The Recording Industry Association of Japan (RIAJ) announced the winners of the 36th Japan Gold Disc Awards today on March 14, and selected anisong singer Aimer and the two-member YOASOBI for the Special Award, which is given to an artist that symbolized the record industry over the past year.

Aimer made her professional singer debut in September 2011 and celebrated her debut’s 10th anniversary last year. This the first time that she has won an award of the Japan Gold Disc Awards. Her double A-side 20th single “Zankyo Sanka / Asa ga Kuru,” which were used as the OP and ED theme songs for Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Entertainment District Arc, have become the biggest hit in her career.

“I am very honored to receive the Gold Disc Award’s ‘Special Award.’ I would like to thank everyone who has always supported me and everyone I have met over the past 10 years. Thank you so much,” she said. “I want to continue to make music that reaches as many people as possible and that also is close to each and every one of you and that can protect your hearts, even if only a little.”

YOASOBI consists of Ayase (composer) and ikura (vocalist). Their first single song “Kaibutsu,” the OP theme song for the first season of the TV anime BEASTARS, also won the Song of the Year by Download and the Song of the Year by Stream.

They express their joy at receiving the award, “We are very pleased to receive the ‘Special Award’ as an artist. Thank you so much. We believe that we were able to receive this award not only for ‘Kaibutsu,’ for which we received other awards, but also for our other songs because so many people have listened to them. We would like to thank everyone who has always supported us. We hope to continue to challenge various things in our own YOASOBI way.”

Sources: Japan Gold Disc Awards official website / RIAJ official Twitter

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