30/09/2025

LYFE TUESDAY | SEPT 30, 2025

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J-pop superstar Kenshi Yonezu teams up with Hikaru Utada

C HART-TOPPING J-pop superstar Kenshi Yonezu has teamed up with global icon Hikaru Utada for a new collaborative track Jane Doe , the ending theme to the hugely anticipated Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc . Jane Doe marks the first collaboration between the two iconic Japanese artistes and was written and composed by Yonezu with Utada joining in on vocals. Also making its debut is the track’s official music video directed by Tomokazu Yamada, featuring both artistes. Yonezu recently released the theme to the Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc – Iris Out , which debuted on Spotify’s Top Songs Debut Global Chart at second, and made history as his Chainsaw Man TV anime series theme Kick Back became the first-ever Japanese language song to reach RIAA-Platinum certification. The Jane Doe music video features the two artistes, dressed entirely in black, sitting apart on benches on a train station platform. It depicts a station platform where passengers heading in different directions briefly cross paths only during boarding and getting off. While waiting for the next train, two passengers who happen to sit on the same bench exert a light gravitational pull on each other like invisible, large circles. Tomokazu Yamada directed the music vidoes. He is known for other videos, such as Yonezu’s Lemon , Uma to Shika and Sayonara, Mata Itsuka! – Sayonara , Utada’s Mine or Yours , A

o Both collaborate on ending song Jane Doe for Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc

Flower of No Colour and Gold –Mata Au Hi Made – as well as Science Fiction Tour 2024 . “I started working on the song without giving too much thought to who would sing it. However, as the song began to take shape, it became evident that no one was better suited to it than Utada, so I reached out to them. The moment Utada’s voice – melancholic, yet sweeping like a gust of wind – came in over the track, I remember being so moved that I let out a sharp gasp. As a songwriter, I feel truly honoured to have been given this opportunity,” Yonezu said of the track. “I knew I had to give it a go when I received this offer. Both of us being uncompromising singer-songwriters, we knew better than anybody else where the other comes from, but also faced the challenge of meeting halfway where our styles, as we found in the process, contrast. I hope

everyone can feel the new sides that were brought out in us, as we remained true to ourselves and each other,” Utada said. “We spin endlessly in the darkness of the universe, exerting light gravitational pull upon one another. Even when we are close enough to touch, we are all distant stars. Each with its own rotation, each gazing upon its own night. This is truly a collision of galaxies. A moment that is like an eternity, in a place that is neither light nor darkness,” Yamada said. Iris Out is already setting another record on the Spotify Japan Daily Chart, achieving the “highest daily play count ever recorded” for six days in a row. It is currently at third on Apple Music’s Global Daily Top 100 chart. Its music video was released recently and has already surpassed 10 million views on YouTube,

Utada (left) and Yonezu.

for the film. The theatrical release of Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc opened in Japan recently. Rocket started with a huge hit, topping the weekend box office rankings exceeding the sales of the smash-hit Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Infinity Castle .

generating significant buzz as earning fourth on the Global YouTube Daily Music Videos Charts. Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc will be hitting theatres in the US on Oct 24 from Sony Pictures Entertainment, which has acquired the worldwide distribution rights

Viral indie pop sensation Yung Kai unveils dreamy debut album

Singer-songwriter Charlie Burg makes comeback after three years FOLLOWING the success of his previous releases, indie-pop singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist

Burg has become a beloved figure in the alt-pop scene.

