Stray Sheep

{{Infobox album

| name = Stray Sheep

| type = studio

| artist = Kenshi Yonezu

| cover = Kenshi Yonezu - Stray Sheep.png

| alt =

| released = {{start date|2020|8|05}}

| recorded =

| studio =

| genre = J-pop

| length = 59:26

| label = Sony Japan

| producer = Kenshi Yonezu

| prev_title = Bootleg

| prev_year = 2017

| next_title = Lost Corner

| next_year = 2024

| misc = {{Singles

| name = Stray Sheep

| type = album

| single1 = Lemon

| single1date = March 14, 2018

| single2 = Flamingo/Teenage Riot

| single2date = October 31, 2018

| single3 = Spirits of the Sea

| single3date = June 3, 2019

| single4 = Uma to Shika

| single4date = September 11, 2019

| single5 = Paprika

| single5date = February 3, 2020

| single6 = Kanden

| single6date = July 6, 2020

}}

}}

Stray Sheep (stylized in all caps) is the fifth album by Kenshi Yonezu, released on August 5, 2020.{{cite web |title=米津玄師、ニュー・アルバム『STRAY SHEEP』トラックリスト公開。 |url=https://tower.jp/article/news/2020/06/19/tg010 |website=Tower Records}}{{Cite web |title=米津玄師の新アルバム『STRAY SHEEP』Lemon、パプリカなど新曲9曲を含む全15曲収録 |url=https://www.fashion-press.net/news/61407/2 |access-date=2024-08-22 |website=www.fashion-press.net |language=ja}}{{cite web |url=https://natalie.mu/music/pp/yonezukenshi16 |title=3年かけて磨き上げた傷だらけの宝石 |website=Natalie.mu |quote="性懲りもなく迷ってるなという感じですね。だからアルバムのタイトルも「STRAY SHEEP」になった。"}} The song "Kanden" has been used as the theme song of the comedy TV series MIU404.{{cite web |title=米津玄師の新曲"感電"が主題歌の綾野剛&星野源W主演ドラマ『MIU404』第1話を観た! |url=https://news.yahoo.co.jp/articles/3001a1230095717b5be26b9f22e665bb16bfe0aa |website=Yahoo.co.jp}} The album sold over 879,000 copies in its first week, debuting atop the Oricon Albums Chart.{{cite web|url=https://www.oricon.co.jp/rank/ja/w/2020-08-17/|title=オリコン週間 アルバムランキング 2020年08月03日~2020年08月09日|publisher=Oricon|access-date=August 14, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200814134751/https://www.oricon.co.jp/rank/ja/w/2020-08-17/|archive-date=August 14, 2020}} It was the top selling album of 2020 in Japan according to both Billboard Japan{{cite magazine|url=https://www.billboard.com/articles/business/chart-beat/9493463/yoasobi-tops-billboard-japan-2020-year-end-charts|title=YOASOBI Tops Billboard Japan's 2020 Year-End Charts With Song Not Released on CD|magazine=Billboard|date=December 3, 2020|access-date=December 10, 2020}} and Oricon. The latter calculated that the album had sold 1,970,930 copies in Japan by the end of 2020, summarizing CDs, vinyls, downloads, and streaming equivalents.{{cite web|url=https://www.oricon.co.jp/special/55632/9/|title= [Oricon Annual Ranking 2020] Arashi wins the top spot for the ninth time in total

|work=Oricon|date=December 28, 2020|access-date=December 28, 2020}}

According to the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI), Stray Sheep was the world's third-best-selling album of 2020, with 2.54 million sales worldwide.{{Cite web |title=IFPI Global Top 10 Album Sales Chart 2020 |url=https://www.ifpi.org/our-industry/global-charts/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210814100802/https://www.ifpi.org/our-industry/global-charts/ |archive-date=August 14, 2021 |access-date=2022-01-20 |website=IFPI}}

Release

The album was released digitally worldwide on August 5, 2020. It was available on physical formats in South Korea and Taiwan on October 16, 2020.{{cite web|url=http://www.billboard-japan.com/d_news/detail/92979/2|script-title=ja:米津玄師『STRAY SHEEP』、韓国と台湾でも現地盤の発売が決定|date=2020-10-07|work=Billboard Japan|accessdate=2021-05-16|language=ja}}

