I Don't Like Mondays. (IDLMs.) is a Japanese rock band based in Tokyo. The band members are Yu (vocals), Choji (guitar), Kenji (bass guitar), Shuki (drums). Founded in 2012, the band has released several self-produced albums and singles, including the One Piece anime theme song "Paint".
The band focuses on creating high energy dance music with memorable choruses and a light feeling that can take away the burdens of everyday life, including the "Mondays" referenced in their name.
In addition to several tours of Japan, the band has performed internationally at festivals in Jakarta, São Paulo, Taipei, and Barcelona. Their music has been used for the television dramas Rizzoli & Isles and Octo: Mind Investigator Akari Shinno.
The band is also deeply involved in the fashion industry and has collaborated with Versace, H&M, Emporio Armani, and Leslie Kee, among others, along with launching their original fashion brand.
They are signed with Rhythm Zone, an imprint of Avex Group.
Band members Name Part Birthday Yu Vocal February 26, 1988 Choji Guitar December 6, 1986 Kenji Bass guitar August 13, 1986 Shuki Drums July 13, 1988
History Origin of the band name The band name "I Don't Like Mondays." was chosen because the members liked the idea of using a sentence to describe the band. The band has stated that they truly dislike Mondays, and they consider it to be a weekly holiday.
2012–2015: Formation and early albums The band was formed in 2012 in Omotesando, Tokyo. Yu was intending to be the manager of a new band when he met Kenji and Shuki, who had worked together in a previous band. Choji joined after the band's initial guitarist dropped out.
Their first album Play was released in September 2014 by Nippon Columbia, with the band playing a number of festivals the same year, including Tokyo Crazy Kawaii Taipei and J-Music LAB 2014 in Hai Day. The music video for "Perfect Night" was released in July, followed by a remix of the song in December by DJ Baby-T.
In January 2015, they released the double-A-side single "We Are Young"/"Super Special", which included three EDM remixes of previously released songs. The artwork and jacket photo were produced with art direction from the band members, and the single was selected as one of Japan's best singles of the year by Keisuke Kuwata. "Super Special" was chosen as the ending theme for the Japanese broadcast of the American crime drama series Rizzoli & Isles.
The band's second album Tokyo was released in July 2015. For the album jacket, the band was photographed by Leslie Kee. The track "Final Destination" was used as the ending theme for the second season of Rizzoli & Isles. In June, IDLMs. provided music for the "Nippon Genki Project 2015 Super Energy!!" fashion show produced by Kansai Yamamoto. The band performed their first solo concert at Shibuya WWW on October 25.
In September 2015, the band produced a single titled "The Independent", which was used for Leslie Kee's short film The Independents with fashion designer Yohji Yamamoto.
2016–2021: Fashion, Future, and Black Humor The band released their third album Fashion in September 2016. Google Play Music in Japan used "Freaky Boy" from the album in their advertisements, and the song "Tonight" was featured as the ending theme for the TBS late-night music television program Count Down TV. They launched their first national tour in October and performed a solo concert at Zepp DiverCity in Tokyo on November 19.
In June 2017, the band released the E.P Summer, which included a dance remix of "Tonight". The limited edition release also contained 11 live videos from the 2016 Japan tour and the final performance at Zepp DiverCity.
In August 2019, their fourth album Future was released, which was the first album under new label Rhythm Zone. The album contained new mixes of "Tonight" and "Fire" created for the release, and the special edition Blu-ray featured a documentary of the band's recent tours and their decision to change labels. Leading up to the album's release, the band performed the new song "Diamond" for the first time at the Join Alive festival in Hokkaido on July 13. The music video for "Diamond" premiered on July 13, with the band members' wardrobe provided by H&M.
IDLMS. released their fifth album Black Humor in August 2021. During the songwriting phase for the album, Yu composed his lyrics with piano to develop the melody simultaneously. A collaboration with UK fashion brand AllSaints was presented to promote the album's launch.
Following Black Humor's release, the band launched a nationwide tour of Japan, performing their largest number of shows in a single tour.
