Maps of Music

The Book 2 (2021)

Where the lyrics of The Book 2 take you, and where it was really made.

The duo's first face-to-face concert, Nice to Meet You, was held at Nippon Budokan only three days after this EP came out.

Key places

Nice to Meet You at Nippon Budokan (2021)

Live show Nippon Budokan — The duo held its first face-to-face concert, Nice to Meet You, at Nippon Budokan in Tokyo on December 4 to 5, 2021, in support of this EP. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Album story

Overview

• The Book 2: second Japanese-language EP (third overall) by Japanese duo Yoasobi
• Released 1 December 2021 through Sony Music Entertainment Japan
• Released eleven months after the debut EP The Book (2021)
• Eight tracks, including the new song "Moshi mo Inochi ga Egaketara"
• Preceded by all of the duo's singles released in 2021
• The EP's playlist and each song's source story in audio form were published on Spotify on release day

Background

• The debut EP The Book was released in 2021, preceded by singles from 2019 to 2020
• The Book peaked at number two on the Oricon Albums Chart and Billboard Japan Hot Albums, and sat atop the Oricon Digital Albums Chart for five consecutive weeks
• According to Oricon, The Book sold over 200,000 units in Japan in the first half of 2021
• On 30 September 2021 the duo posted "IOOI / NOON" with four mysterious bookshelf images
• On 1 October 2021, the duo's second anniversary, The Book 2 was announced with its track listing and cover artwork, set for 1 December
• Pre-orders began on the day of the announcement
• In July 2024, Sony Music Germany and Black Screen Records released the vinyl format elsewhere
• On 23 October 2024 a Japanese vinyl edition appeared with different cover artwork illustrated by EIM (Junhwi Kang)

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Tracklist

Sources: musicbrainz.org

Artist

Formation

• Japanese musical duo formed in 2019 by songwriter and producer Ayase and vocalist Ikura.
• Slogan "novel into music"; songs are based on fictional stories, later also on books, letters, plays, and social media posts.
• Debut single "Yoru ni Kakeru" topped the Billboard Japan Hot 100 for six non-consecutive weeks and was the first non-CD single to top the 2020 year-end chart.
• The name comes from the Japanese word yoasobi (nightlife); Ayase came up with it.

Members

• Ayase: songwriter, producer, keyboards, synthesizer, sampler; previously vocalist of rock band Davinci (2012–2018).
• Ikura: vocals; previously active as a street and small-venue guitarist and YouTube cover artist.

Career

• Four Japanese EPs (The Book, The Book 2, The Book 3, The Book For) explore the "reading CD" theme; The Book 3 and others peaked in the top ten on the Oricon Albums Chart.
• "Idol" from Oshi no Ko stayed 22 non-consecutive weeks at number one on the Japan Hot 100, the longest-running number one in its history.
• Released English-language EP series E-Side; collaborated with four Naoki Prize winners on the short story collection Hajimete no.
• Music is described as a blend of J-pop and Vocaloid music, with fast pace and complex structure.
• Received many awards, including Japan Gold Disc Awards, MTV Video Music Awards Japan, and Music Awards Japan.

Reception

At release

• Debuted at number two on the Oricon Albums Chart and Combined Albums Chart, dated 13 December 2021
• First-week sales of 80,015 CDs, behind HKT48's Outstanding
• Peaked atop the Oricon Digital Albums Chart with 10,448 downloads
• Third number-one digital album for Yoasobi on that chart, after The Book and E-Side
• Debuted at number one on Billboard Japan Hot Albums, the first number-one album on that chart

Records

• Billboard Japan opening: 83,585 CD copies (number two on Top Albums Sales)
• Billboard Japan opening: 8,717 download albums (number one on Download Albums)
• Certified gold for physical release by RIAJ on 14 January 2022

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Trivia

• The Film, the duo's first video album, was released on 23 March and includes concert footage from the Nice to Meet You shows
• Kaibutsu, Yasashii Suisei and Moshi mo Inochi ga Egaketara received their debut performances at the 63rd Japan Record Awards on 30 December
• A phone call campaign ran from 23 to 30 November, letting fans call in for commentary on the EP's tracks
• Yoasobi performed Sangenshoku at Music Station Ultra Super Live 2021 on 24 December

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

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