Singles

"Lemon" is the first single of the album and was released on February 27, 2018. It served as the theme song for the TBS television drama Unnatural.{{Cite web|last=Parker|first=Esme|date=2020-06-09|title=Kenshi Yonezu To Release Fifth Album STRAY SHEEP|url=https://www.otaquest.com/kenshi-yonezu-to-release-fifth-album-stray-sheep/|access-date=2020-07-06|website=OTAQUEST}} The song, "Spirits of the Sea", was used for the animated film Children of the Sea. The theme song, "Uma to Shika" is used for the TBS television drama No Side Manager.{{Cite web|last=G Andrew White|date=2019-09-12|title=Kenshi Yonezu belts out a ballad in "Uma to Shika"|url=https://jrocknews.com/2019/09/kenshi-yonezu-uma-to-shika.html|access-date=2020-08-25|website=JROCK NEWS|language=en-US}} "Paprika" is the representative song for 2020 Summer Olympics.{{Cite web|date=2019-12-04|title=Japanese hit song "Paprika" goes global with English version by new singers and dancers|url=https://soranews24.com/2019/12/04/japanese-hit-song-paprika-goes-global-with-english-version-by-new-singers-and-dancers/|access-date=2020-08-25|website=SoraNews24 -Japan News-|language=en-US}}

Commercial performance

The song "Kanden" was released on YouTube on July 10, 2020, and reached 10 million views in four days, breaking Yonezu's own record.{{cite news|date=2020-07-14|url=https://www.topics.or.jp/articles/-/390108|title=米津玄師さん「感電」MV、公開4日と7分で自身最速1000万再生達成|newspaper=Tokoshima Shinbun|access-date=2020-07-15}} The studio album has sold one million copies within 10 days.{{cite web |title=米津玄師『STRAY SHEEP』ミリオン突破 |url=http://www.billboard-japan.com/d_news/detail/91144/2 |website=Billboard Japan}} Besides, the album hit number one under the J-Pop category in over 30 countries in iTunes Chart and hit number one in 54 countries under the J-Pop Apple Music Albums Chart. And the topped 20 All Genres category in 22 Countries/Regions, 6 of which hit Number one.{{cite web |title=Kenshi Yonezu's album, Stray Sheep hits #1 in over 54 countries |date=14 August 2020 |url=https://www.lionheartv.net/2020/08/kenshi-yonezus-album-stray-sheep-hits-1-in-over-54-countries/}}{{cite web |title=KENSHI YONEZU STORM THE CHARTS AND GETS A COLLAB |work=The Honey POP |date=12 August 2020 |url=https://thehoneypop.com/2020/08/12/kenshi-yonezu-storm-the-charts-and-gets-a-collab/ |author1=Thpmag }}

Track listing

{{Track listing

| headline = Stray Sheep track listing{{Cite web|title=米津玄師アルバムに菅田将暉提供曲セルフカバー、アートブック盤には初のフル尺ライブ映像収録(写真18枚)|url=https://natalie.mu/music/news/383996|access-date=2020-07-06|website=音楽ナタリー|language=ja}}{{Cite web|last=Ryusenkai|date=2020-06-21|title=Kenshi Yonezu unveils all of the info. about his upcoming Album "STRAY SHEEP"|url=https://aramajapan.com/news/newrelease/kenshi-yonezu-unveils-all-of-the-info-about-his-upcoming-album-stray-sheep/107166/|access-date=2020-07-06|website=Arama! Japan}}

| all_writing = Kenshi Yonezu

| title1 = Campanella

| note1 = {{lang|ja|カムパネルラ}} "Bell"

| length1 = 3:55

| title2 = Flamingo

| length2 = 3:16

| title3 = Kanden

| note3 = {{lang|ja|感電}} "Electric Shock"

| length3 = 4:24

| title4 = Placebo

| note4 = featuring Yojiro Noda

| length4 = 4:00

| title5 = Paprika

| note5 = {{lang|ja|パプリカ}}

| length5 = 3:22

| title6 = Uma to Shika

| note6 = {{lang|ja|馬と鹿}} "Horse and Deer"

| length6 = 4:25

| title7 = Yasashii Hito

| note7 = {{lang|ja|優しい人}} "Kind Person"

| length7 = 3:28

| title8 = Lemon

| length8 = 4:15

| title9 = Machigai Sagashi

| note9 = {{lang|ja|まちがいさがし}} "Spot the Difference"; rearrangement

| length9 = 4:27

| title10 = Himawari

| note10 = {{lang|ja|ひまわり}} "Sunflower"

| length10 = 4:02

| title11 = Stray Sheep

| note11 = {{lang|ja|迷える羊}}

| length11 = 3:46

| title12 = Décolleté

| length12 = 3:29

| title13 = Teenage Riot

| length13 = 3:45

| title14 = Spirits of the Sea

| note14 = {{lang|ja|海の幽霊}}

| length14 = 3:54

| title15 = Canary

| note15 = {{lang|ja|カナリヤ}}

| length15 = 4:58

| total_length = 59:26

}}

Charts

{{col-begin}}

{{col 2}}

=Weekly charts=

class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"

|+ Weekly chart performance of Stray Sheep

! scope="col"| Chart (2020)

