Pop Stars’ Tonchiki Songs

Have you ever heard of the term “tonchiki song”? You may know the word “tonchiki,” but you don't often have the chance to use it. However, for fans of Johnny's group, it is probably a familiar word.

The term “tonchiki song” is often used for songs that are sung seriously by the singers themselves, but the meaning of the lyrics is not clear. It is a different kind from those that are intended to be comedic from the beginning. While the songs of Johnny's stand out as orthodox pop songs, such as cute pop star-like songs and cool dance numbers, there are also many tonchiki songs. These are called “tonchiki,” which are in Johnny's tradition.

Recently, they have attracted so much attention from the industry that even Music Station and Kanjam, a show also beloved by people from the music industry, have featured Japanese tonchiki songs. To be honest, there is no end to the list of Japanese pop stars' tonchiki songs, but I would like to introduce just a few of the most representative songs that I personally feel are tonchiki. If you are not familiar with them, I hope you will learn about a surprising aspect of pop stars.

■ Sexy Zone / Snow Falling in Sexy Summer

First of all, this is the song that is most often mentioned. The title of the song is confusing, isn't it? It is Summer and it is snowing?
The lyrics also use words associated with summer such as “midsummer sea,” “waves,” and “ sorbet,” as well as winter words such as “white snow” and “Merry Christmas". In the end, it comes down to the question, “Which is it, Summer or Winter? Maybe it is a song about Christmas spent in the southern hemisphere lol. According to the secret story of the production, the summer element was added to the Christmas song on a whim of Mr. Johnny...
I have the impression that many of Sexy Zone's early songs have “Sexy” in them, and many of them are tonchiki songs. This is what is typical of Johnny's style, and the song is often sung by Johnny's Jr.

■ Snow Man / Brother Beat

This song has been the talk of the town lately. It is the theme song for the live-action movie Osomatsu-san. One of the members play the leading role in it. Perhaps because it contains elements of “Osomatsu-san,” the song uses many lyrics whose meanings are not well understood. Many people have become addicted to the catchiness of the song, and the lyric part “ee-al-sansu” is especially popular and often danced to on TikTok.

■ Snow Man / I Want to Be Your Boyfriend

Another song from Snow Man, this one was also a hot topic on social media. The chorus of this song is “I can't do it, can't do it, can't do it, can't do it, can't do it, can't do it, I just can't do it. There's not many songs that call out "I can't do it" in the chorus. The choreography here was done by Hikaru Iwamoto, a member of the group. The professional choreographer was even praised for its quality. The combination of the song's punchiness and Snow Man's high level of dance skill seems to have increased the tonchiki-ness of the song.

■ Kanjani Eight /Machi-chuka

It is almost impossible to understand what is being said in this song without looking at the lyrics. Produced by Taiiku Okazaki, the lyrics sound like proper English but are actually in Kansai dialect. At the time of recording, the members didn't know the meaning of the lyrics, and they were singing from the lyric cards for the recording. So the members themselves were also asking themselves, “What are they singing about"? After the recording, the meaning of the lyrics was revealed and the members burst into laughter. They performed the song in concert, but with their stylish costumes and cool choreography, it was hard to believe that the song was written in Kansai dialect lol.

■ Hey! Say! Jump / “Thank you” - Wherever You Are in the World -

As you might expect from the title, this song uses plenty of “Thank you” in languages around the world. The members dance seriously with cool choreography, so if you don't pay attention to the lyrics, it doesn't seem strange. However, the lyrics use many phrases that make you laugh, such as “Wandanamuru Wonderful” and “Don't be shy, Terima kasih. Hey! Say! Jump has a strong image as a legitimate pop stars, but they also sing many other tonchiki songs.

There are many more tonchiki songs, but I'll leave it at that for now lol. Some of you might have felt the same about those songs. If you are interested in them, I hope you will give them a listen! And why not try singing it at karaoke?
Many of the songs have catchy choreographies, so please try to dance to them with your fully wireless earphones!

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