Who Is YOASOBI?

Last updated: October 2026

Name (Japanese)	YOASOBI（ヨアソビ）
Members	Ayase (songwriting/production) and ikura (vocals; solo singer-songwriter Lilas Ikuta)
Category	J-pop duo
Active since	2019
Known for	"Yoru ni Kakeru," "Idol" (Oshi no Ko), turning short stories into songs
Label	Sony Music Entertainment Japan

YOASOBI is a Japanese music duo made up of Ayase, who writes and produces every track, and vocalist ikura, the stage name of singer-songwriter Lilas Ikuta. Formed in late 2019, the pair built their entire career on one unusual rule: every YOASOBI song is an adaptation of a short story. That “novel into music” concept carried their debut single “Yoru ni Kakeru” (“Racing into the Night”) to the top of Japan’s streaming charts, and in 2023 their anime theme “Idol” became the first Japanese-language song ever to top Billboard’s Global Excl. U.S. chart.

The name “yoasobi” roughly means “playing at night” — a nod to the fact that the project began as a side gig alongside each member’s separate daytime career, Ayase as an online music producer and ikura as an acoustic singer-songwriter. The night job long ago eclipsed both day jobs. As of autumn 2026, YOASOBI is one of Japan’s biggest musical exports, with Coachella and Lollapalooza appearances behind them, a completed North American arena tour, and their first dome-and-stadium tour across Asia about to begin.

Rise to Fame

Ayase came up through Japan’s Vocaloid scene, a community where producers compose songs “sung” by synthesizer software such as Hatsune Miku and post them online. A former rock-band vocalist, he began uploading Vocaloid tracks to the Japanese video site Niconico in 2018. ikura, born in Tokyo in 2000, had been writing songs since elementary school and was already performing as Lilas Ikuta, releasing independent EPs as a teenager.

The two were paired for a Sony Music project built around Monogatary.com, a website where amateur writers post short fiction, with the goal of turning prize-winning stories into songs. Their first attempt, “Yoru ni Kakeru” — released in late 2019 and based on Mayo Hoshino’s short story “An Invitation from Thanatos” — became a word-of-mouth phenomenon during Japan’s 2020 stay-at-home period. It finished 2020 at the top of Billboard Japan’s year-end Hot 100 — the first year-end chart-topper ever released with no physical edition — and went on to become the first song in Japan to pass one billion streams. Before they had played a full concert, the duo was invited to NHK’s Kohaku Uta Gassen, the New Year’s Eve TV song contest that serves as Japan’s traditional stamp of mainstream success.

Their first EP, “The Book” (2021), collected the early hits, and anime tie-ins kept the momentum building. The global breakthrough was “Idol,” the opening theme for the 2023 anime “Oshi no Ko,” a dark drama about Japan’s idol industry. The song spent 22 non-consecutive weeks at number one on Billboard’s Japan Hot 100 — the longest run in that chart’s history — became the first Japanese-language song to top the Billboard Global Excl. U.S. chart, and reached Japan’s streaming “diamond” certification (half a billion plays) faster than any song before it.

What YOASOBI Is Known For

Every YOASOBI release starts as text: a short story, a novel, or an original scenario that Ayase condenses into a few minutes of fast, hook-heavy pop, delivered in ikura’s clear, agile vocals. Beyond the concept itself, the duo is known for:

Anime and media tie-ins, including “Idol” (Oshi no Ko), “Undead” (the Monogatari series), “Watch Me!” (Witch Watch), and “Gekijo,” their first theme for a TV drama
English-language re-recordings of their songs, collected in the “E-Side” EP series for overseas listeners
A heavy international live push: Coachella and Lollapalooza in 2024, followed by European dates including Primavera Sound in Barcelona and London’s Wembley Arena in 2025
Dense, high-tempo arrangements rooted in Ayase’s Vocaloid-era production style

Recent Years

In October 2025 the duo released “Gekijo,” a theme for a Fuji TV drama and a milestone in its own right: for the first time, Ayase stepped up to the microphone himself, duetting with ikura. At the end of November, at the Okinawa finale of their 2025 “Wandara” hall tour of Japan, they announced their biggest undertaking yet — a ten-city dome and stadium tour across Asia spanning 2026 and 2027.

2026 has been their busiest year abroad. The English-language EP “E-Side 4” arrived in April, followed in June by “The Book For,” the fourth and final installment of their “The Book” EP series, gathering recent singles such as “Adrena” and “Baby.” In August, the “Never Ending Stories” North American tour took them to arenas on both coasts, opening at Boston’s TD Garden and closing at the Hollywood Bowl, alongside festival slots at Lollapalooza in Chicago and Osheaga in Montreal, their Canadian debut.

As of early October 2026, attention has shifted to the Asia tour, billed as the largest-scale Asia tour ever mounted by a Japanese artist. It opens in Japan on October 24, 2026, with dome and stadium shows in Osaka, Nagoya, Sapporo, Fukuoka, and Tokyo, then continues overseas in 2027 with stops including Taipei, Seoul, Hong Kong, and Singapore — a scale few Japanese acts have ever attempted.

FAQ

What does YOASOBI mean?

In Japanese, "yoasobi" roughly means "playing at night" or going out at night. The duo chose it because the project started as a nighttime side gig alongside the members’ separate daytime music careers.

Who are the members of YOASOBI?

Ayase, a former Vocaloid producer who writes and produces all of the duo’s music, and ikura, the stage name of Lilas Ikuta, who handles vocals and also records as a solo singer-songwriter.

Is YOASOBI touring outside Japan in 2026 and 2027?

Yes. After a North American arena tour in August 2026, the duo opens a ten-city dome and stadium tour of Asia on October 24, 2026, with shows in five Japanese cities before overseas stops including Taipei, Seoul, Hong Kong, and Singapore in 2027.