SixTONES Grit and Growth: The Key to Their New Show’s Success Starting in April

The Reason Fans Rejoiced Makes Perfect Sense!

Starting in April, SixTONES will launch their first-ever regular primetime show, Golden SixTONES (Nippon TV). The announcement was made during The! Tetsuwan DASH!! (Nippon TV), a long-running program featuring their senior group, TOKIO.

Shintaro Morimoto (27), known as the physically active member of SixTONES, had been appearing regularly on DASH. However, on the February 23rd broadcast, all six members participated in a segment where they attempted to catch invasive fish species in a river. During the segment, Taiga Kyomoto (30) unrolled a message hidden inside a toy fish he had caught, revealing the words: “Congratulations on SixTONES’ regular primetime show!”

“Apart from Morimoto, many of TOKIO’s junior colleagues have appeared on DASH over the years, but this was the first time a regular show announcement was made during the program. It wasn’t just about supporting their juniors; the timing was strategic—since SixTONES’ new show will air on Sundays at 9 PM, just two hours after DASH in the same primetime lineup.

Golden SixTONES will take over the Sunday 9 PM slot previously occupied by Gyoretsu no Dekiru Horitsu Soudansho (also known as Gyoretsu no Dekiru Soudansho), which had run for 23 years since 2002. A pilot version, Game of SixTONES, aired in September last year and again this January, and even then, rumors were already circulating in and outside the network that SixTONES would take over the time slot,” said a variety show production staff member.

Fans were thrilled by this smooth progression and the prestigious Sunday 9 PM time slot. Social media was abuzz with comments like, “Finally, SixTONES can catch up to Snow Man!” and “It’s about time their turn came!”

This excitement stems from the fact that Snow Man, who debuted alongside SixTONES on January 22, 2020, had already secured a regular primetime show, Sore Snow Man ni Yarasete Kudasai (TBS), which started as a one-off special in March 2020 before becoming a full-fledged series in April 2021. The show has since become a high-rated program, often aired as a special.

Additionally, Snow Man has consistently dominated CD, DVD, and Blu-ray sales. In last year’s Oricon Annual Rankings, they topped every sales category, also claiming the No.1 spot in the “Total Artist Sales” ranking.

“Since their Johnny’s Jr. days, SixTONES and Snow Man have been rivals, often referred to as ‘SunoSuto’ (a mix of their names) or ‘Ani-gumi’ (older group). However, when Snow Man expanded to a nine-member group by adding Raul (21), Ren Meguro (28), and Koji Mukai (30) before their debut, they attracted a surge of new fans, boosting their popularity and sales. This left SixTONES fans feeling frustrated.

As both groups celebrate their 5th debut anniversary this year, SixTONES securing a major regular show is a significant milestone. Their fans must be relieved to finally see them step into the spotlight,” commented a sports newspaper reporter covering STARTO ENTERTAINMENT.

 

“I think we were on a roll.”

The members of SixTONES became widely known thanks to the television program Private Bakarea High School (Nippon TV), which aired in April 2012. The main cast included Shintaro Morimoto and Haruka Shimazaki (30), and later SixTONES members Jesse (28), Hokuto Matsumura (29), Taiga Kyomoto, Juri Tanaka (29), and Yugo Kouchi.

“At that time, Johnny & Associates had many top groups like SMAP, and there were no talks about Jr. debuts. However, Private Bakarea High School gained attention because Kis-My-Ft2 performed the theme song. From the first episode, the show attracted high attention.

As a result, idol and TV magazines started featuring them, and the six of them were soon called ‘Bakarea Jr.’ or ‘Bakarea Group’ by fans, and they seemed like they could debut at any moment. In fact, when a few of the members rode on the gondola during the encore at a SMAP concert, the crowd erupted in cheers, which caused the staff to panic,” said a sports newspaper desk from before.

However, it would take eight more years for them to make their CD debut. During this time, the members occasionally performed separately, and the group experienced some confusion. Some members were told by staff that their debut would not happen for a while. It was said that some even considered leaving the agency. Their turning point came in 2015, as a female magazine journalist recalls.

“Jesse reportedly directly appealed to Johnny Kitagawa, asking, ‘Can we perform together as six again?’ It was then that the name ‘SixTONES’ was created. I remember Kyomoto and Morimoto saying, ‘I’m glad we didn’t debut right after Bakarea. We weren’t ready for it yet. If we had debuted then, we would have gotten too cocky, and things would have been much harder.’ They were reflecting on their younger days.”

Now, Kyomoto frequently stars in musicals, and Morimoto has become popular, appearing in dramas such as Ice – Momentary Memory Investigation Team, Hiiragi (Fuji TV). Matsumura gained fame after appearing in the morning drama Come Come Everybody (NHK), and his current movie First Kiss 1ST KISS is a big hit. Tanaka is a skilled rapper and fashionista, Kouchi is the group’s mood maker with high variety skills, and Jesse stands as the undeniable center, showcasing a strong presence.

“Though the group has undoubtedly been overshadowed by Snow Man, these six members have worked diligently to hone their individual skills. By showcasing their hard work, they will naturally shine in a program that highlights their personalities. There’s even talk of them becoming the main personalities for this year’s 24-Hour TV, and the success of that show will be key,” said the same journalist.

With their first regular variety show, SixTONES is expected to experience a significant jump in popularity.