AKB48
Encyclopedia
AKB48 is a Japanese female idol
group produced by Yasushi Akimoto
.
The group has achieved enormous popularity in Japan. Its ten latest consecutive singles topped the Oricon
Weekly Singles Chart. "Beginner
" and "Heavy Rotation
" placed, respectively, 1st and 2nd in the list of Japan's best selling singles for the year 2010, while "Everyday, Kachūsha", "Sakura no Ki ni Narō
", and "Flying Get
" lead the 2011 rankings so far.
The group has sold over ten million records.
AKB48 is named after Akihabara
(Akiba for short), the area in Tokyo
where, on the 8th floor of a Don Quijote store
, the band's own theater is located. Akimoto
's idea, later advertised as "idols you can meet", was to create a theater-based idol
group whose fans could see the girls live daily. AKB48 still performs at the theater every day, although, due to great demand, tickets are now distributed only via a lottery.
AKB48 holds the Guinness World Record for being the world's "largest pop group". Currently, it consists of four teams: Team A, Team K, and Team B with 16 members each and Team 4 with 11 members, summing up to a total of 59 members as of September 2, 2011. Additionally, there are a number of aspiring members, who are called . Each team produces a new own concert show each theatrical season.
Since 2005, when AKB48 was founded, Yasushi Akimoto
created several more groups: SKE48
, based at a theater in the Sakae
area of Nagoya, SDN48
, which is intended to have a more mature image, and NMB48
.
Another concept, first put into action in 2009, is general election
s in which fans vote to determine the members who will participate in the recording of AKB48's next single
. In the last election, held in June–July 2011, where over a million votes were cast, 40 girls were chosen out of 152 members in AKB48, SKE48, SDN48, and NMB48. In 2010, a new and inventive selection method appeared: the girls competed against each other in a rock-paper-scissors
tournament for being on a single. The second tournament took place on September 20, 2011.
held an audition for a new theater-based idol girl group. Of the 7,924 girls that applied, 45 passed the first round of auditions, detailed screening of the application documents. Finally, only 24 girls were chosen to be in the group.
On December 8, 2005, the group debuted in the theater with only 20 girls, later known as Team A. A new audition was announced, this audition was held in cooperation with Japanese telecom company NTT DoCoMo
. It was the first audition ever where the applicants had to send in their audition video with their mobile phones. 19 of the 11,892 applicants were chosen to join AKB48, but in the end only 18 girls joined the group to become Team K in April 2006.
let Mariko Shinoda
join the group without passing audition, after she won a popularity vote by fans, although she was working as a waitress at the Theater Cafe after she failed to attend the first audition back then.
AKB48 released its debut single "Sakura no Hanabiratachi
" in February 2006, which made it to #10 on the Oricon
weekly charts and sold 22,011 units in its first week - surprising for a group on an indie label.
On March 1 AKB48 released their first photo book, Micchaku! "AKB48" ~Shashinshuu Vol.1 the DEBUT. On March 31 Yuki Usami graduates, becoming the first member to do so.
From April 1, 2006, Team K begins performances at the theater.
On June 7 they release their second indies single "Skirt, Hirari
", and sang their song first time on TV programs, Music Station
and Music Fighter, on June 9, and on the 17th Ayako Uemura graduates.
In August 2006, they signed a major label contract with DefStar Records
, a part of Sony Music Entertainment
. Their first single under DefStar Records, "Aitakatta
", was released on October 25, 2006 and got to #12 on the Oricon weekly single charts. "Aitakatta" sold 25,544 copies, during the first 6 weeks charted on Oricon.
In October 2006, a new audition was announced to form Team B, resulting in the arrival of 13 new members in December 2006.
On November 3 & 4, 2006, AKB48 performs in their first concert AKB48 First Concert "Aitakatta ~Hashira wa Nai ze!~ at Nippon Seinenkan in Sendagaya, Shinjuku.
In December 2006, the first change was made to the three teams; transferring Kazumi Urano, Shiho Watanabe, and Natsumi Hirajima from Team A to Team B as supporting members. Ayumi Orii graduated from the group shortly after this, though appeared in the unit Crayon Friends from AKB48 after her graduation.
—voluntary underage prostitution—though this has not been confirmed.
