The inaugural MUSIC AWARDS JAPAN (MAJ) ceremony, the largest music awards in the country, is quickly approaching. Embodying the theme of “Connecting the world, illuminating the future of music,” the brand-new international music awards will take place on May 21 and 22, 2025 at the ROHM Theatre Kyoto, with the winners of 50 categories to be announced on Day 1, and those of the six main categories and more to be announced and awarded in a ceremony on Day 2. Both days will be streamed globally via YouTube, the awards’ global streaming partner. (Some regions excluded.) The Grand Ceremony on the 22nd will feature performances by AI, Hikaru Utada, Awich, Creepy Nuts, CHANMINA, Fujii Kaze, Mrs. GREEN APPLE and YOASOBI, with actor and singer Masaki Suda taking on the role of Master of Ceremony.
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MAJ is hosted by the Japan Culture and Entertainment Industry Promotion Association (CEIPA), an association jointly established by five major organizations in the Japanese music industry: the Recording Industry Association of Japan, Japan Association of Music Enterprises, the Federation of Music Producers Japan, Music Publishers Association of Japan and All Japan Concert & Live Entertainment Promoters Conference. In the wake of the spread of streaming services and the success of Japanese entertainment such as anime, CEIPA was launched for the future growth of the Japanese music industry and will begin full-fledged promotion of entertainment and content from the country on a global scale this year.
Photo: Shota Tutuura
The six nominees in the six main categories, chosen by more than 5,000 music professionals including artists and creatives, are as follows:
Song of the Year – Recognition for the song with the most outstanding musical creativity and artistry.
Rosé & Bruno Mars “APT.”
Creepy Nuts “Bling-Bang-Bang-Born”
YOASOBI “Idol”
Fujii Kaze “Michi Teyu Ku (Overflowing)”
Mrs. GREEN APPLE “Lilac”
Album of the Year – Recognition for the album with the most outstanding musical creativity and artistry.
Mrs. GREEN APPLE, ANTENNA
Kenshi Yonezu, LOST CORNER
Fujii Kaze, LOVE ALL SERVE ALL
Vaundy, replica
Hikaru Utada, SCIENCE FICTION
Artist of the Year – Recognition for the artist with the most outstanding musical creativity and artistry.
Creepy Nuts
Mrs. GREEN APPLE
Vaundy
YOASOBI
Fujii Kaze
New Artist of the Year – Recognition for the new artist who demonstrated outstanding musical creativity and artistry.
FRUITS ZIPPER
Number_i
Omoinotake
tuki.
Kocchi no Kento
Top Global Hit From Japan – Recognition for the Japanese song that became a global hit.
Lotus Juice/Azumi Takahashi “It’s Going Down Now”
XG “WOKE UP”
YOASOBI “Idol”
Fujii Kaze “Shinunoga E-wa”
Miki Matsubara “Mayonaka no Door – stay with me”
Best Song Asia – Recognition for the Asian hit song that was popular across Asian countries.
Bernadya “Satu Bulan” (Indonesia)
REGINA SONG “the cutest pair” (Singapore)
aespa “Supernova” (South Korea)
PLAVE “WAY 4 LUV” (South Korea)
JEFF SATUR “GHOST” (Thailand)
Songs and artists that have topped the Billboard Japan charts, as well as songs with the most streams, one of the indicators for a song to be considered a hit in Japan, have been nominated. In particular, the nominees in the Song of the Year category boast some of the highest weekly streams of all time in the country, and are the record-holders for the respective artists. For reference, Kendrick Lamar & SZA’s “Luther,” which has led the Billboard Hot 100 for 11 weeks, has the highest number of weekly streams in the U.S. at approximately 46 million, while Lady Gaga & Bruno Mars’ collaborative single “Die With A Smile” has approximately 31 million. These figures include video views, which are separated in Billboard Japan’s total streaming count.
Highest Weekly Audio Streams in Japan
“APT.” (12,127,799 streams)
“Bling-Bang-Bang-Born” (24,945,758 streams, No. 5 on Billboard Japan’s all-time list)
“Idol” (25,860,696 streams, No. 2 on Billboard Japan’s all-time list)
“Michi Teyu Ku (Overflowing)” (8,843,750 streams)
“Lilac” (15,713,177 streams)
As for the nominees in the Top Global Hit from Japan category, you may have come across the songs on TikTok or other video-shorting platforms even if you don’t live in Japan. The nominees in this category were chosen by music industry professionals outside of Japan and include, in order from top to bottom, the battle song from the video game Persona 3 Reload (2024), a rap song released in 2024 by the seven-member group that headlined the Sahara Stage at this year’s Coachella, the opener for the anime series, Oshi no Ko, that topped Billboard’s Global Excl. US on June 10, 2023 and went on to become Billboard Japan’s Song of the Year for that year, a song released in 2020 but became a viral hit in Asian countries after July 2022 and is still being listened to in many countries today, and a so-called “city pop” tune released in November 1979 that spread worldwide through covers and TikTok. The songs were released in different eras and are from different genres, showing how diverse Japanese music is.
Another interesting aspect of this award is that it not only honors Japanese artists and releases, but also includes music from all over the world. The fact that one of the main categories is the award for Best Song Asia indicates that this accolade also provides opportunities to establish global ties. In the section for International Songs, there are seven categories for different genres such as pop, rock, hip-hop/rap and more, which highlight the popular and highly acclaimed music from outside of Japan that is being listened to and loved in the country. The artists themselves can discover the high potential of their music in Japan, which is another way of looking at the nominations in these categories.
Tatsuya Nomura, MAJ Executive Committee Chairman, shared his enthusiasm to Billboard Japan before the inaugural event, saying, “The theme of MAJ is ‘Connecting the world, illuminating the future of music,’ and I believe the two days will embody that. It’ll be the first step of an award that will last five, ten, even 100 years, so I hope you’ll witness this historic moment.”
Watch the Premiere Ceremony starting May 20 at 10 PM PT / May 21 at 1 AM ET. Meanwhile, the Grand Ceremony, featuring performances by AI, Hikaru Utada, Awich, Creepy Nuts, CHANMINA, Fujii Kaze, Mrs. GREEN APPLE and YOASOBI will stream on May 22 at 3:30 AM PT / 6:30 AM ET.
MAJ May 21 Premiere Ceremony:
MAJ May 22 Grand Ceremony:
AloJapan.com