Yonezu Kenshi to Perform on Kohaku Uta Gassen with “IRIS OUT”
It’s been announced that Yonezu Kenshi will appear with the white team at the 76th NHK Kohaku Uta Gassen, broadcasting on Wednesday, December 31st. He’ll be performing “IRIS OUT”, the theme song for the film Chensouman Reze-hen (also known as Chainsaw Man: The Reze Arc), and this will be the song’s very first live performance—a special moment for fans.
This marks Yonezu Kenshi’s third time on the Kohaku stage, following his performances of “Lemon” in 2018 and “Sayounara Mata Itsuka!” in 2024. In his own words: “I am honored to be able to perform on Kohaku Uta Gassen again this year. I want to work hard so that everyone thinks it’s worthy of the third time.”
“IRIS OUT” has been a massive hit since its release on September 15th. In just two months, it soared past 200 million cumulative streams, with its music video racking up 100 million views. Plus, the new video featuring the trendy Reze dance has already blasted past 140 million views, setting a personal record for Yonezu Kenshi.
Comment from Yonezu Kenshi
“I am honored to be able to perform on Kohaku Uta Gassen again this year. This will be my third time, but when I first started music, I never thought I would be able to appear on Kohaku three times. I want to work hard so that everyone thinks it’s worthy of the third time. I hope I can contribute to livening up the last grand stage of the year. I want to enjoy it to the fullest. Thank you.”
Record-Breaking Success of “IRIS OUT”
“IRIS OUT” isn’t just popular—it’s breaking charts. On Billboard JAPAN’s “JAPAN Hot 100”, it scored the highest points since the metric change in 2023. The “Streaming Songs” chart saw it achieve the highest stream count for a Japanese song ever, with the fastest climb to 100 million streams.
Over on Oricon’s weekly streaming ranking, it set a new record for the highest weekly streams and hit 100 million streams in just four weeks—the fastest in history. By week nine, it had reached 200 million cumulative streams, tying for the quickest among solo artists.
The song’s success is global too. On the U.S. Billboard Global 200, it held 5th place for two weeks straight, the highest rank ever for a Japanese track. It charted on Spotify’s Daily Viral Chart in over 50 countries and regions, proving its worldwide appeal.
About “Chensouman” (Chainsaw Man)
The source material is the manga Chensouman (Chainsaw Man) by Fujimoto Tatsuki, which has sold over 34 million copies. The MAPPA-produced TV anime aired in 2022 and has since been streamed in more than 200 countries and regions, building a huge international fanbase.
The film Chensouman Reze-hen has been a box office smash. In 87 days since release until December 14th, it drew 6.28 million viewers and earned over 9.61 billion yen in Japan. Globally, released in over 100 countries, it surpassed 118.24 million dollars (about 18.4 billion yen) as of December 7th.
Broadcast Details
The 76th NHK Kohaku Uta Gassen is set to air on NHK General and other channels from 7:20 PM to 11:45 PM on Wednesday, December 31st. Don’t miss Yonezu Kenshi’s performance!
By Anime! Anime!
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