Idol - Oshi no Ko OP [Piano] / YOASOBI

It's been a while, everyone! I arranged one of the most interesting anime songs of this season, “Idol” by YOASOBI. The first episode of “Oshi no Ko” was absolutely legendary and it's probably one of the best story introductions I have ever seen.

The OP “Idol” pairs up with the anime very well, since the lyrics retells Ai Hoshino’s rise to stardom and her sufferings perfectly. I tried my best to capture the atmosphere on the piano as well.

① "HAI! HAI! HAI! HAI!" 🧨🎆🧨🎆
I absolutely love the background shouts of the original song, which is an essential element in any idol concerts. You can hear it in my arrangement as a secondary melody in 0:49, 1:09 and 3:03. In fact, after listening to "Idol" many times, I can't help but shout the "HAI! HAI! HAI! HAI!" as well - it's simply too addicting.

② Rap 1: The jealousy of the other members (fast “Beethoven” runs)
I tried to use some classical piano techniques to make the rap sound a little bit more melodious on the piano. It was important for me to represent the dark emotions of the song lyrics as much as possible with my classical style arrangement.

The alternating minor scale in 1:19 is inspired by a Beethoven Sonata, but it also perfectly mirrors the rapping rhythm of the original song. The chord progression has also been modified in 1:26 (Am-C-F-E) to add a little bit more spice to the music.

Since the rapping is getting more intense in the second half, I switched to fast arpeggio runs in 1:31. I really like the chord progression (Am-G#-G-F#) of the first verse in 0:32 and that's why I decided to reuse it here again.

③ Rap 2: Ai’s strong will and resolution (slow “Bolero” drums)
For the final rapping part in 2:05, I wanted to emphasize the drums beats of the original song and didn't include any main melody this time. I think it builds up the suspense very nicely and it serves a good musical contrast with the chorus. I also slightly extended the phrase in 2:28 as well to give the bridge a more classical style closure.

⚠ [↓Spoiler alert for episode 1↓]

③ Ai’s first and last “I love you”
I feel like 3:14 is the true message of the song and that’s why I played the last part very carefully. Especially the final words “Aishiteru” 3:18 is played with a bit of portato articulation, as if Ai’s words are slowly fading. It was really touching to see how Ai has finally conveyed her true love to her children in her very last moment. Excuse me while I grab some tissues again… 😭

⚠ [↑Spoiler alert for episode 1↑]

Alright, that would be everything about this piano arrangement! Thank you so much for reading! It was really fun to translate the rap parts into the piano. I can’t wait to see how the story of “Oshi no Ko” develops after the legendary first episode!

With that said, I am already planning my next upload for this month as well!
See you next time then.

Animenz
------*------*------*------*------*------*------*------*------*------*
Sheet music download link:
------*------*------*------*------*------*------*------*------*------*
Twitter:
Instagram:
------*------*------*------*------*------*------*------*------*------*
Original Song: Idol
Anime: Oshi no Ko
Published by: YOASOBI (2023)
Composed by: YOASOBI (Ayase)
Performed by: YOASOBI (Ikura)

Piano arrangement by Animenz
------*------*------*------*------*------*------*------*------*------*
Official Website:
Animenz Sheet Music Book
Digital Sheet Music:
-----*------*------*------*------*------*------*------*------*------*
#oshinoko #idol #piano #yoasobi

[Animenzzz]

I am finally back again on YouTube!
This time the sheet is available already and I also added lyrics for this video!
Hope you enjoyed my arrangement of YOASOBI's "Idol"!
Feels good to be back again (´・ω・`)

[dabinx]

I'm literally 99% sure that animenz will do the rapping parts justice, probably the hardest parts to arrange.

[DJSAMTUN]

Is nobody going to talk about how in 2:19 the lighting in the piano went blue because the lyrics of the song were mentioning Aqua, then went red on 2:22 for Ruby's part and went back to purple at 2:25 at Ai's part. Also consistent with the visuals of the official music video where the characters were shown in those moments. Such a small detail but I absolutely LOVE IT

Also at the part where Ai says "I love you" at the end of the song and the lighting on the piano just fades... That's really something else. Honestly, the person who came up with the idea of using lighting like that is a genius

[yehcdww]

Is nobody gonna talk about how this drops harder than Ai's heartbeat?

