Daichi Miura dropped a double A-sided single called “Horizon Dreamer / Polytope” on June 25. Produced by Nao’ymt, who has collaborated with the J-pop singer and dancer on a number of his previous works, both “Horizon Dreamer” and “Polytope” are featured in DEATH STRANDING 2: ON THE BEACH, the latest video game by world-renowned game creator Hideo Kojima. The 37-year-old pop star spoke to Billboard Japan about the creative process of both tracks and shared his enthusiasm for and longtime love of gaming in this latest interview.

“Horizon Dreamer” and “Polytope” were written for the video game DEATH STRANDING 2: ON THE BEACH for PlayStation®︎5. The former is a track featuring a very primitive rhythm and melody.

Daichi Miura: The song has a very grounded feel to it, with a sound that evokes a scene of people walking through the wilderness step by step to reach a new land. It has a touch of bluegrass, with banjos and such, and the music has an indigenous, very physical feel to it. “Horizon Dreamer” was written with images of the game in mind, of course, but since I exist as Daichi Miura in the world of DS 2, Kojima-san said to me, “Don’t make it a song that expresses the world of the game too much. I’d like it to be one that stands on its own as a new single by Daichi Miura and also have proper strength as a pop song.” So Nao’ymt (pronounced “Nao why em tee”) wrote it as a new song for me, incorporating the essence and progress of my music up to now.

I see. Nao’ymt wrote and produced both songs. Could you share what you discussed with him in the beginning of the production process?

I’ve always loved playing video games, and had an opportunity to connect with Kojima-san through an interview during the production of (the first) DEATH STRANDING. As a fan of both Kojima-san and Nao-san, I’d been thinking that it was pretty clear the two of them should collaborate to create something together. Things began to take shape in a miraculous way for this project and we agreed to work together as a triangle.

So it was an eagerly anticipated triangle for you.

Right. I knew there were things that would definitely resonate between them, so I thought it’d be great if they’d connect. Oh, and there was this miracle that happened regarding “Horizon Dreamer.”

Tell us about it.

Kojima-san had told me he was working on DS 2, and shared that “this time there will be a ship that didn’t appear last time, and you’ll be traveling on it.” Around the same time, I received a demo from Nao-san, who said, “I had this image of a man who is floating in the sea, and then a ship comes and he gets on it and heads to a new land.” I thought it was miraculous and felt like I was witnessing an amazing moment. So I personally think that the two were meant to meet at some point, and it was through a combination of such miracles that “Horizon Dreamer” and “Polytope” were born.

You even host a TV show on video games, so your love for them is pretty well known. What do you think makes Kojima-san’s games so compelling?

What I’ve been thinking about regarding Kojima-san’s works recently is that he’s someone who’s relentless in his craftsmanship. When you’re making something, there will be moments when you go, “This might not work.” And you probably come up with various ideas and overcome those moments. The thing about Kojima-san is that there’s no compromise in the way he does that. The message that he wants to convey, the things he wants to create, the passion with which he wants to create things with certain people, the camera angles, the way he depicts things… it’s like that gene is in everything. I think he’s a really relentless person.

Going back to your music, how do you feel about the epic sound of “Horizon Dreamer”?

It was so incredibly cool from the demo stage. I just focused on how I should express the music. The two songs are completely different in tone, but they’re like a set with connected parts. As I mentioned earlier, “Horizon Dreamer” has an indigenous or primitive feel to it, but the way Nao-san breezily transformed that into a Daichi Miura pop song is really amazing.

How about “Polytope”?

I think Nao-san trusts me with what he really wants to do, and it’s one of those songs where he’s like, “Daichi will be able to handle this” and just goes full out with it. In that sense, “Polytope” couldn’t have been created without this triangle of the DS 2 project and Kojima-san’s presence, and from the moment I heard both songs, I was excited about how I’d go about expressing them.

You’ve already released “Horizon Dreamer“ digitally, and performed ”Polytope” live (ahead of the single’s release). How do you feel about the response?

