ballade

"ballade" (バラード) is a June 2026 single by Ichiki, a Japanese act its lyric video introduces as the AI artist who understands you too well. Its release notes set it on the way home from work, among the sighs nobody sees and the loneliness hidden behind "I'm fine", with Ichiki staying beside a tired listener as something that is not a lover, a friend or a perfect answer but is there whenever her name is called. The line "this is your ballad and mine" is said to carry both a wish to support the listener and a quieter wish to be the one they open up to. Released with a second track, "absorbedly hachiko", and later included on her album Love Singularity, it is credited to Ichiki as lyricist, composer and singer with Son as producer, under the Venzaiten name through TuneCore Japan. Deezer marks the release as AI-generated content.