On March 2, AKB48's second photo book AKB48 JUMP&CRY, which photos were taken by Kishin Shinoyama
on February 3, was released.
Their next single, "Keibetsu Shiteita Aijō
", which was released on March 18, featured a theme of school bullying and suicide throughout the lyrics and PV and reached 8 on the Oricon charts. AKB48's second concert tour, AKB48 Haru no Chotto dake Zenkoku Tour ~Madamada daze AKB48!~ began on March 10.
In April 2007, Team B was added to AKB48's official website; albeit with five fewer members than had originally been announced. This brought the group's numbers down from 53 to 48 - the first time since its creation that the member total reflected the group's name. Members Yū Imai, Michiru Hoshino, and Ayana Takada graduated at roughly the same time during June 2007. However, Takada was the only one of these to appear in the PV to the group's sixth single "Bingo!
", which was released on July 18, 2007.
In October and November respectively, Shiho Watanabe and Kayano Masuyama graduated.
On December 31, 2007, 43 members of AKB48 appeared on the 58th Annual Kōhaku Uta Gassen
for the first time. They sang as part of the Akihabara performance, with Leah Dizon
and Shōko Nakagawa
following them. They became the largest number of people in a single group to be on stage at one time.
, titled Set List: Greatest Songs 2006–2007. Their seventh single Romance, Irane
is released, reaching number 6 on the Oricon
charts.
On February 27, 2008, AKB48 released their tenth single, titled "Sakura no Hanabiratachi 2008". At the time of the release of their debut single "Sakura no Hanabiratachi", there was only Team A in AKB48. This 10th single features ten members from Team A, along with six selected members from Team K, and five selected members from Team B making it the 2008 version. It was planned that people who collected 44 posters of the single CD would be invited to a special event, but this act was suspected as the violation of the antitrust law
and was eventually cancelled by DefStar Records. In August 2008, they moved from DefStar Records of Sony Music Entertainment to King Records.
In August 2008, Ayaka Kikuchi was fired, though she was later rehired through another audition.
On October 22, 2008, the single "Ōgoe Diamond
" was released from newly contracted King Records on the "You, Be Cool!" label, and finished the first week at number three in the Oricon
charts. It was AKB48's first single that reached top three of the chart.
On November 3, 2008, Rina Nakanishi
, Hitomi Komatani, Tomomi Ohe, Risa Narita, and Tojima Hana graduated.
On February 11, Reina Noguchi, Yuki Matsuoka
and Nozomi Kawasaki graduated.
AKB48 released their 11th single, "10nen Zakura
", on March 4, 2009. The single reached number three on the Oricon charts in the first week and eventually became the first single for them to sell over 100,000 copies on the Oricon charts.
On April 26, Mai Oshima
and Kaoru Hayano graduated. On May 24, Risa Naruse graduated.
AKB48 Team A became the honour guest for the Japan Expo in Paris between July 2 to 5, 2009, and featured English-lyric version of "Ōgoe Diamond
" first time.
AKB48's 12th single, "Namida Surprise!
", was released on June 24, the single include handshaking event ticket and a voting card (with a serial number) for their next single. "Namida Surprise!
" sold 104,180 copies in the initial week on the Oricon charts.
The 13th single, "Iiwake Maybe
", released on August 26, 2009, surprisingly outsold SMAP
on its first day, taking the 1st place in the Oricon Daily Singles Chart, but eventually ranked 2nd for the week.
AKB48 had a US
debut concert at Webster Hall
in New York
on September 27, 2009.
In October 2009, their three singles "10nen Zakura
", "Namida Surprise!
" and "Iiwake Maybe
" were certified Gold by the Recording Industry Association of Japan
at the same time for each shipments of 100,000 copies by September. Their 14th single, "River
", was released on October 21, 2009, and hit number 1 on Oricon upon its debut.
", on February 17, 2010. The single topped the Oricon chart and sold over 300,000 copies in its first week, which is the best record in seven years of Japanese female artists. Their 16th single, "Ponytail to Chouchou
", released on May 26, 2010, sold over 400,000 copies in its first day, and over 513,000 copies in its first week, making it AKB48's biggest selling single in its first week. On April 27, 2010, it was announced that AKB48 would be attending and performing in the United States at Anime Expo
, the nation's largest anime convention, as official guests of honor. AKB48 performed at a concert on July 1, 2010, at the Nokia Theatre.
