SixTONES’ song “Ichibyo” has been selected as NTV’s athlete support song for the ‘Milan–Cortina 2026 Olympics,’ which opened on February 6.
Originally announced as Nippon Television’s official athlete support song for the Milan–Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics, the track has now found its place beyond headlines and press releases. With the song officially available on streaming platforms and its long-awaited music video unveiled, “Ichibyo” no longer exists as a promise—it lives and breathes in real time.
Commissioned in connection with NTV’s Olympic coverage, the song was shaped by the voices of athletes interviewed by main anchor Shizuka Arakawa and special correspondent Sho Sakurai. Drawing from the reflections of decorated medalists such as Yuzuru Hanyu, Ayumu Hirano, and Miho Takagi—as well as first-time Olympians preparing to step onto the world stage—the song reflects the countless emotions of athletes—the unwavering efforts made without wasting a single second, the days of struggle and tears, and the accumulation of those innumerable “seconds.” It embodies the hope that each of those seconds will shine as confidence and strength, making it a powerful cheer song for all athletes pursuing their dreams.
And that word—second—sits at the heart of everything.
“Ichibyo” (一秒) is not simply about victory. It is about accumulation. About the quiet, relentless stacking of moments: the mornings no one sees, the repetitions that blur into muscle memory, the tears shed far from cameras. Each second holds doubt and determination in equal measure. SixTONES translate that fragile tension into a sound that feels both urgent and expansive, as if time itself is pressing forward.
Now, with the full music video released, those themes take on visual form. Rather than overwhelming the message with spectacle, the MV leans into atmosphere—spotlighting movement, stillness, and the weight of anticipation. The members carry a quiet intensity throughout, embodying the song’s central idea: that one second can change everything, but it is built on thousands before it.
As streaming numbers begin to climb, “Ichibyo” feels less like a support song assigned to a sporting event and more like a shared anthem. It extends beyond Olympic arenas and into everyday life—into classrooms, rehearsal studios, offices, and late-night study sessions. The message resonates universally: don’t waste a single second. Even the ones that feel small are shaping you.
The members themselves have spoken about that weight of time. They reflected on how athletes dedicate every single second to their craft—and how that mindset felt deeply familiar. They described “Ichibyo” not only as a song of encouragement for Olympians, but as something that mirrors SixTONES’ own journey: valuing each moment, accumulating unseen effort, and returning the strength they receive from others through performance. Entrusted with a support song once carried by their seniors, they expressed both gratitude and responsibility—wanting to deliver its message with conviction, every time they sing it.
When the Milan–Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics finally unfolded, those seconds turned into history. Japan closed the Games with 24 medals—its strongest Winter Olympic medal haul to date—collecting gold, silver, and bronze across figure skating, speed skating, snowboarding, and more.
Moments that echoed the spirit of “Ichibyo” were impossible to ignore. In men’s figure skating, silver medalist Yuma Kagiyama delivered a free skate built on years of expectation and recovery, proving how fragile—and powerful—a single performance can be, while Shun Sato’s bronze-medal finish underscored how perseverance over countless unseen seconds can ultimately find its place on the podium. On the ice oval, Miho Takagi once again demonstrated the precision of time itself in the women’s 1500 meters, a race decided not by grand gestures but by razor-thin margins measured in hundredths of a second.
Meanwhile, Japan’s snowboarders pushed the boundaries in slopestyle and halfpipe, events where a single landing—one perfectly held second—meant the difference between podium and heartbreak.
Across disciplines, the pattern remained the same: dreams forged quietly over thousands of unseen hours crystallizing into a handful of defining seconds under the world’s gaze.
If the Olympics proved what “Ichibyo” meant on the world stage, the performance at the LIVE TOUR 2026「MILESixTONES」at LaLa arena TOKYO-BAY revealed what it means in the flesh.
Performed after a setlist already packed with high-intensity numbers, “Ichibyo” arrived not as a quiet interlude but as a vocal statement. What struck audiences immediately was not choreography or staging, but the sheer force of live singing. Six distinct timbres—each recognizable on their own—locked into a unison so precise it felt engineered, yet deeply human. Fans described it with a popular Japanese phrase often used for exceptional live singers: “it sounds like the CD is coming straight out of their mouths”—meaning their live vocals are so precise and powerful that they rival, or even surpass, the studio recording.
