XTLIKE

XTLIKE
Studio album by
Lead
ReleasedSeptember 4, 2024
Recorded2023–2024
GenreHip hop, pop, R&B, dance
LabelPony Canyon
Lead chronology
Lead the Best
(2022) 		XTLIKE
(2024)
Singles from XTLIKE
  1. "See Your Heart"
    Released: May 24, 2023
  2. "Billionaire"
    Released: October 6, 2023
  3. "Jack in the Beats"
    Released: February 25, 2024
  4. "Don't Stay"
    Released: June 5, 2024

XTLIKE (pronounced "ekstrike") is the tenth studio album released by the Japanese hip hop group Lead, released on September 4, 2024, four years after their previous studio album, Singularity.[1] The album debuted at No. 9 on the Oricon Albums Charts.

The album included their physical single "See Your Heart", along with their digital singles "Billionaire", "Jack in the Beats" and "Don't Stay".

XTLIKE was released in two editions editions; a CD only version and a CD+DVD edition. A limited CD+Blu-ray+Photo Book edition was released to their fan club, which contained a thirty-six page booklet.

Information

XTLIKE is the tenth studio album released by the Japanese hip-hop group Lead, released two years after their previous album Lead the Best. The album debuted at in the top ten on the Oricon charts, taking the No. 9 position, and peaked at No. 6.[2][3] The album charted No. 12 at the end of the first week, with first week sales of 6,992.[4]

The album was released in three separate editions: a standard CD housing fourteen musical tracks, a standard CD+DVD edition housing the fourteen musical tracks and music videos for select singles, and a limited CD+Blu-ray+Photo Book edition, which contained a thirty-six page booklet. The songs "Sonic Boom" and "Tuxedo" were placed on the album. Both songs had previously been placed on their compilation album Lead the Best, while the music videos had been omitted.

Promotional activities

Prior to the album's release, the group released four singles: See Your Heart, Billionaire, Jack in the Beats and Don't Stay.

"See Your Heart" was released on May 24, 2023 and charted No. 5 on the Oricon Singles Charts.[5] The song was used as the ending theme for the Fuji TV series Nariyuki Kaidou Tabi (なりゆき街道旅 / Nariyuki Highway Journey) in the month of April.[6][7] On May 14, 2023, Lead performed "See Your Heart" at the Sayonara Nakano Sunplaza Music Festival.[8]

"Billionaire" was Lead's first digital single, released on October 6, 2023. The song was advertised as the "sequel" to their 2004 song "Night Deluxe."[9] The day of its release, the group held a campaign to promote the song, offering prizes to those who streamed the song the most on Line Music.[10] It was also utilized as the opening number to their Lead Upturn 2023 ~Jack in the Beats~.

To coincide with their 2023/2024 tour, Lead released the tie-in song "Jack in the Beats" on February 25, 2024.[11] The song was debuted during their Lead Upturn 2023 ~Jack in the Beats~ lives.

"Don't Stay" was released on June 5, 2024, with a promotional music video released the same day on Lead's official YouTube.[12] It was utilized as the ending theme to the Netflix movie Baki Hanma VS Kengan Ashura.[13][14]

Track listing

CD
No.TitleLyricsMusicArranger(s)Length
1."Ignite" nishi-kenAkira Kagimoto1:39
2."My Solution"Saeki youthKT-SK • Hide KawadaT-SK • Didrik Thott3:48
3."Billionaire"Shōko Fujibayashi • Shinya Taniuchi (rap)Shōko FujibayashiStefan Ekstedt • Didrik Thott • Samuel Waermö3:01
4."Romance no 110-ban" (ロマンスの110番 / Romance 110)Akira KagimotoMats TarnforsChristofer Erixon • Mats Tarnfors3:10
5."Sonic Boom"Akira Kagimoto • Shinya Taniuchi (rap)Akira Kagimoto • Nobuhiro DendaAkira Kagimoto3:55
6."Free Your..."Amon HayashiC.ONC.ON • Amon Hayashi3:03
7."Don't Stay"Keita Furuya • Saeki youthK • Shinya Taniuchi (rap)eba (F.M.F)Akira Kagimoto3:54
8."There for You"KM-MARKIT • Masaya WadaAILIKM-MARKIT • Masaya Wada • AILI3:42
9."Life"Keita FuruyaSebastian Thott • Yuki TsujimuraSebastian Thott2:56
10."See Your Heart"SQVARE • shungo.Masa TakumiMasa Takumi3:23
11."Love Survival" (ラブサバイバル)LeadJosef Melin • Christofer ErixonKAZ3:22
12."Tuxedo"shungo. • Shinya Taniuchi (rap)KAZKentaro Akutsu3:38
13."Jack in the Beats"7chi子 (Nachiko) • Shinya Taniuchi (rap)nishi-kenAkira Kagimoto4:10
14."Gravity"Akira Kagimoto • Shinya TaniuchiKeita Tachibana • JUNEKeita Tachibana4:12
Total length:47:53
DVD
No.TitleDirector(s)Length
1."Tuxedo" (Music Video)Tomohiro Taniguchi3:40
2."Sonic Boom" (Music Video) 3:57
3."See Your Heart" (Music Video) 3:27
4."Don't Stay" (Music Video)Tada Takuya3:55
5."Don't Stay" (Performance Video)Tada Takuya3:53
6."Don't Stay" (Behind the Scenes)Minoru Kieda 