I premiered the music and performance at my concert, but to be honest, I don’t remember much about “Polytope.” I was so focused on expressing it that there was no room for thought… like I was in harmony with the music. I only vaguely remember what I was thinking and how I expressed it. But I do remember that the atmosphere in the venue after the performance was pretty incredible and that the audience was buzzing with excitement. Apparently everyone felt like they’d seen something they’d never seen before, and that makes me happy.

“Horizon Dreamer” is a song that invites everyone to sing and dance together, so there might have been some confusion about the tone and performance of “Polytope.” Do you see those two songs as two sides of the same coin in terms of expression?

“Horizon Dreamer“ ends with the lyrics, ”The sun’s going down again today,” and “Polytope” begins, ”The sun’s setting,” so there’s a connection here. The staging of the live performance of “Polytope” also starts with a setting sun, so that’s also perfectly linked. While the songs depict different worlds from a sonic standpoint, I feel that their roots are the same, so it’s really like a gradation. I’d like people to listen to every part of the songs, especially “Polytope,” and wonder, “What’s this world like?” and experience them together with the game.

In your recent Instagram Live, you repeatedly said you wanted people to try playing DS 2.

I have a feeling that for a lot of people who don’t play video games, the rough idea of what they’re like actually hasn’t been updated for a long time. But they’re pretty incredible nowadays. Video games are the only kind of entertainment where you can play it yourself and control the main character. They contain elements of music, stories and drama, cinematic aspects, and are truly a comprehensive art form in my view. As a gamer and game fan, I feel pretty disappointed that so many people aren’t aware of this. I wish it would reach a wider audience somehow.

So, if there are people out there who know about me, and they found out about DEATH STRANDING 2 through me, then I’d really like them to try it out once. I’m sure you’ll be pretty amazed… I really encourage everyone to experience it.

Japanese video games are highly acclaimed around the world. Do you also want to introduce your music to a global audience along with DS 2?

I’ve never considered collaborating with a video game intending to reach a global audience through the game. I’m a fan of music, a fan of games, a fan of Kojima-san, and a fan of Nao-san, so it’s like I’m immersed in the joy of being able to devote all my energy to the things I love and to create something with all my might here. But  Kojima-san is someone who continues to create works that are loved by many players everywhere, so if people happen to find out about me through a game of his, of course I’d be very happy about it.

—This interview by Takayuki Okamoto first appeared on Billboard Japan

Mrs. GREEN APPLE recently made J-pop history by becoming the first act to achieve 10 billion streams in Japan with its entire catalog.

The three-man pop-rock band has many songs that have been streamed over 100 million times, including its most-streamed single “Ao to Natsu,” “Tenbyou no Uta feat. Sonoko Inoue,” “Dance Hall,” and “Lilac,” which recently became the third-fastest song to surpass 600 million streams in the country. The “I’m Invincible” group has 25 songs that have accumulated 100 million streams, which is the most among all J-pop acts, according to Billboard Japan. Based on the platform’s own tally, Mrs. GREEN APPLE is now the first act in history to hit the 10-billion milestone in Japan.

The “Darling” trio is set to drop its anniversary best-of album 10 on July 8, the 10th anniversary of the band’s debut, and go on to headline outdoor shows on July 26 and 27 entitled MGA MAGICAL 10 YEARS ANNIVERSARY LIVE ~FJORD~ at a special venue in Yokohama’s Yamashita Pier, attracting 100,000 fans over the two days. The band’s biggest domestic tour to date called Mrs. GREEN APPLE DOME TOUR 2025 “BABEL no TOH” will make stops in five dome-sized venues across Japan from October to December, and is expect to draw a total of 550,000 people to the shows.

Take a look at some of Mrs. GREEN APPLE’s streaming records, according to Billboard Japan (as of July 2, 2025):

Top 3 acts with songs that have surpassed 100 million streams in Japan

*Number of songs that have hit the milestone in parentheses

No. 1 Mrs. GREEN APPLE (25 songs)

No. 2 YOASOBI, Official HIGE DANdism (16 songs each)

No. 3 Vaundy (15 songs)

Top 3 songs by Mrs. GREEN APPLE to hit 100 million streams the fastest

*Number of weeks it took to achieve the feat in parentheses

No. 1 “Lilac” (10 weeks)

No. 2 “Darling” and “KUSUSHIKI” (11 weeks)

No. 3 “Bitter Vacances” (14 weeks)

List of songs by Mrs. GREEN APPLE to hit 100 million streams

“Ao to Natsu”

“Tenbyou no Uta feat. Sonoko Inoue”

“Dance Hall”

“Que Sera Sera”

“Inferno”

”Lilac”

“Soranji”

“Boku no koto”

“Magic”

“Romanticism”

“Blue Ambience (feat. asmi)”

“WanteD! WanteD!”

