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King Gnu is a Japanese band formed in 2013. It consists of Daiki Tsuneta (vocalist and guitarist), Satoru Iguchi (vocalist and keyboardist), Kazuki Arai (bassist) and Yu Seki (drummer). The band's main songwriter is Daiki Tsuneta, who also performs as part of the creative collective Millennium Parade.


Career

In 2013, Mrs.Vinci was formed, later going by Srv.Vinci. Their first song was "ABUKU(泡)" released under the creative label Perimetron. In 2017, they renamed themselves to King Gnu. They then performed at the
Fuji Rock Festival is an annual music festival, rock festival held in Naeba Ski Resort, in Niigata Prefecture, Japan. The three-day event, organized by Smash (Music promoters), Smash Japan, features more than 200 Japanese and international musicians, making it th ...
in 2017 and 2018. On October 25, 2017, the band released their first album under the name King Gnu, ''Tokyo Rendez-Vous''. The track "Vinyl" was used in a Persol Tempstaff advertisement released on January 25 the next year. In January 2019, the band released ''Sympa'', their first release under a major label after signing to
Ariola Japan , is a Japanese record label that is part of Sony Music Entertainment Japan. It is the successor of BMG Japan. History *2008 – Ariola Japan becomes a subsidiary of Sony Music Entertainment. *2009 – Ariola Japan becomes a full-on record labe ...
. The following month, King Gnu released hit song " Hakujitsu", which ranked No.4 in the year-end chart of
Billboard Japan Hot 100 The ''Billboard Japan'' Hot 100 is a record chart in Japan for songs. It has been compiled by ''Billboard Japan'' and Hanshin Contents Link since February 2008. The chart is updated every Wednesday at Billboard-japan.com ( JST) and every Thursday ...
. In October, they released "Kasa" and achieved their first No.1 on the ''
Billboard Japan ''Billboard Japan'' is a sister organization of the U.S.-based music magazine '' Billboard''. It is operated by the Japanese Osaka-based company Hanshin Contents Link (a subsidiary of Hanshin Electric Railway), holding an exclusive licence fr ...
'' Download Chart. On December 31, King Gnu performed "Hakujitsu" at the 70th NHK Kōhaku Uta Gassen, their debut performance on the program. Their third album ''Ceremony'', released on January 15, 2020, was a commercial success, peaking atop the Japanese
Oricon , established in 1999, is the holding company at the head of a Japanese corporate group that supplies statistics Statistics (from German language, German: ', "description of a State (polity), state, a country") is the discipline that ...
albums chart, the ''Billboard Japan'' albums chart, and was one of the 10 best-selling albums of 2020 worldwide by selling over one million copies. A nationwide tour for the album was scheduled but all performances were postponed due to the
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...
. The band held their first online live concert in August. On September 8, it was announced that King Gnu would be the first Japanese artist to sign a partnership agreement with
Red Bull Red Bull is a brand of energy drinks created and owned by the Austrian company Red Bull GmbH. With a market share of 43%, it is the most popular energy drink brand as of 2020, and the third most valuable soft drink brand, behind Coca-Cola and ...
. In August 2021, it was announced that King Gnu would perform the opening theme song "Boy" for the anime adaptation of ''
Ranking of Kings is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by . It has been serialized online via Echoes' user-submitted ''Manga Hack'' website since May 2017 and has been collected in 19 volumes by Enterbrain. The story follows the adventures of ...
''; the song was released in October. In December,
MAPPA is a Japanese animation studio headquartered in Nakano, Tokyo (formerly in Suginami, Tokyo). Founded in 2011 by Madhouse co-founder and producer Masao Maruyama, it has produced anime works including '' Terror in Resonance'', '' Yuri!!! on I ...
released a few movie trailers promoting the '' Jujutsu Kaisen 0'' anime film adaptation, which King Gnu have made 2 new songs for the film. The songs are and , which are the opening and ending themes for the ''
Jujutsu Kaisen is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Gege Akutami. It was serialized in Shueisha's Shōnen manga, manga magazine ''Weekly Shōnen Jump'' from March 2018 to September 2024, with its chapters collected in 30 volumes. The ...
'' movie. The two songs were released together as Ichizu/Sakayume. In March 2022, they released , which is the theme for Japanese television drama '' Don't Call It Mystery'', adapted from the manga of the same name. In November 2022, they played one of the biggest concerts of their career, performed in two days concerts with attended more than 100,000 fans at
Tokyo Dome is an indoor stadium in Bunkyō, Tokyo, Japan. It was designed as a baseball stadium following its predecessor, Korakuen Stadium (whose former site is now occupied by the Tokyo Dome Hotel and a plaza for this stadium). In Japan, it is often us ...
. King Gnu held their biggest tour ever in Japan "Closing Ceremony" on May and June 2023, which saw them play at stadiums five years after their debut for the first time in Nagai Stadium and Yokohama Nissan Stadium. They released "
Specialz "Specialz" (stylized in all caps) is a song by Japanese band King Gnu from their fourth studio album, ''The Greatest Unknown''. It was released on September 1, 2023, through Ariola Japan. The song served as the opening theme for the sixth epis ...
" as the opening theme for the Shibuya Incident arc, the second part of the second season of the ''
Jujutsu Kaisen is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Gege Akutami. It was serialized in Shueisha's Shōnen manga, manga magazine ''Weekly Shōnen Jump'' from March 2018 to September 2024, with its chapters collected in 30 volumes. The ...
'' anime on September 1. In March 2025, it was announced that King Gnu would perform the ending theme for ''Detective Conan: One-eyed Flashback'', "TWILIGHT!!!".


Discography


Studio albums


Extended plays


Singles


Promotional singles


Other charted and certified songs


Guest appearances


Kōhaku Uta Gassen appearances


Awards and nominations


References


External links

* {{Authority control Japanese alternative rock groups Musical groups established in 2013 2013 establishments in Japan Japanese musical quartets Music Awards Japan winners MTV Europe Music Award winners Ariola Japan artists