Charts

Chart performance for XTLIKE
Chart (2024) Peak
position
Japanese Albums (Oricon)[15] 12
Japanese Hot Albums (Billboard Japan)[16] 13
Sales chart performance for singles from XTLIKE
Date Title Peak position Sales
September 23, 2020 "Tuxedo" 5 9,585[17]
August 25, 2021 "Sonic Boom" 10 6,716[18]
May 24, 2023 "See Your Heart" 10 5,815[19]

References

  1. ^ "Lead、4年半ぶり10枚目のアルバム『XTLIKE』を9月4日に発売！10月26日にニッショーホールにてワンマンライブ開催決定！". Pony Canyon. July 1, 2024. Retrieved August 26, 2024.
  2. ^ "デイリー アルバムランキング2024年09月03日付". Oricon. Retrieved September 4, 2024.
  3. ^ "デイリー アルバムランキング2024年09月08日付". Oricon. September 8, 2024. Retrieved September 15, 2024.
  4. ^ "週間 アルバムランキング2024年09月16日付（2024年09月02日～2024年09月08日）". Oricon. Retrieved September 15, 2024.
  5. ^ "Daily Single Ranking 20230523". Oricon. Retrieved May 23, 2023.
  6. ^ "Lead 5/24 New Single「See Your Heart」◢". Twitter. April 2, 2023. Retrieved April 5, 2023.
  7. ^ "本日12:00〜初回放送O.A！". Lead Official Twitter. April 1, 2023. Retrieved April 5, 2023.
  8. ^ "公演情報・チケットのご購入は、各アーティストをクリック！". Sayonara Nakano Sunplaza. Retrieved May 9, 2023.
  9. ^ "Lead、6thシングル「Night Deluxe」の続編となるラブソング「Billionaire」リリース決定". BARKS. September 23, 2024. Retrieved August 26, 2024.
  10. ^ "Lead、Digital Single「Billionaire」を10月6日リリース、ジャケットデザインはメンバー谷内伸也が担当！". encore. September 23, 2023. Retrieved November 6, 2023.
  11. ^ "Jack in the Beats - Single By Lead". Spotify. Retrieved August 26, 2024.
  12. ^ "Lead / Don't Stay【Music Video】". Lead Official YouTube. June 5, 2024. Retrieved August 26, 2024.
  13. ^ Hodgkins, Crystalyn (March 22, 2024). "Baki Hanma vs. Kengan Ashura Crossover Anime Announced, Premieres on Netflix on June 6". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on March 23, 2024. Retrieved March 23, 2024.
  14. ^ "Lead、現在配信中のNetflix映画『範馬刃牙VSケンガンアシュラ』のED主題歌「Don't Stay」アニメスペシャルver.のMUSIC VIDEOを公開！". USEN. June 18, 2024. Retrieved August 26, 2024.
  15. ^ "Oricon Top 50 Albums: 2024-09-16/p/2" (in Japanese). Oricon. Retrieved September 11, 2024.
  16. ^ "Billboard Japan Hot Albums – Week of September 11, 2024". Billboard Japan (in Japanese). Retrieved September 11, 2024.
  17. ^ "月間 シングルランキング2020年09月度". Oricon. Retrieved October 15, 2020.
  18. ^ "月間 シングルランキング2021年08月度". Oricon. Retrieved September 12, 2021.
  19. ^ "週間 シングルランキング2023年06月05日付（2023年05月22日～2023年05月28日". Oricon. Retrieved June 24, 2023.