Lemon (Kenshi Yonezu song)

"Lemon" is a song by Japanese singer-songwriter Kenshi Yonezu, released as a single through Sony Music Entertainment Japan on March 14, 2018. It is the theme song for the TV series Unnatural. It has sold more than 500,000 physical copies and 3,000,000 digital copies in Japan.[1][2][3]

"Lemon"
Single by Kenshi Yonezu
from the album Stray Sheep
LanguageJapanese
B-side"Cranberry & Pancake"
"Paper Flower"
ReleasedMarch 14, 2018 (2018-03-14)
Recorded2017
Genre
Length4:16
LabelSony Japan
Songwriter(s)Kenshi Yonezu
Kenshi Yonezu singles chronology
"Peace Sign"
(2017)		 "Lemon"
(2018)		 "Flamingo/Teenage Riot"
(2018)
Music video
"Lemon" on YouTube

Background

Kenshi accepted several interviews about "Lemon", talked about the background of "Lemon" and others. The temporary title was "Memento." He said, "I think it came from somewhere in my memory, but I can't really explain it well either." Even when the day before recording, he was still writing the lyrics, the last two sentences "Like one half of a fruit sliced in two, even now, you are my light" suddenly appears in his brain and he said, "Ahh, so this song really was "Lemon."" He also did the cover illustration himself. He focused on liveliness and freshness of a lemon, giving it an image quite unlike what's typically associated with death.[4] For the song, he wanted to go for a ballad, but a simple ballad is not very interesting for him, and he did not want it to be purely gloomy. As a result, he made a hybrid of sorts, with sad words over a dancing, skipping rhythm.[5] He made this song while on his nationwide tour, during which his grandfather passed away. He agonized over it a lot, so it took even longer to finish than usual.[6]

Music video

On February 27, 2018, the music video was published on YouTube.[7] It was filmed in a church and has over 800 million views, making it the most-viewed Japanese music video.[8]

Live performances

On December 31, 2018, Yonezu gave his first performance on television, singing the track on 69th NHK Kōhaku Uta Gassen.[9]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Kenshi Yonezu

No.TitleLength
1."Lemon"4:16
2."Cranberry & Pancake"3:30
3."Paper Flower"4:35
Total length:12:21

Personnel

Credits adapted from the liner notes.

  • Kenshi Yonezu - production, arrangement, vocal, guitar
  • Koichiro Muroya - string arrangement, strings
  • Yu Suto - bass
  • Masaki Huri - drums
  • Ichiyo Izawa - piano
  • Tatsuya Mochizuki - guitar technician
  • Koji Imamura - drum technician
  • Akira Miyake - vocal direction
  • Masahito Komori - recording, mixing
  • Ted Jensen - mastering

Charts

Certifications
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Japan (RIAJ)[20]
physical sales 		2× Platinum 500,000^
Japan (RIAJ)[21]
digital sales 		3× Million 3,000,000*
Streaming
Japan (RIAJ)[22] Gold 50,000,000†

* Sales figures based on certification alone.
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.
† Streaming-only figures based on certification alone.

Accolades
Year Ceremony Award Result
2018 MTV Video Music Awards Japan Best Video of the Year Won
Best Male Video Won
96th Television Drama Academy Awards Best Theme Song Won
International Drama Festival in Tokyo Theme Song Award Won
Billboard Japan Music Awards Hot 100 of the Year Won
2019 Won
Space Shower Music Awards Song of the Year Won
2020 JASRAC Award[23] Gold Award Won

References
  1. "第51回オリコン年間ランキング 2018". Oricon. 30 November 2018.
  2. "オリコン年間ランキング 2019". Oricon. 20 December 2018.
  3. "9月度有料音楽配信認定".
  4. Yamazaki, Haruna (2018-06-30). "米津玄師さん、「売れる」ことへの欲はありますか？". BuzzFeed Japan (in Japanese). Retrieved 2019-06-05.
  5. "Kenshi Yonezu/Hachi Interview: Lemon - vgperson's Interview Translations". vgperson.com. Retrieved 2019-06-05.
  6. "Kenshi Yonezu/Hachi Interview: Lemon - vgperson's Interview Translations". vgperson.com. Retrieved 2019-06-05.
  7. 米津玄師 (2018-02-26). "米津玄師 MV「Lemon」". YouTube. Retrieved 2019-03-23.
  8. "YouTube - Most Viewed Music Videos by Japanese Artists". kworb.net. Retrieved 2022-02-05.
  9. "Kenshi Yonezu Will Make TV Debut on Prestigious New Year's Eve Music Program". Billboard. 2018-12-27. Retrieved 2019-03-26.
  10. "Billboard Japan Hot 100 2018/4/2". Billboard Japan (in Japanese). Retrieved March 26, 2019.
  11. "オリコン年間 シングルランキング 2018年度 11～20位" [Annual Single Ranking 2018 (11–20)]. Oricon (in Japanese). Retrieved March 26, 2019.
  12. "米津玄師「Lemon」、合算シングルで1位に浮上 デジタルSG史上初の200万DL突破". Oricon (in Japanese). Retrieved March 28, 2019.
  13. "2023 Week 11 Digital Chart". Circle Chart (in Korean). March 12–18, 2023. Retrieved March 23, 2023.
  14. "米津玄師『Lemon』オリコンデジタル6週連続1位で、記録更新中!中国版、台湾版シングルCDリリース決定!". プレスリリース・ニュースリリース配信シェアNo.1｜PR TIMES. 27 March 2018. Retrieved 2019-03-23.
  15. "オリコン年間 シングルランキング 2018年度 11～20位" [Annual Single Ranking 2018 (11–20)]. Oricon (in Japanese). Retrieved March 29, 2019.
  16. "米津玄師「Ｌｅｍｏｎ」日米通じ史上初のビルボード連覇「作ったのが遠い昔のことのよう」". Yahoo!ニュース. Retrieved 2019-12-06.
  17. "oricon 2019".
  18. "oricon combined singles 2019". 20 December 2018.
  19. "Billboard Japan Hot 100 Year End 2020". Billboard Japan (in Japanese). Retrieved 2021-04-11.
  20. "Japanese single certifications – Yonezu Kenshi – Lemon" (in Japanese). Recording Industry Association of Japan. Retrieved January 5, 2020. Select 2018年12月 on the drop-down menu
  21. "Japanese digital single certifications – Kenshi Yonezu – Lemon" (in Japanese). Recording Industry Association of Japan. Retrieved December 21, 2019. Select 2019年9月 on the drop-down menu
  22. "Japanese single streaming certifications – Kenshi Yonezu – Lemon" (in Japanese). Recording Industry Association of Japan. Retrieved December 24, 2020. Select 2020年11月 on the drop-down menu
  23. "2020 JASRAC".
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