[redastannsd]

Don't open your door to a stranger.

[strawberrycakebaby]

I hope you enjoyed your break animenz!! It was well deserved and everybody is awaiting your awesome music again!! This arrangement is gonna be great!

[Wisteria_]

I admit it, every anime song are so much beautiful in piano. You don't need any music experience or talent to know how graceful the harmony is. That sick dude

[aga]

哇靠真的太扯了這個改編😭不僅有表現出yoasobi原本的感覺，也有自己的改編, 左手依舊忙到哭：>，中間那一段rap居然可以這樣彈，聽到的時候完全嚇到，好猛😍
Animenz, idol of piano in my mind 😭👍

[SAN-stgd]

Can we all agree he never disappoints us

[monori]

Both Animenz and Marasy are exceptional pianists with a shared interest in anime music. However, their playing styles are like two extremes. Marasy's performances are full of playfulness, as if his hands are dancing across the keys, while Animenz's playing showcases a mastery of the fundamentals that takes his performances to another level.

[ubesaaa]

To be able to translate all of these openings to something that gives me goosebumps every time... That is talent right there. Nailed it!

[hazardous]

I can believe that he came back just for this song. What a king

[NotSomeJustinWithoutAMoustache]

This is the first non-vocal cover, no maybe the first cover of this song I've ever actually heard that made my heart twinge at the final lyrics. The softer presses at that part really reflects how soft Ikura's voice was at that part when she said Ai's final words...

[roshneebala]

The perfect song for his comeback after the break.
Now I really wanna hear his arrangement of Mephisto

[chunnilal]

0:00 The lamp is purple, showing Ai's normal, visible side. It is beautiful, vibrant and appears appealing

0:12 The lamp gets a little brighter along with the purple colour. Just showing Ai's bright side as a whole.

0:23 The lamp takes on a brighter colour. Everyone is asking Ai various idol questions. She is popular.

0:27 The lamp got a little dim but it doesn't really make a difference, just like her answers. They are bright, happy and playful

0:35 The lamp turns back to the bright purple. Ai is being her charismatic self.

0:44 The lamp turns a little blue. Blue colour is expressing her sadness. She is reflecting about her true, deep emotions here in the song. She isn't revealing them completely so it's still mostly purple but you can grasp the shades of blue and her sadness.

0:57 The lamp is bright again. There's also a shade of red, showing her 'Ruby' side, her happy, optimistic side which is filled with pure idol talent.

1:21 The lamp is now somewhat dim and blue, just like Ai's thoughts when she was criticised on the internet. There is sadness and she isn't feeling super bright.

1:33 There is a lot of darkness in entertainment industry as the lyrics portray. The lamp changes to dark blue (somewhat).

1:44 Ai has to be the perfect and unrivaled idol. She is back to her happy looking idol self. Lamp changes to bright purple.

1:58 It has gained that somewhat hint of red again. Ai is showing her optimistic side

2:06 Lamp just falls into darkness. Ai's moves are calculated. She knows what she is doing in order to achieve love but it doesn't feel the best.

2:19 The lamp changes colours according to Aqua's eyes. It is still depicting the darkness tho, since it is Ai's perspective.

2:22 The lamp changes dramatically to that red shade for Ruby.

2:25 It finallys turns to somewhat white, showing what she thinks her children think of her as.

2:29 It finally turns to purple again because she is lying again.

2:35 The light just fades out. She shuts off everyone's perspective for a moment.

2:37 The lamp is now like a beautiful night sky, just like Ai's eyes. She is revealing her truest, purest emotions. The light is still dim since they are very sad and lonely emotions but it is purest feelings hidden deep inside.

2:52 The lamp is brighter and in that cosmic sky like spectrum. Ai is revealing her truest emotions along with her bright side. She believes her lies will become the truth someday.

2:59 It gets even brighter. Her true feelings are THAT beautiful.

3:15 The lamp gets dimmer. It's a very sad moment but it is also one of the most beautiful and important moment of Ai's life. She keeps shining in that cosmic way, even though the light has gotten dimmer.

