Ado Releases "Raven Sky," Theme Song for Takashi Miike's Japan-U.S. Film Bad Lieutenant: Tokyo, Composed by Grammy Winner Masa Takumi
On October 16, Ado released her new song "Raven Sky" and its music video. The song is the theme for Bad Lieutenant: Tokyo, a Japan-U.S. film directed by Takashi Miike and starring Shun Oguri and Lily James, which opens in Japan on October 23. The single is out on UNIVERSAL MUSIC / Capitol Records.
Composed by Grammy winner Masa Takumi, sung in English and Japanese
The music is by Masa Takumi, who won Best Global Music Album at the 65th Grammy Awards. Lyrics are by Kanata Okajima and Seann Bowe. Mixing English and Japanese, the rock track uses the image of a crow with broken wings and the sky to describe a cycle of rebirth, where even something that falls apart leads to the future. Director Miike has called the song "desperately beautiful."
A video about heartbeat and the strength of life
The music video is set inside the mind of Neve, a girl trapped by past failures and self-loathing. In dark colors and uneasy scenes, it shows life that breaks and changes shape but keeps going. It was drawn by illustrator PODO, who also created the cover art.
Chosen with North America in mind
The film had its world premiere in the Special Presentations program at the 51st Toronto International Film Festival, and NEON will distribute it in North America (a North American release date has not been announced). Ado was chosen with the film's international release in mind. In 2025, her world tour "Hibana" played 34 shows on five continents for about 500,000 fans.
A note from BRUSH MUSIC
When a Japanese film travels from a world festival to North America, the song over its end credits is sung in both Japanese and English. A Grammy-winning composer, and a singer who has toured the world. The film and its music were built from day one to be heard outside Japan, and that is the real story here. Expect more theme songs to become a way in for listeners around the world.
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