is a Japanese singer and virtual YouTuber. She is known for her song , which went viral on TikTok in 2022. She made her debut in 2020, and released her first album a look afront in 2022. She was named in Rolling Stone Japan's 2024 Future of Music list. In April 2026, she left Kigenshou Records following the closure of the label and joined CAMBR.

Career

Her YouTube channel was created on 9 September 2020, and she debuted on 16 September.

In February 2022, she released her first album a look front. She held her first birthday online concert titled "Alook" two days later. Later in June, she held a live-streaming event titled "SEEK" in which she performed in person for the entirety of the event, contrary to previous events where she would perform both in-person and with her virtual appearance. In August 2022, she released the single . Her song went viral on TikTok, and reached 14th on Billboard Japan's TikTok Weekly Top 20 chart. In November, she performed at Anime Festival Asia Singapore 2022.

From January to June 2023, Nagase released one single each month, beginning with and ending with . In July, Nagase held an online concert in a public bathhouse to commemorate the release of her and LocalVision's album OACL. She held her first in-person live concert with an audience, "Eureka" in August 2023. Nagase released the lead single a week before the release of her second album Launchvox in late September.

In January 2024, she performed at the DOUBLE: concert, and in the META=KNOT music festival in April. She released her first remix album in January, titled YUKARIUM. Nagase held her second live concert "Discharge" in March. She was also named in Rolling Stone Japan's 2024 Future of Music list. She released her first EP with SASAKRECT, titled Kitto Patto in May 2024. Nagase announced in September that she would be recording a collaboration project with . They released three singles, held a live concert in which mekakushe appeared as a guest singer in October 2024, and released an EP titled in January 2025. They later held a live show together in February 2025. In July 2024, Nagase and Bearwear released the lead single "Basilisk" from their EP ever_changing, which was later released at the end of the month. In August, she held a concert with Such. She also performed at FRICTION in November.

In March 2025, she released a song with titled "Sugao no mama de Shy Girl". Nagase released two songs as singles, "hikari" and , which would later be included in her third album Mofu Mohu which was released in May 2025. It was later announced that "hikari" would be used for the June ending theme of . In August 2025, it was announced that the song "Migi Hidari" (ミギヒダリ, Right, left) by Nagase would be the ending theme for the anime adaptation of light novel series A Wild Last Boss Appeared! She performed at "GRAYSCALE" party in Osaka in September.

In January 2026, Nagase performed in Tokyo, Nagoya and Osaka as part of her tour "YUKA NAGASE BGM TOUR '26". She also performed at the first event of "tie in reaction DX" touring festival in Shinjuku. In March, Nagase and DÉ DÉ MOUSE released a second single together titled . In April, she left Kigenshou Records following the closure of the label and joined CAMBR. In May, she performed at NIGHT HIKE music festival as well as Forest, Road, Market music festival. In August, she released a song with AMNC titled "Goodnight Healer" which was used in the game Platonica Space. She also was an act in YouTube Music Weekend 12.0.

Artistry

Nagase has cited Etsuko Yakushimaru, , and Urbangarde as influences on her music. She grew up listening to what her mother listened to, including classical music. She also listened to CDs borrowed from her aunt who liked hit songs. She also listened to Vocaloid music and anime songs. Nagase originally wanted to be a singer, but changed her mind after cancellations of live performances due to the COVID-19 pandemic. She later found an audition held by Riot Music for virtual artists, auditioned for the role and was signed to Kigenshou Records. When asked about her perspective on VTubers in 2024 compared to her debut in 2020, Nagase said, "For me, it's been consistent and hasn't changed much, it's one way of expressing myself doing what I want to do. I see virtual visuals as a body to do things I can't do in the real world."

In an interview with Mikiki, Nagase stated that she wanted to sing songs which others could not imitate. Nagase said that she wrote about how she had not listened to music during the production of Mofu Mohu, and whether that had an impact on her music. She based the chord progression on Radiohead's "Creep". In describing the recording of "hikari", Nagase said, "Initially, I intended to sing with more emotion and nuance, however I was told to 'be more blank' and to 'sing as if you're half-asleep.' When I sang as unconsciously as possible, I think that it became more ambiguous, and the scene imagined by each listener changes."

Discography Studio albums Title Details a look frontRelease date: 17 February 2022 Label: Kigenshou Records LaunchvoxRelease date: 27 September 2023 Label: Kigenshou Records Mofu MohuRelease date: 23 May 2025 Label: Kigenshou Records

EPs Title Details Kitto PattoRelease date: 31 May 2024 Label: Kigenshou Records / SASAKRECT Inc. ever_changingRelease date: 31 July 2024 Label: ZAYA RECORS Because the world is beautiful (世界が美しいからだよ)Release date: 22 January 2025

Collaborative albums Title Details RIOT OF EMOTIONSRelease date: 29 September 2021 Label: RIOT MUSIC Re:VoltRelease date: 14 June 2023 Label: RIOT MUSIC OACLRelease date: 14 July 2023 Label: Local Visions & Kigenshou Records

Remix albums Title Details YUKARIUMRelease date: 11 January 2024

Singles Title Year Album "Feverish smoke / You in light blue" 2022 rowspan="5" "I don't want to say bye-bye to today yet" "Daylight evacuation" 2023 "Yagate classic" "Artificial identity" "Planetarinea" Launchvox "After you" "Only my thoughts" "Near, far" "Lonely planet" 2024 Because the world is beautiful "Cleaning blue" "The Earth was once white" "Basilisk" 2025 ever_changing "Sugao no mama de Shy Girl" "hikari" Mofu Mohu "Listening to thoughts that are far away" "Right, left" rowspan="3" "Just a little witch" 2026 "Goodnight Healer"

References