Wikipedia

Stray Sheep

Stray Sheep (stylized in all caps) is the fifth album by Kenshi Yonezu, released on August 5, 2020.[1] The name of the album was inspired by the New Testament.[2] The song "Kanden" has been used as the theme song of the comedy TV series MIU404.[3] The album sold over 879,000 copies in its first week, debuting atop the Oricon Albums Chart.[4] It was the top selling album of 2020 in Japan according to both Billboard Japan[5] and Oricon. The latter calculated that the album had sold 1,970,930 copies in Japan by the end of 2020, summarizing CDs, vinyls, downloads, and streaming equivalents.[6]

Stray Sheep
Studio album by
Kenshi Yonezu
ReleasedAugust 5, 2020 (2020-08-05)
GenreJ-pop
Length59:26
LabelSony Japan
ProducerKenshi Yonezu
Kenshi Yonezu chronology
Bootleg
(2017) 		Stray Sheep
(2020)
Singles from Stray Sheep
  1. "Lemon"
    Released: March 14, 2018
  2. "Flamingo/Teenage Riot"
    Released: October 31, 2018
  3. "Spirits of the Sea"
    Released: June 3, 2019
  4. "Uma to Shika"
    Released: September 11, 2019
  5. "Paprika"
    Released: February 3, 2020
  6. "Kanden"
    Released: July 6, 2020

According to the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI), Stray Sheep was the world's third-best-selling album of 2020, with 2.54 million sales worldwide.[7]

Release edit

Stray Sheep was released digitally worldwide on August 5, 2020. The album was available on physical formats in South Korea and Taiwan on October 16, 2020.[8]

Singles edit

"Lemon" is the first single of the album and was released on February 27, 2018. It served as the theme song for the TBS television drama Unnatural.[9] "Spirits of the Sea (Umi no Yuurei)" was chosen as the theme song of the animated film Children of the Sea.[9] "Uma to Shika" is the theme song of TBS television drama No Side Manager.[10] "Paprika" is the representative song for 2020 Summer Olympics.[11]

Commercial performance edit

The song "Kanden" was released on YouTube on July 10, 2020, and reached 10 million views in four days, breaking Yonezu's own record.[12] The studio album has sold one million copies within 10 days.[13] Besides, the album hit number one under the J-Pop category in over 30 countries in iTunes Chart and hit number one in 54 countries under the J-Pop Apple Music Albums Chart. And the topped 20 All Genres category in 22 Countries/Regions, 6 of which hit Number one.[14][15]

Track listing edit

All tracks are written by Kenshi Yonezu

Stray Sheep track listing[16][17]
No.TitleLength
1."Campanella" (カムパネルラ "Bell")3:55
2."Flamingo"3:16
3."Kanden" (感電 "Electric Shock")4:24
4."Placebo" (featuring Yojiro Noda)4:00
5."Paprika" (パプリカ)3:22
6."Uma to Shika" (馬と鹿 "Horse and Deer")4:25
7."Yasashii Hito" (優しい人 "Kind Person")3:28
8."Lemon"4:15
9."Machigai Sagashi" (まちがいさがし "Spot the Difference"; rearrangement)4:27
10."Himawari" (ひまわり "Sunflower")4:02
11."Stray Sheep" (迷える羊)3:46
12."Décolleté"3:29
13."Teenage Riot"3:45
14."Spirits of the Sea" (海の幽霊)3:54
15."Canary" (カナリヤ)4:58
Total length:59:26

Charts edit

Certifications and sales edit

‹See Tfd›‹See Tfd›
Region Certification Certified units/sales
Japan (RIAJ)[24] Million 1,000,000^
Japan (RIAJ)[27]
digital sales 		Gold 185,000[25][26]
Summaries
Worldwide — 2,540,000[28]