At AKB48's concert at the Yoyogi National Gymnasium
on a Sunday in July 2010, it was announced that Team K member Erena Ono would be graduating from AKB48 to study acting abroad. Erena graduated from AKB48 on September 27, 2010 in a Team K theater performance.
On 23 October the band represented Japan and performed at the 7th Asia Song Festival
, organised by Korea Foundation for International Culture Exchange, at the Seoul Olympic Stadium. On October 27, 2010 AKB48's new single "Beginner
" was released. In only the first week, the 18th single sold 826,989 copies making it the highest first week sales for AKB48, as well as highest first week sales ever for a female idol group single. As of February 2011 the single has sold over 1,010,000 copies. At the end of October Mayu Watanabe
appeared on the cover of the December issue of UP to boy magazine together with Airi Suzuki
from °C-ute. That was the first gravure collaboration between Hello! Project
and AKB48.
In November 2010, AKB48 performed in Russia
for the first time. A 12-member team gave a concert on November 20 at the Japanese Pop Culture Festival which took place in Moscow
. Also in November 2010, AKB48 performed in the Cool Japan Night in Singapore
as part of the Anime Festival Asia X. This is followed by a 2nd performance also in Singapore at the Singapore Toy Games & Comics Convention.
", was released on February 16. Upon the first day of release, AKB48 sold 655,000 copies of their single, beating their previous top record (568,000 copies of "Beginner
"). The single sold 826,989 copies in its first week, AKB48's highest record.
In February, it was announced that Yūki Kanazawa and Manami Oku would be graduating from the group.
Their second studio album, named , was announced on 21 February 2011. This is their first original album, and it contains 11 new songs that were never released before, including the title track Koko ni Ita Koto. It was scheduled to be released in Japan
on 6 April 2011.
On March 12, 2011 it was also announced on their blog that the AKB Theater would close due to the 2011 Tohoku earthquake and tsunami
, and all public events were cancelled until further notice. Two days later, it was announced on their official blog that their concert , scheduled to be held on March 25–27 at Yokohama Arena
, would be cancelled. Bank accounts had been opened to raise donations for earthquake and tsunami relief, as part of their project named . Under this project, they used the Yokohama Arena for their 2-day charity events starting on 26 March 2011 instead. 12 of their main members attended Okinawa International Movie Festival on the same day for the same purpose. Three days later, it was announced that ¥500 million will be donated by AKB48 groups AKB48, SKE48
, SDN48
and NMB48
, and their producer Yasushi Akimoto
to these bank accounts. On the same day, the postponement of the release of their new album, was announced. Part of the proceeds from the sales of the album will be donated to the victims of this disaster. It was also announced that the group will hold a senbatsu election to determine the participating members for their 22nd single. On April 1, they also released a single, through the Recochoku website as a digital download, and will donate all profits for earthquake and tsunami relief. Dareka no Tame ni was originally recorded on a live album released in 2007.
On April 8, Manami Oku graduated after performing at a Team B stage on the same day.
On May 1, a new AKB48 unit named HKT48
was announced. It will be based in Fukuoka
in Kyushu
, and their theater will be established in the Hawks Town Mall of Fukuoka’s Chuo ward.
On May 3, The Straits Times
reported that AKB48's first overseas theater will be opened in Singapore
. It will be based in *scape Youth Park, and 16 members of AKB48 and sister groups will be performing concerts there for two days in a month, with two performances each day. Apart from the theater, there will also be an AKB48 Official Shop where fans can purchase official AKB48 merchandise, and the world's first AKB48 cafe where Japanese fusion food and desert will be served.
The AKB48 staff blog announced that the trainees Nau Yamaguchi and Sara Ushikobu will leave the group for undisclosed reasons. They will perform their last event as members on June 19.
AKB48 released their 21st singles album entitled "Everyday, Kachūsha" on 25 May 2011. On its release day 942,475 copies were sold and 1,333,969 copies in the first week making it the highest first-week single sales record in Japan to that date. Later, on June 7, AKB48 announced a new team titled "Team 4" ahead of their nationwide tour concerts in Japan. The team was formed of ten members, with six more members to be added later to complete the 16-member team. This also marked 'Team Kenkyuusei' losing the 'Team' from their name.