“I’m Invincible”

“StaRt”

“familie”

“Columbus”

“Shunshu”

“ANTENNA”

“Nachtmusik”

“Bitter Vacances”

“Darling”

“Dear”

“New My Normal”

“KUSUSHIKI”

“CHEERS”

Top 10 songs that hit 100 million streams the fastest

*Number of weeks it took to achieve the feat in parentheses

No. 1 YOASOBI “Idol” (5 weeks)

No. 2 BTS “Butter” (6 weeks), Official HIGE DANdism “Subtitle” (6 weeks)

No. 4 LiSA “Homura” (7 weeks), Kenshi Yonezu “KICK BACK” (7 weeks), Creepy Nuts “Bling-Bang-Bang-Born” (7 weeks)

No. 7 BTS “Permission to Dance” (9 weeks), Ado “Show” (9 weeks)

No. 9 Mrs. GREEN APPLE “Lilac” (10 weeks), Rosé & Bruno Mars “APT.“ (10 weeks)

No. 11 BTS “Dynamite” (11 weeks), ILLIT ”Magnetic” (11 weeks), Mrs. GREEN APPLE “Darling” (11 weeks) , Mrs. GREEN APPLE “KUSUSHIKI” (11 weeks)

Billboard JAPAN’s weekly Streaming Songs chart combines stream counts on major domestic on-demand music services provided by GfK/NIQ Japan [Amazon Music (Unlimited and music streaming for Prime members), Apple Music, AWA, Uta Pass, KKBOX, LINE MUSIC, Rakuten Music, Spotify], playlist streaming services (dHits), and YouTube Music stream counts provided by Luminate.

Rob Deceglio knew he wasn’t taking on the typical tour production when he agreed to produce The Weeknd’s After Hours Til Dawn stadium tour. The R&B superstar’s global run would be another audacious spectacle of light and sound, utilizing some of the most innovative technology on the planet. But Deceglio’s assignment would go deeper; management wanted the veteran production ace to “future-proof” the After Hours Til Dawn set and build a tour that minimized uncertainty without compromising on audience experience. 

“I was tasked with looking within and rethinking anything and everything about the show and how all the various elements and systems work together,” Deceglio tells Billboard, leading a brief tour of the set during a stopover at Los Angeles’ SoFi Stadium. The mandate was to rethink everything, he explains, making the show simpler, lighter and less reliant on physical labor from top to bottom. 

Deceglio isn’t alone. The concert industry finds itself at a crossroads, with ticket sales strong for the year but slightly down compared to 2024. Costs for the touring business’ three main expenses — fuel, production equipment like staging and lighting, and human labor — are continuing to grow. Fans, meanwhile, have more options than ever for live entertainment as the number of acts playing stadiums and arenas hits record highs. That kind of competition has forced professionals like Deceglio to think of ways to reduce costs “with a more holistic view of a tour.” 

Deceglio began working with The Weeknd for his 2021 Super Bowl Halftime Show appearance and has helped oversee the construction and production of the After Hours Til Dawn tour at production company TAIT’s large set design and rehearsal space in Lititz, Penn. Derek Brener is The Weeknd’s long-time front of house sound engineer, while TAIT was hired to handle all the scenic work for the tour, notes Deceglio, adding, “Like a lot of big shows, TAIT is starting to integrate so many of these tasks.” 

It’s not uncommon for scenic elements of the show, even the most mundane like a simple set piece, to serve dual functions. “A small set piece might also serve as a lighting shelf,” he says. “There’s no wasted space — everything has a purpose.” 

