| "Stranger" | ||||
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&sq=Envato&lang=en&file=File:Stranger_Normal_Edition_cover.jpg) Normal and digital special edition cover | ||||
| Single by JO1 | ||||
| from the album Kizuna | ||||
| Language | Japanese | |||
| A-side | "Real" | |||
| Released | August 18, 2021 | |||
| Recorded | 2021 | |||
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| Label | Lapone Entertainment | |||
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| JO1 singles chronology | ||||
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| Music video | ||||
| "Real" on YouTube | ||||
Stranger (stylized in all capitals) is an extended play (EP) marketed as the fourth single of Japanese boy group JO1. It also served as the second single for their second studio album, Kizuna (2022). Consisting of a total of six songs that fall mostly in the EDM, futurepop and city pop genres, the EP single was released by Lapone Entertainment into three different physical editions and one digital edition on August 18, 2021. It features the participation of various Japanese lyricists and South Korean producers such as Yhanael, Jung Ho-hyun, Score, Megatone, KZ, Full8loom and others.
As part of the promotion, the two B-side tracks were released as a digital single prior to the release of the EP single. "Dreaming Night", used as the opening song of drama Love Phantom, was released on June 25, while "Freedom" was released on July 7 for Yves Saint Laurent Beauté's fragrance web commercial video. Both tracks managed to chart in Billboard Japan Hot 100. Stranger became the fourth single of the group that earned number one position on the Oricon Singles Chart and became their fastest single that surpassed 400,000 copies sold according to Billboard Japan. It earned a Platinum certification from the Recording Industry Association of Japan. Meanwhile, the lead track "Real" peaked atop the Billboard Japan Hot 100, and its music video was named as the Best Dance Video by the 2021 MTV Video Music Awards Japan.