Nearly three years after its original release, Kenshi Yonezu achieves a historic first as his song Kick Back (the opener to Chainsaw Man’s first season) received the RIAA Platinum Certification this week. The song reached 1,000,000 million units since its October 2022 release, marking the very first Japanese-language track to do so! This comes hot off the heels off Yonezu’s recent song, Iris Out, which will be the theme to Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc.
About Kick Back RIAA Platinum Certification
Chart-topping J-pop superstar KENSHI YONEZU celebrates yet another career milestone today, as his 2022 hit single “KICK BACK” was officially certified Platinum by the RIAA. A history-making moment, “KICK BACK” is now the first and only song written and performed in Japanese to be certified Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America. The opening theme to breakout anime series Chainsaw Man, “KICK BACK” began breaking records immediately upon its release, landing on Spotify’s Global Top 50 chart and making Yonezu the first-ever J-pop artist to appear on the chart.
The news arrives just after yesterday’s release of Yonezu’s latest single “IRIS OUT,” which also serves as the official theme song to for the highly-anticipated new film CHAINSAW MAN – THE MOVIE: REZE ARC – listen here. The track was released alongside an official music video featuring highlights from the upcoming film synchronized to the song’s infectious tempo – watch here. Yonezu’s incredibly momentum will continue into next week with the release of his collaboration with J-pop icon HIKARU UTADA. Available Monday, September 22, “JANE DOE” will serve as the ending theme to the Chainsaw Man film, was written and composed by Yonezu and features Utada on vocals – pre-save here.
Of the certification, KENSHI YONEZU says, “I am thrilled to hear that ‘KICK BACK’ has been certified Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America. This song was written as the opening theme for the 2022 TV anime series Chainsaw Man. Daiki Tsuneta (King Gnu/MILLENNIUM PARADE) co-arranged the song with me, and I just remember it as a thoroughly enjoyable experience. I’m sure we must have had our share of troubles and had to work things out by trial and error, but there’s a tendency to forget how hard things were once the difficulties have passed. When I look back on the production of the song, I realize how carefree I was and how much fun I was having , and I have nothing but fond memories of this time. The music video was directed by Yoshiyuki Okuyama. It’s hard to describe, but it’s an amazing music video unlike anything anyone’s ever seen. The video shoot was pretty tough. So I guess I do remember this particular experience as incredibly difficult, but it still brings back great memories, a wonderful chapter in my life. The video’s fantastic, and I couldn’t be more pleased with how it turned out.
Earlier this year, when I was out on my world tour, the crowds went wild whenever ‘KICK BACK’ started playing. That was the moment when it struck me once again, just how popular Chainsaw Man is internationally, as well as the sheer magnitude of the power—or energy, if you will—that ‘KICK BACK’ holds. Additionally, Frost Children worked on the remix of ‘KICK BACK’ to coincide with this year’s release of CHAINSAW MAN – THE MOVIE: REZE ARC. Frost Children, musicians who have been some of my personal favorites for a while now, agreed to do the remix. When I first heard their remix, I was blown away by the incredible range they displayed, and it sounded phenomenal right from the very first note—it really made me want to yell ‘Yes!’ I still vividly remember that feeling, that moment when I first heard it. It was my first-ever remix experience, and I discovered just how much fun it can be. Thank you very much. I hope you’ll enjoy the song as well as its remix. So that’s it from me, Kenshi Yonezu.”
We’re super excited to see more Chainsaw Man in the future, and Kick Back’s global appeal is a wonderful way to celebrate! Stay tuned for more anime news here on Miso!
