ILLIT's first Japanese single 'Toki yo Tomare' receives gold certification, marking a significant achievement for the group in Japan.
February/10/2026 13:50Related Groups & Members
ILLIT has added another new achievement in Japanese works. On February 10, according to the Japan Record Association, ILLIT's first Japanese single 'Toki yo Tomare' has received gold certification for January 2026. The Japan Record Association announces gold-certified works monthly, awarding 'gold' certification to works with cumulative shipments of over 100,000 copies. This is the first time ILLIT has received certification in the gold disk category. Previously, ILLIT received 'double platinum' certification for 'Magnetic' (cumulative playback of 200 million times) and 'gold' certification for 'Lucky Girl Syndrome' and 'Almond Chocolate' (cumulative playback of 50 million times) in the streaming category announced monthly by the Japan Record Association. The first Japanese single 'Toki yo Tomare' is a work that incorporates the sparkle and fleeting youth of straightforward and earnest girls. In addition to the title track 'Toki yo Tomare,' it includes the pop genre song 'Topping,' which depicts the diverse emotions of a girl on her first date, and 'Karite Kita Neko (Do the Dance) (Japanese Ver.),' based on the French house genre, which captures the excitement and freshness of a first date, as well as 'Almond Chocolate,' which expresses passionate feelings and love by likening a crush to almond chocolate. Various scenes of sparkling youth, where love and friendship make one wish for the moment to never end, are depicted with ILLIT's unique free and lively charm. This work has attracted attention since its release and has dominated major charts in Japan. It ranked second in the Oricon 'Weekly Single Ranking' (as of September 15) and second in Billboard JAPAN 'Top Singles Sales' (counting period: September 1 to September 7, 2025). It reached the highest position for a foreign artist at fourth place in Billboard JAPAN 'Hot 100' (counting period: September 1 to September 7, 2025). Furthermore, in the same counting period, it became the only K-POP girl group to enter the TOP 10 in the 'Artist 100.' The music video for the title track 'Toki yo Tomare' ranked fifth in YouTube Music Video Trending Worldwide. It was also selected as the theme song for the new ABEMA program 'Popteen vs egg MODELS CRUSH.' The included song 'Almond Chocolate' recorded several achievements, including winning the 'Excellence Award' at the 67th Japan Record Awards, the only overseas artist to do so. ILLIT's new original songs released this year are also attracting attention. The second Japanese digital single 'Sunday Morning,' released on January 13, was chosen as the opening theme for the TV anime 'Hime-sama “Goumon” no Jikan desu' and has taken over trends on short-form platforms like TikTok. Following this, the new song 'Bubee' has garnered attention as the opening theme for the upcoming TV anime 'Mahou no Shimai Lulut Lily,' which is the latest installment of the 'Magical Girl Series' produced by Studio Pierrot, continuing to be supported by many fans both domestically and internationally. 'Bubee' is a dance-pop song that fuses the essence of Shibuya-kei subculture with J-POP, featuring cute lyrics linked to the anime and a sparkling pop melody. The first main PV released allows listeners to hear part of the sound source in advance. ILLIT continues to make strides in Japan, and attention remains on them.
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