Kenshi Yonezu: Lemon music video surpasses 1 billion views

Singer-songwriter Kenshi Yonezu has achieved a historic milestone as the music video for his song “Lemon” surpassed 1 billion views on YouTube on November 3. This marks the first time a music video for a song with Japanese lyrics has reached this viewership threshold.

Released in March 2018, “Lemon” served as the theme song for the TBS drama “Unnatural,” starring Satomi Ishihara. The song, which explores themes of grief and loss, has seen sustained success since its release, including topping annual charts and achieving significant digital sales.

In response to the achievement, Yonezu expressed deep gratitude, noting that the song’s massive popularity often seemed to outpace his own expectations as a creator. He credited the success in part to the drama’s production team and described the song’s journey as something that moved beyond his personal intent to become a shared public experience.