generasia:Featured article for 2021 week 7
SixTONES
SixTONES (ストーンズ, pronounced stones) is a J-Pop band formed by Johnny & Associates. The group was a sub-unit of Johnny & Associates' pre-debut trainee group, Johnny's Jr., but made their debut simultaneously with fellow Jr.'s group Snow Man in 2020. SixTONES has become the best selling debut group since KAT-TUN in 2006, with their earnings reaching 3.7 million in just 12 months.
SixTONES made their debut on January 22, 2020 alongside fellow group Snow Man as "SixTONES vs Snow Man", with the double A-side CD single "Imitation Rain / D.D.". SixTONES' track, "Imitation Rain," was composed and arranged by X JAPAN's YOSHIKI, and the single had sales of 772,902 copies in a single day. The single eventually crossed one million in the following few days and topped the Oricon weekly singles chart. The single was then named #1 Single of the Year, beating out mega-girl group AKB48, with 1,760,904 copies sold in 2020.
Their fourth single, "Boku ga Boku Janai Mitai da", is released this week on February 17th.