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References edit

  1. ^ "米津玄師、ニュー・アルバム『STRAY SHEEP』トラックリスト公開。". Tower Records.
  2. ^ "米津玄師の新アルバム『STRAY SHEEP』Lemon、パプリカなど新曲9曲を含む全15曲収録". ファッションプレス. Carlin.
  3. ^ "米津玄師の新曲"感電"が主題歌の綾野剛＆星野源W主演ドラマ『MIU404』第1話を観た！". Yahoo.co.jp.
  4. ^ "オリコン週間 アルバムランキング 2020年08月03日～2020年08月09日". Oricon. Archived from the original on August 14, 2020. Retrieved August 14, 2020.
  5. ^ a b "YOASOBI Tops Billboard Japan's 2020 Year-End Charts With Song Not Released on CD". Billboard. December 3, 2020. Retrieved December 10, 2020.
  6. ^ "[Oricon Annual Ranking 2020] Arashi wins the top spot for the ninth time in total". Oricon. December 28, 2020. Retrieved December 28, 2020.
  7. ^ "IFPI Global Top 10 Album Sales Chart 2020". IFPI. Archived from the original on August 14, 2021. Retrieved 2022-01-20.
  8. ^ 米津玄師『STRAY SHEEP』、韓国と台湾でも現地盤の発売が決定. Billboard Japan (in Japanese). 2020-10-07. Retrieved 2021-05-16.
  9. ^ a b Parker, Esme (2020-06-09). "Kenshi Yonezu To Release Fifth Album STRAY SHEEP". OTAQUEST. Retrieved 2020-07-06.
  10. ^ G Andrew White (2019-09-12). "Kenshi Yonezu belts out a ballad in "Uma to Shika"". JROCK NEWS. Retrieved 2020-08-25.
  11. ^ "Japanese hit song "Paprika" goes global with English version by new singers and dancers". SoraNews24 -Japan News-. 2019-12-04. Retrieved 2020-08-25.
  12. ^ "米津玄師さん「感電」MV、公開4日と7分で自身最速1000万再生達成". Tokoshima Shinbun. 2020-07-14. Retrieved 2020-07-15.
  13. ^ "米津玄師『STRAY SHEEP』ミリオン突破". Billboard Japan.
  14. ^ "Kenshi Yonezu's album, Stray Sheep hits #1 in over 54 countries".
  15. ^ "KENSHI YONEZU STORM THE CHARTS AND GETS A COLLAB".
  16. ^ "米津玄師アルバムに菅田将暉提供曲セルフカバー、アートブック盤には初のフル尺ライブ映像収録（写真18枚）". 音楽ナタリー (in Japanese). Retrieved 2020-07-06.
  17. ^ Ryusenkai (2020-06-21). "Kenshi Yonezu unveils all of the info. about his upcoming Album "STRAY SHEEP"". Arama! Japan. Retrieved 2020-07-06.
  18. ^ "Billboard Japan Hot Albums: 2020/08/17 付け". Billboard Japan (in Japanese). Retrieved August 14, 2020.
  19. ^ "Oricon Top 50 Albums: 2020-08-17" (in Japanese). Oricon. Retrieved August 14, 2020.
  20. ^ "オリコン年間 アルバムランキング 2020年度" (in Japanese). Oricon. Retrieved February 19, 2021.
  21. ^ "Hot Albums Japan 2021" (in Japanese). Billboard Japan. Retrieved June 21, 2022.
  22. ^ "オリコン年間 アルバムランキング 2021年度" (in Japanese). Oricon. Retrieved June 21, 2022.
  23. ^ "Billboard Japan Hot Albums Year-End 2022". Billboard Japan. Retrieved December 9, 2022.
  24. ^ "Japanese album certifications – Yonezu Kenshi – Stray Sheep" (in Japanese). Recording Industry Association of Japan. Retrieved May 9, 2021. Select 2020年8月 on the drop-down menu
  25. ^ 米津玄師『STRAY SHEEP』、ダウンロードアルバム3連覇で累計15万DL突破 Spotify CM起用のVaundyが上昇. Billboard Japan (in Japanese). 2020-08-26. Retrieved 2021-05-16.
  26. ^ 【ビルボード2020年年間Download Albums】米津玄師『STRAY SHEEP』が制す. Billboard Japan (in Japanese). 2020-12-04. Retrieved 2021-05-16.
  27. ^ "Japanese digital album certifications – Yonezu Kenshi – Stray Sheep" (in Japanese). Recording Industry Association of Japan. Retrieved May 9, 2021. Select 2020年8月 on the drop-down menu
  28. ^ Brandle, Lars (March 11, 2021). "BTS Bag 'Unprecedented' 1-2 on IFPI's Global Album Sales Chart For 2020". Billboard. Retrieved March 12, 2021.
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