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The story
M!LK has scored TikTok hits with quirky, off-the-wall (“tonchiki”) songs like “Ii Jan,” but they’ve yet to land a massive hit with a classic-style ballad in the vein of “Yozora no Mukou” (Beyond the Night Sky) or “Sekai ni Hitotsu Dake no Hana” (Only Flower in the World). On 5ch’s Hello! Project board, a comment warning that “at this rate they’ll end up a cringe-worthy group of middle-aged guys” sparked a debate over why the group hasn’t released a truly great ballad. The thread split between defenders arguing that “you can’t just produce a classic ballad overnight” and harsher voices insisting that “the entire Hello! Project family has never had a single great ballad,” with posters bringing up SMAP and AKB48 ballads for comparison.
What people said
The momentum's been dropping since around "Idol Power."
Of course — you can't pull off that kind of viral hit over and over.
Yeah, that's right.
Really, it is.
For what it's worth, "Love Machine" is the same.
well, it didn't get any buzz though…
Actually, better than any Johnny's group, really.
They could drop a so-so ballad anytime, but a truly great one can't be made on demand.
"Sukisugite Metsu"
"Bakuretsu Aishiteru"
That's three right there, should be enough.
They're all pointless, childish tonchiki songs.
Just noise to hype up a crowd.
Mid-tempo & Ballads
Tada Dakishimeru (Just Hold Me)
http://youtu.be/qmJRP9hlz-k&t=79s
Suki ni Natte Kurete Arigatou (Thanks for Falling for Me)
http://youtu.be/S2qJyW5vvd8&t=231s
Riyuu no Nai Koi (Love Without a Reason)
http://youtu.be/wuZNfv2PxMU&t=280s
Shape of Love
http://youtu.be/D9JdIWIuNs4&t=52s
PM 5:30
http://youtu.be/uXfRE_q4AyI&t=50s
Hentekoko (Oddball)
http://youtu.be/lSnXmDLE6eM&t=61s
Arinomama ga Itoshii Kimi e (To You, Dear Just as You Are)
http://youtu.be/mFFfpFdQcXE&t=165s
Bokura ga Tsuyoku (We, Growing Stronger)
http://youtu.be/dBVUXnGmJts&t=149s
Jinchouge (Daphne Blossom)
http://youtu.be/TYhOBzTwpkI&t=121s
Wedding Song
http://youtu.be/czLwDYp9q08&t=171s
Kanpai (Cheers)
http://youtu.be/jFVFoNSzjeI&t=56s
Neko (Cat)
http://youtu.be/es-TULCdfvQ&t=152s
Shikao Suga's self-cover of "Yozora no Mukou" actually has real atmosphere and is a genuine classic though.
Ballads really are what keeps getting listened to for generations, no doubt about it.
What has this group even been doing for almost 30 years?
The only one I can even recall is "Kobushi no Hana," which borrowed from all over the place but wasn't blatant enough to call out, and was held together well by the arrangement.
Well, that was peak Hoshibe — his pseudo-music-theory arranging put to good use.
This year's Music Station appearances:
Kis-My-Ft2: 1
KinKi Kids: 1
SixTONES: 2
Snow Man: 4
Timelesz: 2
Kanjani8: 1
King & Prince: 3
Nakajima Kento: 3
Naniwa Danshi: 1
Aぇ! group: 2
NEWS: 1
Arashi: 1
Yamada Ryosuke: 1
Masuda Takahisa: 1
Travis Japan: 1
Johnny's total: 25
M!LK: 8 ← this one
Ebidan: 0
Juice=Juice: 2
It goes back to "Nainai 16" and "Decameron Densetsu."
Right now they're at the "Sushi Kuine" or "Kamen Butoukai" stage.
Next they need to put on roller skates.
Like Akimoto, Johnny's had all kinds of people write for them and only picked the good ones, so of course they ended up with a lot of good songs.
Nah, a lot of them were just no-name band musicians from Victor (the record label).
Background and Key Points of the Debate
“Tonchiki song” is slang for tracks with outlandish lyrics or structures designed to catch on with TikTok users; one theory in the thread credits Hyadain with popularizing the term on the TV show Kanjam, but other posters pushed back, noting the concept goes back as far as “Nainai 16” and “Decameron Densetsu,” so the term’s actual origin remains unclear. M!LK has hit songs in the tonchiki vein, like “Ii Jan” and “Sukisugite Metsu,” but a more conventional song they released in summer 2024, “Ao no Oto,” never gained traction — which is the background behind the thread’s central question. Meanwhile, opinions on what counts as a “great ballad” vary from post to post: for instance, some argue that Shikao Suga’s self-cover of “Yozora no Mukou” is the definitive classic version, rather than SMAP’s original. The tally of Music Station appearances was brought up purely as a comparison with Johnny’s-affiliated groups, and should be read as just one popularity metric among many, not a definitive ranking.
※This article is excerpted and summarized from the 5ch (Hello! Project board) thread “Why doesn’t M!LK finally release a great ballad like “Yozora no Mukou” or “Sekai ni Hitotsu Dake no Hana”?“
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