Ceremony (King Gnu album)

Ceremony
Studio album by King Gnu
Released	January 15, 2020 (2020-01-15)
Genre	J-pop alternative rock
Length	36:48
Label	Ariola Japan
Producer	Daiki Tsuneta
King Gnu chronology
Sympa (2019) Ceremony (2020)

Ceremony is the third studio album by Japanese alternative rock band King Gnu. It was released on January 15, 2020, by Ariola Japan. All songs were composed by the group's frontman, Daiki Tsuneta. Built on the group's alternative rock sound, the album's genre-spanning production incorporates hip hop, soul, and classical. Ceremony 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.[1]

Release

Ceremony was released on January 15, 2020, by Ariola Japan. It was available on two formats: CD, and CD+Blu-ray.[2] Ceremony, along with King Gnu's previous studio albums Tokyo Rendez-Vous and Sympa, was released on vinyl on December 2, 2020.[3]

Awards

Ceremony was one of the award-winning albums at the 2021 CD Shop Awards.[4] It was one of the "five best albums" at the 2021 Japan Gold Disc Awards.[5]

Commercial performance

Ceremony debuted at number one on the Japanese Oricon albums chart, with first-week sales of 238,000 physical copies and 30,000 digital copies. The album spent 18 weeks in the top 10 of Billboard Japan's Hot Albums Chart, including four weeks at number one on the component Download Albums Chart.[6]

Track listing

All lyrics are written by Daiki Tsuneta; all music is composed by King Gnu

Ceremony track listing[7][8]

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Kaikai-shiki" (開会式; "Opening Ceremony")	0:48
2.	"Doron" (どろん)	3:02
3.	"Teenager Forever"	3:09
4.	"Humor" (ユーモア)	3:27
5.	"Hakujitsu" (白日)	4:36
6.	"Maku-ai" (幕間; "Interlude")	0:56
7.	"Hikōtei" (飛行艇)	4:20
8.	"Chīsana Waku-sei" (小さな惑星; "Small Planet")	2:31
9.	"Overflow"	3:21
10.	"Kasa" (傘; "Umbrella")	3:23
11.	"Danjo" (壇上)	5:40
12.	"Heikai-shiki" (閉会式; "Closing Ceremony")	1:29
Total length:		36:48

Charts

Weekly charts

Weekly chart performance of Ceremony

Chart (2020)	Peak position
Japan Hot Albums (Billboard Japan)[9]	1
Japanese Albums (Oricon)[10]	1

Year-end charts

2020 year-end chart performance of Ceremony

Chart (2020)	Position
Japan Hot Albums (Billboard Japan)[11]	2
Japanese Albums (Oricon)[12]	6

Certifications and sales

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Japan (RIAJ)[13]	2× Platinum	500,000^^
Japan (RIAJ)[14]	Gold	100,000^*
Summaries
Worldwide	—	1,000,000[1]
^* Sales figures based on certification alone. ^^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

1. Brandle, Lars (March 11, 2021). "BTS Bag 'Unprecedented' 1-2 on IFPI's Global Album Sales Chart For 2020". Billboard. Archived from the original on March 11, 2021. Retrieved May 18, 2021.
2. King Gnu年明け新アルバム「CEREMONY」発表、アリーナ公演含むツアーも決定. Natalie.mu (in Japanese). November 27, 2019. Retrieved May 18, 2021.
3. King Gnuの3枚のアルバムが遂にアナログ盤でリリース (in Japanese). HMV Japan. December 1, 2020. Retrieved May 18, 2021.
4. 第13回CDショップ大賞2021 (in Japanese). CD Shop. Retrieved May 18, 2021.
5. "The Japan Gold Disc Awards" (in Japanese). golddisc.jp. Retrieved May 18, 2021.
6. "Chart Insight". Billboard Japan (in Japanese). Retrieved May 18, 2021.
7. King Gnuの「CEREMONY」をApple Musicで (in Japanese). Apple Music. Retrieved May 18, 2021.
8. "Ceremony by King Gnu". Apple Music. Retrieved May 18, 2021.
9. "Billboard Japan Hot Albums: 2020/01/27". Billboard Japan (in Japanese). Retrieved May 18, 2021.
10. "Oricon Top 50 Albums: 2020-01-27" (in Japanese). Oricon. Retrieved 2021-05-18.
11. "Billboard Japan Hot Albums Year End". Billboard Japan (in Japanese). Retrieved May 18, 2021.
12. "オリコン年間 アルバムランキング 2020年度" (in Japanese). Oricon. Retrieved May 18, 2020.
13. "Japanese album certifications – King Gnu – Ceremony" (in Japanese). Recording Industry Association of Japan. Retrieved May 18, 2021. Select 2020年12月 on the drop-down menu
14. "Japanese digital album certifications – King Gnu – Ceremony" (in Japanese). Recording Industry Association of Japan.