Idol (Yoasobi song)

"Idol" (アイドル, Aidoru) is a song by Japanese duo Yoasobi from their third EP, The Book 3 (2023). It was released as a single on April 12, 2023, by Sony Music Entertainment Japan, served as the opening theme of the Japanese anime series Oshi no Ko (2023). Written by Ayase and based on Aka Akasaka's short story 45510, "Idol" is a combination of idol-styled pop, hip hop, rock, and video game music, depicting the two-faced nature of a star in the Japanese idol industry from perspectives on the anime's character Ai Hoshino by her fans, her B-Komachi's groupmates, and herself.

The song received positive reviews from music critics for a "perfect" representation of Ai Hoshino and was a massive commercial success by topping the Oricon Combined Singles Chart and Billboard Japan Hot 100, the second song after "Yoru ni Kakeru", which the latter for 22 non-consecutive weeks, making it the longest-running number-one song in the chart history, and the 2023 year-end number-one song. It broke the record for the fastest song to earn 500 million streams in Japan within 39 weeks, and achieve diamond streaming certification by the Recording Industry Association of Japan (RIAJ) in about only ten months. As Yoasobi's most successful song worldwide to date, "Idol" was marked as the highest position by Japanese act, peaking at number seven, on the Billboard Global 200, and the first Japanese-language song to top the Global Excl. US, as well as the 2023 nineteenth best-selling global song, according to the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI).

Naoya Nakayama directed the accompanying animated music video for the song, which premiered on April 13, 2023, and exceeded 100 million views in around one month, the fastest among Japanese acts. "Idol" won Song of the Year and Best Animation Video at the 2023 MTV Video Music Awards Japan, Best Anime Song at the 8th Crunchyroll Anime Awards, and Song of the Year by both download and streaming at the 38th Japan Gold Disc Award. After numerous domestic and overseas performances, the first Japanese televised performance of "Idol" took place at the 74th NHK Kōhaku Uta Gassen, featuring Japanese and Korean idol groups and former idols, among others.