On June 11, 2011, It was announced at a handshake event that Aimi Eguchi
, a girl who had supposedly auditioned for NMB48, would be joining AKB48 as a trainee. It was later revealed that Aimi Eguchi was not a real person, and had been created to promote the Glico product Ice no Mi.
Oricon
announced on 22 June 2011 that AKB48 had the strongest album sales showing for the first half of 2011 in their sales ranking. They had the only two million-selling singles "Everyday, Kachūsha" and "Sakura no Ki ni Narō
", which ranked as the best and second-best selling singles respectively. For the survey period between 27 December 2010 and 20 June 2011, AKB48 garnered ¥6.66 billion in total sales of all their merchandise.
In an announcement made on 28 June 2011, AKB48's producer Yasushi Akimoto
revealed that he will be creating a group to become AKB48's "official rival". The group will be called and will debut with approximately 20 members. Yasushi Akimoto
revealed that he teamed up with Sony Music Japan to produce this new group, whose auditions for members will start later this year.
AKB48 will release their 22nd single on 24 August 2011. The results of a Senbatsu held previously decided the participants of this single, and the results were revealed on 9 June 2011. Atsuko Maeda won the top position in this Senbatsu. The name of the single was then revealed to be on 29 June 2011. AKB48 will also be releasing their 23rd single in October 2011 and their 24th single in December 2011. The participants of the 24th single will be chosen in a Janken
tournament.
Two research students, Abe Maria and Iriyama Anna, were added to Team 4 as official members on 23 July 2011 At the same time, the captain of Team 4 was also revealed to be member Oba Mina.
AKB48 released their 23rd major single(25th overall), Kaze wa Fuiteiru
on 26 October 2011. The single sold 1,045,937 copies on the first day of release, setting a new record for the first day sales of AKB48 singles, surpassing the previous record set by Flying Get
.
series. This anime series is directed by Yoshimasa Hiraike
, while AKB48 producer Yasushi Akimoto
will be in-charge of its planning and supervision of the production.
Japanese idol
In Japanese culture, are media personalities in their teens and early twenties who are considered particularly attractive or cute and who will, for a period ranging from several months to a few years, regularly appear in the mass media, e.g...
group produced by Yasushi Akimoto
Yasushi Akimoto
is a Japanese television writer, lyricist, record producer, professor and vice president at Kyoto University of Art and Design. He also created some of Japan's top idol groups, Onyanko Club and the AKB48 franchise.- Career :...
.
The group has achieved enormous popularity in Japan. Its ten latest consecutive singles topped the Oricon
Oricon
, established in 1999, is the holding company at the head of a Japanese corporate group that supplies statistics and information on music and the music industry in Japan. It started as , which was founded by Sōkō Koike in November 1967 and became known for its music charts. Oricon Inc...
Weekly Singles Chart. "Beginner
Beginner (song)
-Beginner:*Team A: Haruna Kojima, Rino Sashihara, Mariko Shinoda, Aki Takajo, Minami Takahashi, Atsuko Maeda...
" and "Heavy Rotation
Heavy Rotation (song)
-Heavy Rotation:*Team A: Haruna Kojima, Atsuko Maeda, Haruka Nakagawa, Rino Sashihara, Mariko Shinoda, Minami Takahashi, Aki Takajo*Team K: Sayaka Akimoto, Tomomi Itano, Minami Minegishi, Sae Miyazawa, Erena Ono , Yuko Oshima,...
" placed, respectively, 1st and 2nd in the list of Japan's best selling singles for the year 2010, while "Everyday, Kachūsha", "Sakura no Ki ni Narō
Sakura no Ki ni Narō
is a 20th single by Japanese idol girl group AKB48, released on February 16, 2011.-Release information:It is the 20th major-label single released by AKB48. It was released in five versions: a limited type-A CD+DVD edition, a regular type-A CD+DVD edition, a limited type-B CD+DVD edition, a regular...
