Kenshi Yonezu’s KICK BACK Becomes First RIAA Gold-Certified Japanese-Language Song

The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) announced that Kenshi Yonezu’s “KICK BACK” is now Gold-certified, meaning it has accumulated the equivalent of 500,000 physical sales in the United States alone. The awarding marks the only time in history a Japanese-language song has been recognized as Gold-certified by the RIAA.

Yonezu’s “KICK BACK” was an immediate success in Japan and abroad after first debuting as Chainsaw Man‘s opening song. “KICK BACK” grossed 14mn views on YouTube in just under 2 days after release, was the most streamed anime opening of 2022 on Spotify, finished sixth in the TV Asahi Japanese poll of most popular anime songs from the Reiwa era (2019 – present), and was the most streamed Fall 2022 anisong on Spotify by a massive margin. Yonezu has gone from strength to strength since introducing himself to many foreign fans through the My Hero Academia opening song, “Peace Sign.” He has since produced the theme song for FINAL FANTASY XVI and Studio Ghibli’s The Boy and the Heron.

The RIAA certification requirements for songs differ based on the number of times it’s been downloaded, streamed, or permanently bought in the US — known as a proper sale. According to the RIAA, the permanent purchase of a song either digitally or physically is equivalent to 150 streams through legitimate streaming providers. The song must reflect a fair value to the record label so free downloads do not count towards certification criteria.

Yonezu debuted as the Vocaloid music artist “Hachi” in 2009 before starting to release music under his real name in 2012. RIAA’s Gold certification for “KICK BACK” adds to over a dozen others by the Japanese certification association RIAJ. Alongside Chainsaw Man and My Hero Academia, Yonezu has provided his talents to anime series like March Comes In Like a Lion, and movies in Fireworks (Uchiage Hanabi) and Children of the Sea. Listen to the Gold-certified “KICK BACK” below:

Source: Press Release
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