King Gnu
Japanese band
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
King Gnu is a Japanese band formed in 2013.[1][2] 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.[3]
- Mrs.Vinci (2013)
- Srv.Vinci (2013–2017)
King Gnu | |
|---|---|
| Also known as |
|
| Origin | Japan |
| Genres | |
| Years active | 2013–present |
| Labels |
|
| Members | Daiki Tsuneta Yū Seki Kazuki Arai Satoru Iguchi |
| Past members | Shun Ishiwaka |
| Website | kinggnu |
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.[4] They then performed at the Fuji Rock Festival in 2017 and 2018.[5] 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.[6]
In January 2019, the band released Sympa, their first release under a major label after signing to Ariola Japan. The following month, King Gnu released hit song "Hakujitsu", which ranked No.4 in the year-end chart of Billboard Japan Hot 100.[7] In October, they released "Kasa" and achieved their first No.1 on the Billboard Japan Download Chart.[8] On December 31, King Gnu performed "Hakujitsu" at the 70th NHK Kōhaku Uta Gassen, their debut performance on the program.[9]
Their third album Ceremony, released on January 15, 2020, was a commercial success, peaking atop the Japanese Oricon 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.[10] A nationwide tour for the album was scheduled but all performances were postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[11] The band held their first online live concert in August.[12] On September 8, it was announced that King Gnu would be the first Japanese artist to sign a partnership agreement with Red Bull.[13]
In August 2021, it was announced that King Gnu would perform the opening theme song "Boy" for the anime adaptation of Ranking of Kings;[14] the song was released in October.[15] In December, MAPPA 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 "Ichizu" (一途; "The Only Way") and "Sakayume" (逆夢; "Contradictory Dream"), which are the opening and ending themes for the Jujutsu Kaisen movie. The two songs were released together as Ichizu/Sakayume. In March 2022, they released "Chameleon" (カメレオン, Kamereon), 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.
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" as the opening theme for the Shibuya Incident Arc, the second part of the second season of the Jujutsu Kaisen anime on September 1.[16][17]
In March 2025, it was announced that King Gnu would perform the ending theme for Detective Conan: One-eyed Flashback, "Twilight!!!".[18]
In September 2025, King Gnu released the song "So Bad", created as the exclusive official theme for Universal Studios Japan’s Zombie de Dance: Halloween Horror Nights event.
On January 9, 2026, King Gnu released their single "Aizo", to serve as the opening theme for Jujutsu Kaisen's Culling Game Arc.
Discography
Studio albums
| Title | Album details | Peak chart positions | Sales | Certifications | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| JPN [19] |
JPN Hot [20] | ||||
| Srv. Vinci | |||||
| Mad Me More Softly |
Track listing
|
— | — | N/a | |
| King Gnu | |||||
| Tokyo Rendez-Vous |
Track listing
|
46 | — |
|
|
| Sympa |
Track listing
|
4 | 3 |
|
|
| Ceremony |
|
1 | 1 |
| |
| The Greatest Unknown |
|
1 | 1 |
|
|
| "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory. | |||||
Extended plays
| Title | EP details | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Srv. Vinci | ||||
| Tokyo Chaotic (トーキョー・カオティック) |
Track listing
| |||
Singles
| Title | Year | Peak positions | Sales | Certifications | Album | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| JPN [30] |
JPN Hot [31] |
US Rock [32] |
WW [33] | |||||
| "Flash!!!" | 2018 | — | 97 | — | — |
|
Sympa | |
| "Prayer X" | 31 | 40 | — | — | ||||
| "Hakujitsu" (白日) | 2019 | — | 2 | — | — |
|
Ceremony | |
| "Hikōtei" (飛行艇) | — | 10 | — | — | ||||
| "Kasa" (傘) | — | 9 | — | — | ||||
| "Sanmon Shousetsu" (三文小説) | 2020 | 2 | 4 | — | — | The Greatest Unknown | ||
| "Senryou Yakusha" (千両役者) | 12 | — | — | |||||
| "Abuku" (泡) | 2021 | — | 18 | — | — | |||
| "Boy" | 4 | 9 | — | — |
|
| ||
| "Ichizu" (一途) | 1 | 1 | — | — |
|
|||
| "Sakayume" (逆夢) | 2 | — | — | |||||
| "Chameleon" (カメレオン) | 2022 | 2 | 1 | — | — |
|
||
| "Ame Sansan" (雨燦々) | — | 13 | — | — | ||||
| "Stardom" | 5 | 8 | — | — |
|
| ||
| "Specialz" | 2023 | 4 | 2 | — | 28 |
|
||
| "Mascara" | 2024 | — | 50 | — | — | TBA | ||
| "Nekko" (ねっこ) | — | 8 | — | — |
|
| ||
| "Twilight!!!" | 2025 | — | 4 | — | 183 |
| ||
| "So Bad" | — | 14 | — | — | ||||
| "Aizo" | 2026 | 2 | 1 | 40 | 30 |
|
||
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that region. | ||||||||
Promotional singles
| Title | Year | Peak positions | Certifications | Album |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| JPN Hot [73] | ||||
| "Tokyo Rendez-Vous" | 2017 | — | Tokyo Rendez-Vous | |
| "McDonald Romance" | — | |||
| "Vinyl" | 90 |
| ||
| "Slumberland" | 2018 | 53 |
|
Sympa |
| "Teenager Forever" | 2019 | 5 | Ceremony | |
| "Glass Window" (硝子窓) | 2023 | 16 |
|
The Greatest Unknown |
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that region. | ||||
Other charted and certified songs
| Title | Year | Peak positions | Certifications | Album |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| JPN Hot [79] | ||||
| "It's a Small World" | 2019 | — |
|
Sympa |
| "Kaikai-shiki" (開会式) | 2020 | 81 | Ceremony | |
| "Doron" (どろん) | 6 |
| ||
| "Humor" (ユーモア) | 26 |
| ||
| "Makuai" (幕間) | 77 | |||
| "Chiisana Wakusei" (小さな惑星) | 25 |
| ||
| "Overflow" | 41 | |||
| "Danjo" (壇上) | 66 | |||
| "F.O.O.L" | 2021 | 75 | "Boy" | |
| "Asura" ():阿修羅:() | 2023 | 72 | The Greatest Unknown | |
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that region. | ||||
Guest appearances
| Title | Year | Album |
|---|---|---|
| "Kazari Janai no yo Namida wa" | 2019 | Yōsui Inoue Tribute |
Kōhaku Uta Gassen appearances
Awards and nominations
| Year | Award ceremony | Category | Nominee / Work | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | MTV Video Music Awards Japan | Best Video of the Year | "Hakujitsu" | Won | |
| Best New Artist Video | Won | ||||
| 61st Japan Record Awards | Excellence Album Award | Sympa | Won | ||
| MTV Europe Music Awards | Best Japanese Act | King Gnu | Won | [84] | |
| Mnet Asian Music Awards | Best New Asian Artist – Japan | Won | |||
| 2022 | MTV Video Music Awards Japan | Best Art Direction Video | "Sakayume" | Won | [85] |
| 2024 | Berlin Music Video Awards | Best Editor | "Specialz" | Nominated | |
| 2025 | Music Awards Japan | Best J-Rock Artist | King Gnu | Won | [86][87] |
| Best J-Rock Song | "Specialz" | Won | |||
| Best Japanese Song in Europe | Nominated | ||||
| Best Japanese Song in North America | Nominated | ||||
| Best Japanese Song in Latin America | Nominated | ||||
| Best of Listeners' Choice: Japanese Song | Nominated | ||||
| "Nekko" | Nominated |