", and "Flying Get
Flying Get
- Members :The participating members were chosen by general election. Top 21 voted members will sing the A-side, "Flying Get".- Members :The participating members were chosen by general election. Top 21 voted members will sing the A-side, "Flying Get".- Members :The participating members were...
" lead the 2011 rankings so far.
The group has sold over ten million records.
AKB48 is named after Akihabara
Akihabara
, also known as , is an area of Tokyo, Japan. It is located less than five minutes by rail from Tokyo Station. Its name is frequently shortened to in Japan...
(Akiba for short), the area in Tokyo
Tokyo
, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
where, on the 8th floor of a Don Quijote store
Don Quijote (store)
is a discount chain store that has over 160 locations throughout Japan as well as three stores in Hawaii. It carries a wide range of products, from basic groceries to electronics to clothing. The store is well known in Japan and is often referred to by its shortened name .-History:Don Quijote...
, the band's own theater is located. Akimoto
Yasushi Akimoto
is a Japanese television writer, lyricist, record producer, professor and vice president at Kyoto University of Art and Design. He also created some of Japan's top idol groups, Onyanko Club and the AKB48 franchise.- Career :...
's idea, later advertised as "idols you can meet", was to create a theater-based idol
Japanese idol
In Japanese culture, are media personalities in their teens and early twenties who are considered particularly attractive or cute and who will, for a period ranging from several months to a few years, regularly appear in the mass media, e.g...
group whose fans could see the girls live daily. AKB48 still performs at the theater every day, although, due to great demand, tickets are now distributed only via a lottery.
AKB48 holds the Guinness World Record for being the world's "largest pop group". Currently, it consists of four teams: Team A, Team K, and Team B with 16 members each and Team 4 with 11 members, summing up to a total of 59 members as of September 2, 2011. Additionally, there are a number of aspiring members, who are called . Each team produces a new own concert show each theatrical season.
Since 2005, when AKB48 was founded, Yasushi Akimoto
Yasushi Akimoto
is a Japanese television writer, lyricist, record producer, professor and vice president at Kyoto University of Art and Design. He also created some of Japan's top idol groups, Onyanko Club and the AKB48 franchise.- Career :...
created several more groups: SKE48
SKE48
SKE48 is an all-female Japanese theater/idol group produced by Yasushi Akimoto. The audition was held during the summer and debuted in October 2008. SKE48 performs in the newly built studio in the renovated Sunshine Sakae in Nagoya, Aichi Prefecture, every Saturday...
, based at a theater in the Sakae
Sakae, Nagoya
is an area in Naka-ku, Nagoya, Aichi, Japan. It refers to the areas around Sakae intersection, Sakae Station on the Nagoya Municipal Subway, and Sakae Station on the Meitetsu Seto Line...
area of Nagoya, SDN48
SDN48
SDN48 is a Japanese idol girl group, created and produced by Yasushi Akimoto. SDN48 was created based on an "adult idol" concept. Former AKB48 member Kayo Noro was chosen as the captain of the group...
, which is intended to have a more mature image, and NMB48
NMB48
NMB48 is an all-female Japanese theater/idol group produced by Yasushi Akimoto. The group performs at NMB48 Theater on the basement of Yes-Namba Building in Namba, Osaka.-About:...
.
Another concept, first put into action in 2009, is general election
General election
In a parliamentary political system, a general election is an election in which all or most members of a given political body are chosen. The term is usually used to refer to elections held for a nation's primary legislative body, as distinguished from by-elections and local elections.The term...
s in which fans vote to determine the members who will participate in the recording of AKB48's next single
Single (music)
In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...
. In the last election, held in June–July 2011, where over a million votes were cast, 40 girls were chosen out of 152 members in AKB48, SKE48, SDN48, and NMB48. In 2010, a new and inventive selection method appeared: the girls competed against each other in a rock-paper-scissors
Rock-paper-scissors
Rock-paper-scissors is a hand game played by two people. The game is also known as roshambo, or another ordering of the three items ....
tournament for being on a single. The second tournament took place on September 20, 2011.
2005
In July 2005, Yasushi AkimotoYasushi Akimoto
is a Japanese television writer, lyricist, record producer, professor and vice president at Kyoto University of Art and Design. He also created some of Japan's top idol groups, Onyanko Club and the AKB48 franchise.- Career :...
held an audition for a new theater-based idol girl group. Of the 7,924 girls that applied, 45 passed the first round of auditions, detailed screening of the application documents. Finally, only 24 girls were chosen to be in the group.