3:23 The lamp, along with those 'true' beautiful colours, it is also radiating white light. Goes on to show how bright Ai shines even after _that_ incident.

3:32 The lamp changes to a little blue colour. This time, we are seeing not only her true emotions, who she was inside, how much she radiates, the light in her but also her sad past and all she suffered. But hey! It is still pretty bright even with the blue tint, just like how Ai was still so charismatic and bright even after all her she went through.

[zengarang]

Welcome back! I've missed the periodic updates and am excited to see what you have in store for us next!

Finessed touch and dynamic control are what really sell this cover for me:
- The intentional stepping down of volume at 0:33, 0:39 and 0:44 almost feel like you're turning down a volume knob each time. So clean!
- Are you SpiderAnimenz? Because those second verse licks sure make me feel like it. The 1:22 tremolos feel spider like, and then turn into silky smooth runs at 1:32.
- A nice cross-piece call and response using bell tones in the RH at 1:09, and then bringing them back in the LH at 3:03!
- 2:05 the surprising lightness in right hand contrasts heaviness in LH bass. feels like a processional march!
- 2:32 cute way to lightly end the phrase
- 2:43 slick key change

[KlldbyCuriosity]

This arrangement is so inspiring. It’s so challenging to translate Idol to a solo piano and using time honored paradigms to reproduce the feeling of listening to rap just shows an awe inspiring understanding of the piano as an instrument and what it can and can’t do. Absolutely beautiful. Awe inspiring. I have nothing but amazing things to say about this arrangement. Bravo Animenz. Please keep bringing us more masterful arrangements

[spongechameleon]

That double key change at 2:37 is just screaming to be jazzified, this song is so sick and this cover is great

[amberchang]

アイドル様、お帰りなさい! 👏👏👏
The song is full of various fast changes and RAP which is difficult to challenge with piano...Tonight's premiere of Animenz's 《Idol》has a unique and elegant version of darkness.
It's different from all the pianists' cover styles.
If the YOASOBI version of 《Idol》 is a master storyteller,
then the piano version of Animenz is a master at uncovering the emotions hidden underneath the lyrics!
There are actually different characters taking turns to speak in the lyrics. I'll share my initial thoughts so far.

1:21 Some rapidly rising cluster of sounds arrives, just as the member of the girl group emotions about アイ love and hate run high.
1:28 This is a particularly interesting use of classical techniques to deal with RAP, and after listening to it several times it seems to have a musical theater-like atmosphere.
The melody line reminds me of the lyrics that describe the member of the girl group talking about her latent jealousy one line after another (the elegant melody is as if everyone is deliberately keeping the group's apparent peace and harmony) The other side of jealousy is actually the admiration for アイ.

2:07 The use of Ravel: Bolero to present this RAP is really a genius idea!
The simple drums in the original song turned into the rhythm of "Bolero", It perfectly creates an air of mystery and dramatic tension in the music.
得意の笑顔で沸かすメディア 隠しきるこの秘密だけは
愛してるって嘘で積むキャリア これこそ私なりの愛だ

2:37 The lyrical moment after the hustle and bustle is Animenz's specialty~
誰かに愛されたことも 誰かのこと愛したこともない
そんな私の嘘がいつか本当になること 信じてる
The gentleness of the piano shows that the lying アイ actually has a more sincere heart than many people!

3:03-3:18 The last part of the lyrics directly present the plot of the anime, and the real feelings of アイ are heartbreaking...
Animenz played a very precise contrast between strength and weakness in about 15 seconds, and I was very impressed!
今日も嘘をつくの この言葉が
いつか本当になる日を願って それでもまだ
君と君にだけは言えずにいたけど
Animenz uses the right hand octave for the final emotional progression. The performance after 3:14 gives a final recap of the last few lyrics that broke the hearts of all the audience (It is also the line of アイ) 😢
あぁ、やっと言えた これは絶対嘘じゃない 愛してる

This arrangement has Animenz signature style classical arrangement, a unique masterpiece✨
After four months of absence, we once again confirm that アイドル様、you love for anime music is definitely not a lie.

PS. Looking forward to hearing more OST or Special Medley arrangements this year as well🙏

[harutian]

Welcome back~~
I love this song so much. Thank you for the greatest piano cover 🫶🏻