I Don’t Like Mondays. Open the Door to Seven Collaborators on Their Sixth Album, FRIDAY

For a band that has spent the better part of a decade building its sound together, opening the door to seven outside collaborators is a pretty big change. I Don’t Like Mondays. are doing exactly that with their sixth studio album, FRIDAY, bringing together artists and producers from different corners of Japan’s music scene while keeping the Tokyo City Pop-inspired sound that has become part of the band’s identity. Rather than treating the collaborations as simple guest appearances, FRIDAY uses them to explore different sides of the band’s sound, from R&B and hip-hop to dance and funk, while leaving room for something much more personal along the way.

I Don’t Like Mondays. formed in 2012 with YU, CHOJI, KENJI, and SHUKI and officially debuted with Play in 2014, gradually developing a sound that brings together rock, funk, pop, and danceable grooves. Their music has never been particularly interested in staying inside one box, and that willingness to pull from different influences is part of what makes FRIDAY feel like a natural place for seven collaborators to enter the picture without taking the band away from itself.

For international fans, the group's music may also carry an extra layer of familiarity thanks to “PAINT,” their 2022 opening theme for One Piece. The song introduced I Don’t Like Mondays. to a much wider audience outside Japan, but their international presence has continued through live performances and touring across Asia. After performing at NIPPON HAKU BANGKOK 2026 on August 28 and connecting with Thai acts including Scrubb and ETC. during their time in Bangkok, the band is carrying that international momentum directly into the release of FRIDAY.

The album arrives September 25 with 14 tracks, including five newly recorded songs and nine previously released singles, and the first taste of that new material comes through “1989,” featuring GAN, the artist name of Takanori Iwata of Sandaime J Soul Brothers from EXILE TRIBE. The collaboration carries a story that goes well beyond music. I Don't Like Mondays. vocalist YU and Iwata have been childhood friends for more than three decades, and “1989” marks the first time they have officially performed together. Produced by GeG, the two also wrote the lyrics themselves, turning a friendship that stretches back to childhood into a song that can now be shared with listeners. It is one thing to bring in an artist because their sound fits a particular track, but bringing a lifelong friend into the band's sixth album makes the collaboration feel much closer to home. For fans who have followed YU and the band through the years, the song offers a chance to hear a relationship that existed long before the music industry became part of their lives, with the two finally meeting in the same song.

The album continues opening up that world through its other collaborators. “GENIUS” features a guest verse from ZEN-LA-ROCK with production from NAOTO of ORANGE RANGE, while “ODORE” pairs SHO-SENSEI!! with m-flo’s ☆Taku Takahashi for a dance-focused cut. claquepot also joins the band on “Bubble Gum,” adding another voice to the record’s mix of pop, R&B, hip-hop, and groove-driven production. With each collaboration coming from a different musical background, FRIDAY seems more like a collection of conversations between I Don’t Like Mondays. and artists they might not normally share a record with. The album’s most emotional turn comes at the very end with “DON’T WANNA DIE.” The song was originally written by YU for Hiromitsu Kitayama in 2019, but FRIDAY brings the track back around by having YU perform it himself for the first time. Seven years after writing it for another artist, he now gets to put his own voice behind the song, giving the album a closing moment that connects the band’s current work with a piece of YU’s songwriting history.

What's next for the band? The band is set to take the record into their FRIDAY MOOD JAPAN TOUR 2026, an 11-date run across eight cities beginning October 3 in Sapporo and concluding December 5 at Zepp DiverCity in Tokyo. “1989” will be released with its music video on September 7, followed by “ODORE” on September 16, giving fans two different glimpses into what FRIDAY has waiting. One comes from a deeply personal friendship, while the other leans toward the dance-driven side of the album, and that contrast says plenty about what makes this release interesting before all 14 tracks are even out.

After years of I Don’t Like Mondays. building their sound largely on their own terms, FRIDAY is the first time they are letting this many outside voices into the room at once.