! scope="col"| Peak
position

scope="row"| Japanese Hot Albums (Billboard Japan){{cite web|url=http://www.billboard-japan.com/charts/detail?a=hot_albums&year=2020&month=08&day=17|title=Billboard Japan Hot Albums: 2020/08/17 付け|website=Billboard Japan|language=ja|access-date=August 14, 2020}}

| 1

{{album chart|Oricon|1|date=2020-08-17|rowheader=true|accessdate=August 14, 2020}}

{{col 2}}

=Year-end charts=

class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"

|+ 2020 year-end chart performance of Stray Sheep

! scope="col"| Chart (2020)

! scope="col"| Position

scope="row"| Japanese Hot Albums (Billboard Japan)

| 1

scope="row"| Japanese Albums (Oricon){{cite web|url=https://www.oricon.co.jp/rank/ja/y/2020/|title=オリコン年間 アルバムランキング 2020年度|publisher=Oricon|language=ja|access-date=February 19, 2021}}

| 1

class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"

|+ 2021 year-end chart performance of Stray Sheep

! scope="col"| Chart (2021)

! scope="col"| Position

scope="row"| Japanese Hot Albums (Billboard Japan){{cite web|url=https://www.billboard-japan.com/charts/detail?a=hot_albums_year&year=2021|title=Hot Albums Japan 2021|publisher=Billboard Japan|language=ja|access-date=June 21, 2022}}

| 11

scope="row"| Japanese Albums (Oricon){{cite web|url=https://www.oricon.co.jp/rank/ja/y/2021/|title=オリコン年間 アルバムランキング 2021年度|publisher=Oricon|language=ja|access-date=June 21, 2022}}

| 37

class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"

|+ 2022 year-end chart performance for Stray Sheep

! scope="col" | Chart (2022)

! scope="col" | Position

scope="row" | Japanese Hot Albums (Billboard Japan){{cite web |title=Billboard Japan Hot Albums Year-End 2022 |url=https://www.billboard-japan.com/charts/detail?a=hot_albums_year&year=2022 |website=Billboard Japan |access-date=December 9, 2022}}

| 72

{{col end}}

Certifications and sales

{{Certification Table Top}}

{{Certification Table Entry|region=Japan|title=Stray Sheep|artist=Yonezu Kenshi|type=album|certyear=2020|certmonth=8|award=Million|relyear=2020|accessdate=May 9, 2021}}

{{Certification Table Entry|region=Japan|note=digital sales|title=Stray Sheep|artist=Yonezu Kenshi|type=album|certyear=2020|certmonth=8|award=Gold|digital=true|relyear=2020|accessdate=May 9, 2021|refname="digital"|salesamount=185,000|salesref={{cite web|url=http://www.billboard-japan.com/d_news/detail/91538/2|script-title=ja:米津玄師『STRAY SHEEP』、ダウンロードアルバム3連覇で累計15万DL突破 Spotify CM起用のVaundyが上昇|work=Billboard Japan|language=ja|date=2020-08-26|accessdate=2021-05-16}}{{cite web|url=http://www.billboard-japan.com/d_news/detail/94653/2|script-title=ja:【ビルボード2020年年間Download Albums】米津玄師『STRAY SHEEP』が制す|work=Billboard Japan|date=2020-12-04|accessdate=2021-05-16|language=ja}}}}

{{Certification Table Summary}}

{{Certification Table Entry|region=Worldwide|nocert=true|salesamount=2,540,000|salesref={{cite magazine|url=https://www.billboard.com/articles/news/9538406/bts-top-ifpi-global-album-sales-chart-2020|title=BTS Bag 'Unprecedented' 1-2 on IFPI's Global Album Sales Chart For 2020|magazine=Billboard|first=Lars|last=Brandle|date=March 11, 2021|access-date=March 12, 2021}}}}

{{Certification Table Bottom|nosales=true}}

References

{{reflist}}

{{Kenshi Yonezu}}

{{Authority control}}

Category:2020 albums

Category:Kenshi Yonezu albums

Category:Sony Music albums