2022–present: One Piece and international activities
in January 2022, the band released "Paint", which was used for the opening of the One Piece anime. Yu stated an affinity for the series, claiming it was the only manga he has kept reading childhood, and used the teamwork aspect of his own band as inspiration. To prepare for the song's creation, Yu corresponded with One Piece creator Eiichiro Oda to express his thoughts about the series' theme of overcoming adversity.
In July, they performed at the Anime Friends event in São Paulo, Brazil. That same month, their song "Kasaneiro" was used as the theme song for the Japanese television drama Octo: Mind Investigator Akari Shinno.
In February 2023, their songs "Moon Night" and "Wolf Vibes" were used as the opening and ending themes for the TV drama Zenryoku de, Aishite Ii Kana? starring Nanami Sakuraba. On July 2, 2023, they performed at the BubblePop festival in Barcelona, Spain.
In April 2024, they released the 10th anniversary single "New York, New York".
Music production and visual style
Musical style Yu writes lyrics in both English and Japanese. The band has noted that the sound of their early recordings was based on international influences, incorporating soul, disco, and pop. The members have cited a range of influences including Katy Perry, Bruno Mars, Kanye West, The Beatles, Oasis, and Peter Gabriel. Beginning with 2021's Black Humor, the band made a conscious decision to focus more on the Japan's domestic J-Pop audience.
Music production The band collaborates equally on song creation, using digital technology to share ideas and build each track remotely when they are not in the studio together. Bass and rhythm for the chorus are created first, and then the melody is added. The band will often reference popular trends in music to decide the overall mood and style of a song.
Art and stage direction The band directly supervises the look of their live shows, promotion videos, CD jacket art, and band photos.
In 2021, Shuki and Yu collaborated on the artwork and animated promotion videos for Black Humor.
Fashion Launched an original brand "IDLMs by I Don't Like Mondays.". After the launch, they collaborated with a Japanese original brand shop "And A" and started a collaborated brand called "And A by I Don't Like Mondays.". In September 2016, they announced a collaboration with a Japanese apparel shop Restir and launched "IDLMs. Creative Direction by Restir Edition". They performed at a fashion show of Kansai Yamamoto.
In 2015, IDLMs. created the soundtrack for Leslie Kee's short film The Independents, which featured the Yohji Yamamoto 2015 A/W Collections. The band also appeared in the film.
In April 2019, IDLMs. collaborated with Adidas for the "Do Ya?" music video and presented a performance event in September with AllSaints as part of Vogue Fashion's Night Out.
In October 2020, IDLMs. became brand ambassadors for British watch brand Henry London. Emporio Armani provided the band's wardrobe for the music vdeo "Millennials - Just a Thought".
The track "Shape of Love" was used to promote H&M's first original campaign (Happy Golden Week) in Japan. They also performed in the promotional movie for this campaign shot by Leslie Kee.
Live YEAR TITLE2015Tokyo 20152016Tokyo 20162016"Fashion" 1st Tour2017IDLMs. Joint Gig Tour Guests: Keishi Tanaka / Paellas / Unchain / Vickeblanca20182018 A/W Tour "A Girl in the City"2019Future" Tour2021Black Humor Tour2022Black Thunderbird Tour2023Billboard Live Tour 202320232023 A/W Tour "Runway"
Discography