On December 8, 2005, the group debuted in the theater with only 20 girls, later known as Team A. A new audition was announced, this audition was held in cooperation with Japanese telecom company NTT DoCoMo
NTT DoCoMo
is the predominant mobile phone operator in Japan. The name is officially an abbreviation of the phrase, "do communications over the mobile network", and is also from a compound word dokomo, meaning "everywhere" in Japanese. Docomo provides phone, video phone , i-mode , and mail services...
. It was the first audition ever where the applicants had to send in their audition video with their mobile phones. 19 of the 11,892 applicants were chosen to join AKB48, but in the end only 18 girls joined the group to become Team K in April 2006.
2006
In January 2006, AkimotoYasushi Akimoto
is a Japanese television writer, lyricist, record producer, professor and vice president at Kyoto University of Art and Design. He also created some of Japan's top idol groups, Onyanko Club and the AKB48 franchise.- Career :...
let Mariko Shinoda
Mariko Shinoda
is a singer, actress, fashion model, and one of members of the Japanese idol group AKB48.- Life and career :In October 2005 she failed an audition to be one of founding members of AKB48. She started working at a café in then-Akihabara 48 Theater as a staff member...
join the group without passing audition, after she won a popularity vote by fans, although she was working as a waitress at the Theater Cafe after she failed to attend the first audition back then.
AKB48 released its debut single "Sakura no Hanabiratachi
Sakura no Hanabiratachi
-Charts:-Reported sales:-Personnel:*Produced By: Yasushi Akimoto*Executive Producer: Yasushi Kubota, Kotaro Shiba*Creative Direction and Photography and Edit: Yasumasa Yonehara*Photography: Hirohisa Sako*Hair and Make Up: Hiromi Kawano...
" in February 2006, which made it to #10 on the Oricon
Oricon
, established in 1999, is the holding company at the head of a Japanese corporate group that supplies statistics and information on music and the music industry in Japan. It started as , which was founded by Sōkō Koike in November 1967 and became known for its music charts. Oricon Inc...
weekly charts and sold 22,011 units in its first week - surprising for a group on an indie label.
On March 1 AKB48 released their first photo book, Micchaku! "AKB48" ~Shashinshuu Vol.1 the DEBUT. On March 31 Yuki Usami graduates, becoming the first member to do so.
From April 1, 2006, Team K begins performances at the theater.
On June 7 they release their second indies single "Skirt, Hirari
Skirt, Hirari
-Charts:-Reported sales:...
", and sang their song first time on TV programs, Music Station
Music Station
is a Japanese music television program. It began broadcasting on October 24, 1986 and continues to be broadcast weekly in High-definition from 8PM-9PM on tv asahi...
and Music Fighter, on June 9, and on the 17th Ayako Uemura graduates.
In August 2006, they signed a major label contract with DefStar Records
DefSTAR Records
, is a Japanese record label, a subsidiary of Sony Music Japan.-History:*1997 - Takashi Yoshida, the president of Warner Music Japan, founded the label as ....
, a part of Sony Music Entertainment
Sony Music Entertainment
Sony Music Entertainment ' is the second-largest global recorded music company of the "big four" record companies and is controlled by Sony Corporation of America, the United States subsidiary of Japan's Sony Corporation....
. Their first single under DefStar Records, "Aitakatta
Aitakatta
-Charts:-Reported sales:...
", was released on October 25, 2006 and got to #12 on the Oricon weekly single charts. "Aitakatta" sold 25,544 copies, during the first 6 weeks charted on Oricon.
In October 2006, a new audition was announced to form Team B, resulting in the arrival of 13 new members in December 2006.
On November 3 & 4, 2006, AKB48 performs in their first concert AKB48 First Concert "Aitakatta ~Hashira wa Nai ze!~ at Nippon Seinenkan in Sendagaya, Shinjuku.
In December 2006, the first change was made to the three teams; transferring Kazumi Urano, Shiho Watanabe, and Natsumi Hirajima from Team A to Team B as supporting members. Ayumi Orii graduated from the group shortly after this, though appeared in the unit Crayon Friends from AKB48 after her graduation.
