Kenshi Yonezu

Kenshi Yonezu, born March 10, 1991, is a Japanese singer-songwriter, musician, producer, and illustrator. Initially gaining recognition by releasing Vocaloid music under the stage name Hachi starting in 2009, he later debuted under his real name in 2012 to perform with his own voice. Over his career, Yonezu has sold millions of physical and digital copies in Japan and established himself as one of the country's prominent musical artists.

Yonezu was born in Tokushima Prefecture, Japan. Growing up, he experienced difficulties communicating with others, particularly his father, though he felt his mother understood him. Originally aspiring to become a manga artist, his interest in music developed during fifth grade after watching an online Flash animation featuring the music of Japanese rock band Bump of Chicken. At age 20, Yonezu was diagnosed with high-functioning autism. In 2006, while in junior high school, he formed the band Late Rabbit Edda with Hiroshi Nakajima, serving as vocalist, songwriter, and guitarist. He later attended a fine arts school in Osaka, where he was influenced by musician Susumu Hirasawa and began producing desktop music.

Starting in 2009, Yonezu uploaded Vocaloid songs under the name Hachi using software such as Hatsune Miku to the video-sharing platform Nico Nico Douga. His 2009 track "Musunde Hiraite Rasetsu to Mukuro" became his first to exceed one million views. In 2011, Yonezu co-founded the independent music label Balloom and released his first solo album, Diorama, in 2012. He made his major-label debut with Universal Sigma in May 2013 through the single "Santa Maria," seeking to collaborate with other musicians. He released his second album, Yankee, in 2014, followed by his debut live concert.

Yonezu achieved widespread commercial success with subsequent releases, including the albums Bremen and Bootleg, the latter of which won Album of the Year at the 60th Japan Record Awards. His 2018 single "Lemon" topped the Billboard Japan Hot 100 year-end chart for two consecutive years and marked his live television debut on the 69th NHK Kōhaku Uta Gassen. Other notable projects include "Peace Sign," "Tsuki wo miteita - Moongazing" for Final Fantasy XVI, and "Spinning Globe" for Hayao Miyazaki's film The Boy and the Heron. In 2022, Yonezu released "Kick Back," the opening theme for Chainsaw Man, which became the first song with Japanese lyrics to be certified Platinum by the RIAA.

Yonezu writes and composes his music while also creating illustrations for his artwork, music videos, and publications. His work spans solo vocal performances, Vocaloid productions, and songs created for other artists and anime projects. Alongside three RIAA certifications for his Japanese-language songs, Yonezu won the Grand Prix at the 61st Japan Record Awards for producing the song "Paprika" and received a Special Achievement Award at the 62nd Japan Record Awards. In 2025, NetEase Cloud Music named him the most streamed Japanese artist in the platform's history, exceeding 5.5 billion streams.

In August 2024, Yonezu released his sixth studio album, Lost Corner. In early 2025, he embarked on the 26-show "Junk" tour, which included his first world tour and drew 440,000 total attendees. That year, he also collaborated with figure skater Yuzuru Hanyu for the music video of "Bow and Arrow." In September 2025, Yonezu released "Iris Out" and "Jane Doe" featuring Hikaru Utada for Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc. "Iris Out" became Japan's fastest song to reach 100 million streams and reached number five on the Billboard Global 200.