BREAKOUT Chinese-Canadian alternative indie-pop singer-songwriter Yung Kai has unveiled his debut album Stay with the Ocean, I’ll Find You, rooted in the themes of longing and emotional escapism, and wrapped in dreamy soundscapes. The album marks a bold arrival for one of the scenes’s most compelling new voices. “This album is centred around the idea of yearning for someone or something, and the idea of ‘Even if it doesn’t work, I’ll just imagine that it does’,”Yung Kai said. The full-length album features 11 tracks that provide listeners with stories of yearning, self-discovery and the complexities of love. It is a sonically cinematic album that paints portraits through his soothing harmonisations and lyrical artistry that carries the stories along. Leading the album is the focus track How Do You Dance? – a lighthearted yet tender reflection on connection and vulnerability. “Honestly, I’m very bad at dancing and I thought that it would be cute if a girl taught me how to dance,” he said when explaining the song. Ahead of the album release, Yung Kai announced his first-ever headlining world tour Flowers, Moon and Stars , which sold out entirely during presale. The album arrives just as he wraps the Asian leg of the sold-out tour, which spanned four major cities

Charlie Burg makes his 2025 comeback with Back to Earth – his first full-length project in three years. The album captures the sound of an artiste piecing together fragments and finding his way back with renewed purpose. Back to Earth is a striking return – written during a hiatus spent in Paris and London. The album builds on the foundation of Infinitely Tall , a project defined by its optimism, sprawling ambition and skyward reach – think six-minute songs, anthemic guitar solos and a quest for catharsis. In contrast, Back to Earth turns inward. It is more introspective, more brooding, almost desperate for change. Produced by Burg himself, the album features his most refined and explorative work yet – soulful, raw and unafraid to take risks. At its heart, Back to Earth tells the story of someone unravelling in the fog of an identity crisis – drifting, searching, trying on different selves – until they finally realise they have to stop running and face the truth of who they are. It is a soul-baring, risk-taking album that marks a new chapter for an artiste coming home to himself. The album’s focus track Lovesong 2 is a tender

release, Burg has amassed over 300 million career streams, grown a social following of over 365,000 and currently draws 1.2 million monthly listeners on Spotify. He has performed sold-out headline shows around the world and earned praise from outlets like The Fader, who lauded his “crystalline countertenor”, and Wonderland, which dubbed him a “rising sensation”. In recent years, Burg has gained an especially devoted fanbase in Southeast Asia, which now accounts for 53% of his global streaming audience. The region currently dominates his top 10 streaming markets, with the Philippines, Indonesia and Thailand ranking as his top three markets worldwide, and Singapore and Malaysia also placing in the top 10. With Back to Earth , Burg does not just return – he reckons, redefines and delivers his boldest, most honest chapter yet.

slow-pop ballad built on acoustic guitar and mellow instrumentation. With clear, longing vocals and intimate harmonies, it feels as if Burg is singing directly to you – raw, vulnerable and quietly powerful. With a sound rooted in indie pop, neo-soul and alternative R&B, Burg has carved a unique space for himself as a singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. Known for his warm falsetto, poetic lyricism and genre-blending arrangements, he quickly built a reputation as a rising voice in alternative music. He made his debut in 2015 with the mixtape Blue Wave Mosaic , hitting his stride with a string of singles and EPs that followed. It culminated in his first full-length album Infinitely Tall (2022) – co-produced by Mike Malchicoff (King Princess, Kanye West, Del Water Gap) – which showcased his emotional depth and sonic versatility. Since his first

Yung Kai’s top 10 listener base is rooted in Southeast Asia.

soared to second on the Spotify Global Viral Charts and dominated regional charts – hitting first on the Daily Viral 50 in Singapore and Hong Kong, second in Malaysia and the Philippines. Since then, Yung Kai has amassed over 15 million monthly Spotify listeners and earned co-signs from notable artistes, such as Wave To Earth and bbno$. With momentum on his side and his vision sharper than ever, Yung Kai looks ahead with optimism and eagerness – not just to what is next, but to everything still waiting to be imagined.

– Jakarta, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur and Taipei. With over two billion streams across all streaming platforms, Yung Kai’s rise has been anything short of extraordinary. The young artiste has written, produced and performed every instrument on his projects to date. His breakout success began with the viral hit Blue , a track that resonated globally and even caught the attention of (G)I-DLE’s Minnie, leading to a remix that breathed new life into the already massive single. Blue