their songs, which is something that I love in music and actively look for. “Racing Into The Night” has not one but two key changes near the end of the song, which is just brilliant songwriting in my book.
They do these key changes in most of their songs, another notable one being 怪物 (Kaibutsu), which translates literally to “Monster.” In addition to the key change at the end, which is perfect as always, they also feature a lot of techniques that they don’t normally experiment with. For example, the electronic synth sounds and harsh grating noises at the beginning of the song which fits in surprisingly well with the sudden change to the upbeat tones in the middle and end of the song.
YOASOBI released a new song on Oct. 1 that I think fits among the ranks of their best work. 祝福 (Shukufuku), or “The Blessing,” features an interesting back beat unlike anything they’ve done before. I love how experimental they get with their music, and it seems a lot braver than most of the pop music in America currently. Everything they put out, while all certainly within their distinct style, seems so very different and unique.
Which brings me to a very confusing question: why isn’t this more popular in America? On the popular music streaming app Spotify, they are pulling in streaming numbers that are able to compete with big American artists like Taylor Swift and Pitbull. For reference, “Racing Into The Night” has more streams on Spotify then Taylor Swift’s current number one song on Spotify, “Don’t Blame Me,” which was released four years earlier (the popularity numbers not coming from the number of total streams but the “Popular” section under an artist on Spotify). Obviously YOASOBI isn’t as popular as Taylor Swift and probably never will be, but at the very least why don’t more people in America know about them?
I think part of the answer lies in that this artist is very popular among the anime-watching community, which makes sense, as a couple of YOASOBI’s songs are in anime series, including “Monster” and “The Blessing.” Often there is a negative connotation that comes with anime, but why bring the music into it? It is my belief that YOASOBI should be more mainstream in America, since it’s just really good music in general. Listening to music shouldn’t have any strings attached, and if people are avoiding it because it isn’t mainstream in America, then that’s totally fine, but they should at least give it a try first. I would ask that you give it a try and see what you think before you dismiss this notion.
There will be a post on the Weather Vane Instagram page that has a Spotify playlist with some of my favorite YOASOBI songs, including the three mentioned in this article.
