In December last year, Ikimonogakari’s rendition of ‘Blue Bird’ on ‘THE FIRST TAKE’ YouTube channel received widespread acclaim. This song will be available across all digital platforms from midnight, February 2nd. This release features the audio version of ‘Blue Bird,’ originally composed and performed for ‘THE FIRST TAKE’. The track is not only a hit at live shows but also enjoys international popularity.
‘Blue Bird,’ first released in 2008, gained a global following as the opening theme for ‘Naruto Shippuden,’ becoming Ikimonogakari’s most streamed song with over 200 million plays worldwide. Alongside the video performance on ‘THE FIRST TAKE,’ fans can now enjoy the audio version.
Furthermore, Ikimonogakari is set to embark on their first concert hall tour in 12 years, ‘IKIMONOGAKARI NO MINASAN, KONNITOUR!!2024 ‘, covering 19 cities starting February 4th in Ebina, Kanagawa. Additionally, on May 25th and 26th, the ‘YOKOHAMA NIJYU-MARU KOUEN’ will feature special performances at Pia Arena MM, highlighting the duo’s national tour.
Streaming Information
Streaming Links for ‘Blue Bird – From THE FIRST TAKE’:
Streaming Links for the Original Release of ‘Blue Bird’ (Currently streaming)
YouTube Information
‘Ikimonogakari – Blue Bird / THE FIRST TAKE’ (Currently available to watch):
https://youtu.be/aQystzibMlc?si=WF9a281yzfrb8cXR
Ikimonogakari
Ikimonogakari was formed on February 1st, 1999 by Yoshiki Mizuno and Hotaka Yamashita, who attended the same elementary, junior high and high school together. The name Ikimonogakari (which loosely translates to ‘Team Responsible Living Things’) comes from the fact that in their first year of elementary school the two of them would feed gold fish together.
They began performing together busking on the streets of their local areas of Atsugi and Ebina, as well as along the Odakyu Line. On November 3rd, 1999 they became a trio after the younger sister of a classmate of theirs, Kiyoe Yoshioka, spontaneously jumped in to join one of ikimonogakari’s busking sessions.
Since their made their major label debut on March 15th, 2006 with ‘SAKURA’, they have released numerous hits such as ‘Arigatou’, ‘YELL’, ‘Blue Bird’ and ‘Kaze ga Fuiteiru’.
Since the summer of 2021 they began working as a duo again. On May 3rd, 2023 they released ‘STAR’, their first track since becoming a duo. On the same day, a free gig held at Vina Walk in their hometown of Ebina garnered massive attention, with more than 8,000 people showing up.
On September 13th, they released their 34th single ‘Ureshikute/Tokimeki’, their first in two years.
‘Ureshikute’ is the main theme for the movie ‘the film Pretty Cure All Stars F’ which released on Friday, September 15th, while ‘Tokimeki’ was the 20th anniversary song for Precure and it was also used as the opening theme for ‘the TV anime Kibo no Chikara – Otona Pretty Cure ’23’, an anime series which began its TV run on October 7th.
On Wednesday December 13th, they release their first album as a duo, and 10th overall, ‘○ (Read ‘maru’).
◉ Ikimonogakari｜Official homepage：https://ikimonogakari.com
◉ Ikimonogakari｜Twitter ：https://twitter.com/IKIMONOofficial
◉ Ikimonogakari｜YouTube ：https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCflAJoghlGeSkdz5eNIl-sg
◉ Ikimonogakari｜note ：https://note.com/ikimono_gakari/
◉ Kiyoe Yoshioka｜Instagram ：https://www.instagram.com/kiyoe_yoshioka_official/
◉ Yoshiki Mizuno｜Twitter ：https://twitter.com/mizunoyoshiki
◉ Yoshiki Mizuno｜Instagram ：https://www.instagram.com/mizunoyoshiki_teke/