Joji Broke the Internet and Healed It with Lo-Fi

Once known for his viral antics, Joji has transformed into an R&B hitmaker with four Top 5 albums.

After a four-year hiatus, in February musical artist Joji released his highly anticipated fourth studio album, Piss in the Wind.  The gritty electronica lead single “Pixelated Kisses” helped propel the album to number 5 on the US Billboard 200.

The former internet provocateur has transformed into an alternative R&B mainstay affirmed by a monthly Spotify audience of over 30 million.

Joji’ present musical rebranding was anchored with the 2018 breakout single “Slow Dancing in the Dark.”  The melancholic lo-fi track has been streamed over 2 billion times and was certified 5x Platinum.

The song served as the centerpiece for his debut studio album, BALLADS 1, propelling his rise into the global mainstream.  The project made history as the first album by an Asian-born artist to top the Billboard R&B/Hip-Hop chart.

Joji followed with 2020’s Nectar, which reached number 3 on the Billboard 200. The album featured the cinematic alt rock track “Run,” and the atmospheric lead single “Sanctuary,” further cementing his signature production style.

In 2022, he achieved his highest chart position to date with the piano ballad “Glimpse of Us,” which peaked at number 8 in the U.S.  The 2x Platinum single led his third album, SMITHEREENS, which continued his streak of Top 5 debuts on the Billboard 200.

Before his transition into a serious musical powerhouse, Joji was a seminal figure in early internet culture.  Under the moniker Pink Guy, he released satirical hip-hop projects including the 2017 album Pink Season.  His YouTube origins on “The Filthy Frank Show” became legendary for shock-comedy and surrealist humor.  He is widely credited with popularizing the “Harlem Shake” trend in 2013, a viral social media moment the fundamentally changed how Billboard factored YouTube views into its charting data.

The 33-year-old was born George Kusunoki Miller in Osaka, Japan and raised in Kobe.  He is of Japanese and Australian descent and moved to the United States at age 18 to pursue his career in the arts.