Mrs. GREEN APPLE’s new song ‘lulu.’, the opening theme for Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End season 2, has recorded the highest first-day streaming numbers ever for a domestic artist, according to the latest Oricon rankings.
Released digitally on January 12th, ‘lulu.’ is the first entry in the band’s newly launched Phase 3. The track ranked third overall for first-day streaming totals, surpassed only by BTS’s ‘Film out’ and ‘Butter’, while setting a new benchmark among Japanese artists.
‘lulu.’ makes its debut as the opening theme for Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End season 2 on January 16th via Nippon TV, with an international simulcast on Crunchyroll.
Commenting on the song’s release, vocalist and guitarist Motoki Ohmori said:
“I have loved the original work and have been reading it for a long time, so I am truly honored.
The song ‘lulu.’ depicts life, treasured things, memories, and intentions being passed from one person to another, continuously connecting to today and then to tomorrow. It also portrays the strength to move forward while carrying one’s hometown close to the heart.
As a fan of Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End, I already cannot contain my excitement for the many scenes that will be depicted this season.
I would be very happy if you could also enjoy ‘lulu.’ along with it.”
The song’s release followed an unannounced rollout on January 11th, beginning with a sudden YouTube livestream that ran for close to two hours before transitioning directly into the music video. By the time the video premiered, concurrent viewership had exceeded 200,000.
The strong opening places ‘lulu.’ alongside a recent run of streaming successes for the band. In Oricon’s 58th Annual Ranking 2025, Mrs. GREEN APPLE occupied the top four positions in the streaming category with ‘Lilac’, ‘Que Sera Sera’, ‘Soranji’, and ‘Darling’, underlining the momentum carrying into Phase 3.
The music video for ‘lulu.’ is available now on YouTube.
Mrs. GREEN APPLE
lulu.
Release Date: 12/01/2026
Label: EMI Records
Stream: Spotify | Apple Music