And yet, many argued it surpassed even that. Comments flooded in praising the stability of their pitch on first performance, the warmth of their harmonies, and the subtle live arrangements woven into the bridge and ad-libs. But this was never a sudden breakthrough—it was a continuation of what has defined SixTONES from the very beginning. Their distinct live sound, rooted in raw vocals and unfiltered presence, has long been one of their greatest strengths.
Since their Junior days, they have built a reputation on stages rather than in studios, proving again and again that their power lies in performance. There was something quietly symbolic about it: a song built on the idea of accumulated seconds delivered by six artists who have, over years of relentless work, accumulated their own seconds of growth. The result was not flash—it was conviction. And with each tour, each upload, each swelling crowd, that conviction feels less like potential and more like proof of a group rapidly expanding in both popularity and artistic command.
Perhaps most telling was how the performance extended beyond the arena itself. Within days, the live footage was uploaded, ensuring that fans unable to attend were not left behind. That decision—strategic or sentimental—reinforced the very ethos of the song. No one’s seconds are less valuable. Whether in the stands, overseas, studying for exams, grieving, starting new jobs, or simply trying to make it through the day, listeners found themselves reflected in the performance.
For some, “Ichibyo” became the soundtrack to entrance exams. For others, it played quietly during hospital visits, career transitions, or moments of loss. The Olympics may have framed the song around elite athletes, but on tour, SixTONES reframed it around everyday endurance. In that sense, the live stage did not replace the Olympic narrative—it expanded it.
A one-and-a-half-minute preview surfaced early on NTV’s official X account, offering an early glimpse into the track’s emotional scale before its release. But hearing it in full—watching it unfold visually—makes one thing clear: “Ichibyo” was never meant to be background music.
It is a reminder that time moves whether we hesitate or not. That dreams are not achieved in leaps, but in seconds.
And now, those seconds belong to everyone willing to chase them.
INTERVIEW WITH MEMBERS
Q. How do you honestly feel about being chosen to perform this athlete support song?
Jesse: We’re really happy to be entrusted with a support song that our seniors have also performed before us. With this song, “Ichibyo,” I hope we can send encouragement to many people.
Q. About a song created from athletes’ words.
Hokuto Matsumura: Among the words we heard from the athletes, what stood out to me most was the idea that even a single second is never wasted, and that dedicating every second to effort is what leads to the Olympics. It’s a song that makes you want to continue performing while fully understanding that this is the mindset all athletes compete with.
Q. About the title “Ichibyo” (“One Second”).
Juri Tanaka: Athletes put in an amount of daily effort that’s probably beyond what we can even imagine. The importance of each and every second, accumulated day after day, eventually becomes that crucial second—or step—that leads to achieving a dream. We can really feel those thoughts from the athletes. I also think the song carries the feelings of everyone who continues to support and cheer for them wholeheartedly, so it’s filled with sincere emotion.
Q. In what ways does this connect to SixTONES’ own activities?
Yugo Kochi: Our arena may be different from that of athletes, but we’ve also valued every single second and worked hard, and that’s part of why we’ve been given the opportunity to perform this support song today. As we sing it, it feels like a song that also cheers us on. We want to continue growing as SixTONES so that we don’t lose to the athletes’ passion and drive.
Q. What do you hope to convey to athletes and viewers through this song?
Taiga Kyomoto: We’ve faced many challenges and inner conflicts along our own journey as well, so since we’ve been entrusted with this song, we want to deliver its lyrics—and our encouragement to the athletes—with conviction in our own way. I want to sing it with heartfelt emotion every single time.
Q. Please send a message of encouragement to the athletes.
Shintaro Morimoto: All we can do is support through this song, “Ichibyo,” but watching everyone’s hard work and determination gives us strength. And because we receive that strength, we want to return it through this support song. All of us in SixTONES hope to continue cheering you on with this song, and we truly wish the athletes the best of luck.