Alright, I promised a post about SixTONES debut thoughts and finally I feel ready to make that post.
At this moment there is no other group as poised and ready to debut than SixTONES. Not to say that the other groups are lacking in talent or effort but looking at connecting to an audience and appeal SixTONES is just a step ahead. It of course helps that they have been given chances to be seen by general audiences outside of Junior and Johnny's fans with acting roles for the stage, TV and streaming. They also have distinctions of being the first for things with the recent Youtube promotions which Johnny's loves to use to promote a debuted group with.
Post-King & Prince and Pre-Twenty Twenty would be a great time for a group like SixTONES to have a debut. The former group has the appeal of "princes" so it is a very clean and innocent look with standard pop being their main style. Twenty Twenty is bound to be the next group to take up the "youth" mantel that the FIVB groups (V6, Arashi, NEWS, Hey! Say! JUMP and Sexy Zone) held when they first debuted, which means fun and energetic pop songs. SixTONES in contrast have the same look and vibe as KAT-TUN and Kis-My-Ft2 had when they debuted, as having as much edge as a Johnny's boy band can with a more of a rock/dance based sound for their songs. So against other new groups they can stand out and attract fans that those other two groups may not.
All the members of the group have been with Johnny's for a long time, with Koichi Yugo being the "newest" having joined in 2009 shortly after Matsumura Hokuto. They have all also had the benefit to have gotten strong pushes as Juniors from management over the years and have thus built up strong and dedicated fanbases.
Probably the greatest x-factor in all of this is Youtube. It has done so much for the group already with the rising artist promotion it has done for them. It also opens the way for them to be discovered by a wider audience than other groups, as even Japan the younger population is moving towards digital media and away from cable stations. So this is a good way for Johnny's to see how powerful the internet can be with promoting their acts with it.
But at this point the group is not one that Johnny's can just ignore. They are proving far too popular for that, and at worst they can get the A.B.C-Z treatment, a debut but in a non-traditional way. If they become the first group to have wide digital releases it could also help pave the way for Johnny's entering the digital market in general. Something many Johnny's fans have been hoping for.
The members of the group have alluded to the idea of them debuting in a non-traditional way, though what that way would be has not been hinted outside not something Johnny's has done before. If anything it is a sign that the group plans on sticking around as they are finding success taking paths no other Johnny's group has tread before.
Personally all I know is how proud I am for these boys. From back when they were first grouped together and known as the Bakaleya6 I have been hoping for their debut. From the start they have had a lot going for them to be a great debuted Junior group. Everything they have done so far has just strengthened my belief they would work so well as a debuted group with greater support from the agency behind them. Until then we fans have to keep showing our support so Johnny's will not give up on them as they have other Junior groups in the past.
