"Toshishita no Otokonoko" (年下の男の子, "A Younger Boy") is the fifth single by Japanese music trio Candies. Written by Kazuya Senke and Yūsuke Hoguchi, the single was released on September 1, 1973. It was the first single to feature Ran Itō as the main vocalist.[1]
The song peaked at No. 9 on Oricon's singles chart and sold over 260,000 copies, making it the trio's first top-10 hit.[2] The group made their Kōhaku Uta Gassen debut with this song, at the 26th event.[3]
The duo Star Flower (すたーふらわー, Sutā Furawā), made up of child actresses Kanon Tani and Seiran Kobayashi, covered the song in August 2012.[4] It peaked at No. 62 on Oricon's singled chart.[5]
Japanese idol group Super Girls (credited as "Candy Macchiato from Super Girls" (キャンディーマキアート from SUPER☆GiRLS)) released their version of "Toshishita no Otokonoko" on December 4, 2013. The single peaked at No. 11 on Oricon's singles chart.