Single YEAR TITLE TRACK LISTNote 2015 We Are Young / Super Special We Are YoungSuper SpecialMemories (pal@pop Remix)Perfect Night (pal@pop Remix)Golden Life (Graves + K-smooth Remix) 2015 Girlfriend (Digital Single) Girlfriend 2016 Sorry CDSorryGirlfriendSorry (minus one)Girlfriend (minus one)DVDTokyo Brothers (from "Tokyo 2015")Super Special (from "Tokyo 2015")Fire (from "Tokyo 2015")We Are Young (from "Tokyo 2015")Perfect Night (from "Tokyo 2015") 2016 Tonight TonightLifeSing (electric version)Tonight (minus one)Life (minus one) 2017 Prince (Digital Single) Prince 2017 My Girl (Digital Single) My Girl2018One Thing feat. SaluOne Thing feat. Salu2018LemonadeLemonade2018One Thing feat. Salu (Baby-T Remix)One Thing feat. Salu (Baby-T Remix)2019Do Ya?Do Ya?2019Zero GravityZero Gravity2019Up to UUp to U2019GiftGift2020Plastic CityPlastic City2020Zenbu Anata no Sei Nanda (全部アナタのせいなんだ)Zenbu Anata no Sei Nanda (全部アナタのせいなんだ)2020SunflowerSunflower2020Monster (モンスター)Monster (モンスター)2020Mr. CleverMr. Clever2020EntertainerEntertainerNishiogikubo Mitsuboshi Yoshudo TV drama theme song2020Tokyo Extra (東京エキストラ)Tokyo Extra (東京エキストラ)2020Millennials -just I thought- (ミレニアルズ 〜just I thought〜)Millennials -just I thought- (ミレニアルズ 〜just I thought〜)2021Sunflower (Acoustic Live Ver.)Sunflower (Acoustic Live Ver.)2021Mr. Clever (Acoustic Live Ver.)Mr. Clever (Acoustic Live Ver.)2021Entertainer (Acoustic Live Ver.)Entertainer (Acoustic Live Ver.)2021Chijo wo Yumemiru Sakana (地上を夢見る魚)Chijo wo Yumemiru Sakana (地上を夢見る魚)Henry London 2021 S/S image song2021Ai Kotoba (愛言葉)Ai Kotoba (愛言葉)2021Baka (馬鹿)Baka (馬鹿)2021Ongaku no ni ni (音楽のように)Ongaku no ni ni (音楽のように)"Do you still swear love?" TV drama theme song2021Utsukushiki Sekai (美しき世界)Beautiful World (Utsukushiki Sekai)2022PaintPaintOne Piece anime's 24th opening song2022Sora no Ao ni Misarete (空の青さにみせられて)Sora no Ao ni Misarete (空の青さにみせられて)TBS "Marutto! Saturday" April ending theme2022HonneHonne2022YoroiYoroi2022Kasaneiro (重ね色)Kasaneiro (重ね色)Octo ~Emotional investigator Akari Kono~ TV drama theme song2022Lonely Zombie Wonderland (ロンリーゾンビーワンダーランド)Lonely Zombie Wonderland (ロンリーゾンビーワンダーランド)2022Scroll. (Arranged by tofubeats)Scroll. (Arranged by tofubeats)2022Dynamite (ダイナマイト)Dynamite (ダイナマイト)2023Wolf VibesWolf VibesWill You Let Me Love You With All My Heart? TV drama theme song2023Mmm...Mmm...2023UmbrellaUmbrellasloggi special collaboration campaign tie-up song2023Summer GhostSummer Ghost2023What’s going on? feat. Celina SharmaWhat’s going on? feat. Celina Sharma2024New York, New YorkNew York, New York
Album YEAR TITLE TRACK LIST 2014 Play MemoriesPerfect NightDon't Stop Your MusicBang!!Golden LifeBadman 2015 Tokyo FireWe Are YoungTokyo BrothersSingStar DriveFeelingLove YourselfSuper SpecialPerfect NightFinal DestinationMemoriesRoad 2016 Fashion CDIntroductionCrazyDon't look backGame OverSorryMarry meRight before sunsetTonightFashionStrangerGirlfriendFreaky boyLifeMemories (Acoustic ver.) *Bonus TrackThe Independents *Bonus TrackDVDSing (Music Video)Love Yourself (Music Video)Girlfriend (Music Video)Sorry (Music Video)Tonight (Music Video)Crazy (Music Video)Sorry (another edition)Behind the scene 2019 Future FUTURE - Introduction DIAMONDDO YA?UP TO U ZERO GRAVITY LEMONADE AITAI A GIRL IN THE CITY PLEASE CALL ME TONIGHT - Future Ver. TRY FOR YOU FANCY GIRL 2021 Black Humor Black Humour MR. CLEVER 地上を夢見る魚MONOPOLY Norari Kurari MOON NIGHT Its all your fault Fool Sunflower Words of Love Cactus Gift Plastic City Monster Entertainer Tokyo Extra Millennials (Just I thought)2023RUNWAYUmbrella Summer Ghost Beautiful Chaos Strawberry Night Conversation Sin City Mmm... WOLF VIBES Dynamite PAINT
E.P.