Kenshi Yonezu's ``Lemon'' MV surpasses 900 million views, the highest ever for a Japanese artist

■“Lemon” is a song that was written as the theme song for the drama “Unnatural” and is a poignant song about the sadness and sense of loss of losing a loved one.

Kenshi Yonezu’s “Lemon” MV has been viewed 900 million times on YouTube as of 12:08 on January 12th. It has been viewed over 900 million times in 6 years and 320 days since its release, setting a new record for the highest number of views ever by a Japanese artist.

“Lemon” was written as the theme song for the TBS Friday drama “Unnatural” that aired in 2018, and is a song that poignantly expresses the sadness and sense of loss of losing a loved one. The MV director was Tomokazu Yamada.

As for the hit history of “Lemon”, it was certified by the Recording Industry Association of Japan as the fastest in history with 3 million downloads, and swept the major charts in the annual ranking in 2018. At the “69th NHK Kohaku Uta Gassen” broadcast in the same year, the first singing on TV, which was broadcast live from the Otsuka Museum of Art in Tokushima, became a hot topic, and its popularity continued to grow in 2019, and it was ranked 2nd in the Billboard JAPAN annual ranking for the first time in history. It took first place for consecutive years.

On December 31, 2024, Yonezu participated in the “75th NHK Kohaku Uta Gassen” for the second time in six years as a TV singer. Her breakthrough came immediately after she performed the theme song for the NHK TV drama series “Tora ni Tsubasa”, “Sayonara Matata Itsuka!”.

In addition to “Lemon,” Yonezu’s MVs include “Fireworks” with 640 million views, “Eine Kleine,” “LOSER,” and “Peace Sign” with 300 million views, “Paprika,” “Gray and Blue,” “Search for the Difference,” and “Horse.” “And Deer” and “Electric Shock” recorded over 200 million views. A total of 16 titles have been played over 100 million times (Lemon, Eine Kleine, LOSER, Peace Sign, Gray and Blue (+ Masaki Suda), orion, Flamingo, Electric Shock, Fireworks, and Paprika. ” “Spring Thunder” “Horse and Deer” “Ghost of the Sea” “KICK BACK”, Foorin’s “Paprika”, and Masaki Suda’s “Looking for the Difference”).

The number of YouTube channel subscribers is 7.45 million, one of the highest among Japanese artists. Records are being updated daily along with the number of MV views.

The nationwide tour “Kenshi Yonezu 2025 TOUR / JUNK” will start from January 9th, and will include the theme song “Plazma” for the theatrical advance version “Mobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuuX -Beginning-” and the opening theme song for the TV anime “Medalist”. Kenshi Yonezu has been going strong since the beginning of 2025, with the release of “BOW AND ARROW.” Please pay attention to his future activities.