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 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | August 5, 2020 | |||
| Genre | J-pop | |||
| Length | 59:26 | |||
| Label | Sony Japan | |||
| Producer | Kenshi Yonezu | |||
| Kenshi Yonezu chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Stray Sheep | ||||
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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
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
"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
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
All tracks are written by Kenshi Yonezu
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 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
Year-end charts
| Chart (2020) | Position |
|---|---|
| Japanese Hot Albums (Billboard Japan)[5] | 1 |
| Japanese Albums (Oricon)[20] | 1 |
| Chart (2021) | Position |
|---|---|
| Japanese Hot Albums (Billboard Japan)[21] | 11 |
| Japanese Albums (Oricon)[22] | 37 |
| Chart (2022) | Position |
|---|---|
| Japanese Hot Albums (Billboard Japan)[23] | 72 |
Certifications and sales
| 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. | ||