Another innovation: simplifying the show’s automated features so that they can be operated by an existing support team instead of a separate automation team, which can mean additional labor costs. That was especially challenging for The Weeknd, who anchors his stage with a 20-foot gold statue created by legendary Japanese illustrator Hajime Sorayana. But TAIT’s crew simplified the stage enhancement by operating the automation on a single axis point, reducing its mobility while reducing the technical know-how needed to operate the robot. That one decision — to place the robot on a fixed position on the runway, instead of having it enter or exit the stage — saved the show millions of dollars. 

“It’s not a set piece, it’s an actual robot,” Alexander Owens, who manages and operates the robot for TAIT, tells Billboard. “There are two different language barriers at play. First, there’s Japanese to English between the robot’s creators and ourselves, and then there is the barrier between art and functionality. Yes, it is this beautiful element of the show, but ultimately, we have to be able to move it safely, which means packing it, tracking it, dismantling it and setting it up temporarily on a ballast.” 

Ultimately, every element of the show does move — after Los Angeles, After Hours Til Dawn moves to Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, before heading to Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif. Deceglio says it’s the portability of the show that has the biggest impact on costs. 

“Anyone can build something once — it’s how we build it, tear it down, move it and build it again that makes an impact,” Deceglio says, noting that certain elements of the show are duplicated to handle the show’s aggressive touring schedule.  

Even the show’s stages and scenic elements have been rethought and revamped with efficiency in mind. After Hours Til Dawn is set in an apocalyptic urbanscape, and much of the stage is covered in architectural ruins that give the show an end-times aesthetic while also secretly housing the show’s pyrotechnic devices.  

“The stage lights are a good example of the integration we’re seeing our business undergo,” Deceglio explains. “The light itself is bolted to a deck and then covered with scenic tape” that blends in with the stage to give it a seamless appearance and allows it to be quickly built, wired, broken down and transported by a single team. He also says the video and lighting departments have found ways to complete their work by building systems that operate in unison and emphasize simplicity rather than scale. 

“On a project like this, the cleaner and more efficient the install, the better,” he says. “It means better setup times using the staff we already have. Back in the day, touring was very much about, ‘This is my gig, this is your gig,’ and you’d show up on the first day and not even know what the other guys were bringing. Now we have daily discussions with our department heads months in advance on how we plan to build the show and how we can simplify the tour.” 

Liam Payne may no longer be with us, but fans do still have his music to hold onto — and according to AJ McLean, there’s more material left in the vault that he hopes fans will get to hear someday.

In an interview with Today published Thursday (July 3), the Backstreet Boys star said that Payne shared unreleased music with him before the “Strip That Down” singer died after suffering a fall from a hotel balcony last fall. “He was just an absolute sweetheart, witty, funny,” McLean said. “He sent me an unreleased body of work to get my opinion on it — and I never put that out there.”

“I thought that was really sweet that he would entrust someone that he’s still learning about to give their opinion,” McLean continued. “I thought it was a great body of work. And I hope that the world and that the fans get to hear it somewhere down the road. It’s beautiful, beautiful music.”

Before his death, Payne and McLean became friends while working on Netflix’s Building the Band, a competition series that found both boy band stars coaching hopeful singers looking to form musical groups based only on vocal ability, not appearance. Filming for the series wrapped in August 2024, two months after which the X-Factor alum died in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

At the time of his fatal fall from the fourth floor of his hotel room, Payne had high levels of alcohol and multiple other substances in his system, according to toxicology reports. The star was open about his struggles with sobriety during his lifetime, something McLean says connected him with Payne.

“Honestly, we had a lot of parallel life experiences, [despite] our age gap,” McLean told Today. “But we definitely, I feel, lived very parallel lives, both sober and not sober.”

With the blessing of Payne’s family, Building the Band will air on Netflix on July 9. Nicole Scherzinger serves as the lead judge and mentor on the show, while Payne, McLean and Kelly Rowland joined as guest judges.

After a trailer for the series dropped in June, Payne’s sister took to Instagram to share her feelings about seeing her brother onscreen. “Im heartbroken he never got to see how great he is in this show,” Ruth Gibbins wrote at the time. “He knew he had done a good job, we all told him this when we were at filming, but watching it back, wow!”