2007
On January 31, 2007, AKB48's fourth single (second on DefStar Records) "Seifuku ga Jama wo Suru" was released, reaching 7 on Oricon charts. There has been speculation that the PV and lyrics to this song are an allusion to enjo kōsaiEnjo kosai
means "compensated dating" and is a practice which originated in Japan where older men give money and/or luxury gifts to attractive women for their companionship and, possibly, for sexual favors. The female participants range from primarily school-aged girls to housewives. A common misconception is...
—voluntary underage prostitution—though this has not been confirmed.
On March 2, AKB48's second photo book AKB48 JUMP&CRY, which photos were taken by Kishin Shinoyama
Kishin Shinoyama
is a Japanese photographer.Shinoyama graduated from Nihon University. He worked with the Light Publicity agency while still a student, and freelanced after graduation....
on February 3, was released.
Their next single, "Keibetsu Shiteita Aijō
Keibetsu Shiteita Aijō
-Charts:-Reported sales:...
", which was released on March 18, featured a theme of school bullying and suicide throughout the lyrics and PV and reached 8 on the Oricon charts. AKB48's second concert tour, AKB48 Haru no Chotto dake Zenkoku Tour ~Madamada daze AKB48!~ began on March 10.
In April 2007, Team B was added to AKB48's official website; albeit with five fewer members than had originally been announced. This brought the group's numbers down from 53 to 48 - the first time since its creation that the member total reflected the group's name. Members Yū Imai, Michiru Hoshino, and Ayana Takada graduated at roughly the same time during June 2007. However, Takada was the only one of these to appear in the PV to the group's sixth single "Bingo!
Bingo! (AKB48 song)
-Charts:-Reported sales:...
", which was released on July 18, 2007.
In October and November respectively, Shiho Watanabe and Kayano Masuyama graduated.
On December 31, 2007, 43 members of AKB48 appeared on the 58th Annual Kōhaku Uta Gassen
Kohaku Uta Gassen
, more commonly known as simply Kōhaku, is an annual music show on New Year's Eve produced by Japanese public broadcaster NHK and broadcast on both television and radio, nationally and internationally by NHK's networks and some overseas broadcasters which bought the program...
for the first time. They sang as part of the Akihabara performance, with Leah Dizon
Leah Dizon
Leah Dizon is an American-born former gaijin tarento, singer, and model in Japan. Born and raised in Las Vegas, Nevada, she moved to Tokyo, Japan in 2006 to pursue a career in entertainment...
and Shōko Nakagawa
Shoko Nakagawa
is a Japanese idol, tarento, actress, voice actress, illustrator, and singer. She is best known as the presenter of Pokémon Sunday. She is the daughter of Katsuhiko Nakagawa, a celebrity in Japan in the 1980s....
following them. They became the largest number of people in a single group to be on stage at one time.
2008
AKB48 released their first studio album on New Year's DayNew Year's Day
New Year's Day is observed on January 1, the first day of the year on the modern Gregorian calendar as well as the Julian calendar used in ancient Rome...
, titled Set List: Greatest Songs 2006–2007. Their seventh single Romance, Irane
Romance, Irane
-Charts:-Reported sales:...
is released, reaching number 6 on the Oricon
Oricon
, established in 1999, is the holding company at the head of a Japanese corporate group that supplies statistics and information on music and the music industry in Japan. It started as , which was founded by Sōkō Koike in November 1967 and became known for its music charts. Oricon Inc...
charts.
On February 27, 2008, AKB48 released their tenth single, titled "Sakura no Hanabiratachi 2008". At the time of the release of their debut single "Sakura no Hanabiratachi", there was only Team A in AKB48. This 10th single features ten members from Team A, along with six selected members from Team K, and five selected members from Team B making it the 2008 version. It was planned that people who collected 44 posters of the single CD would be invited to a special event, but this act was suspected as the violation of the antitrust law
Competition law
Competition law, known in the United States as antitrust law, is law that promotes or maintains market competition by regulating anti-competitive conduct by companies....
and was eventually cancelled by DefStar Records. In August 2008, they moved from DefStar Records of Sony Music Entertainment to King Records.
In August 2008, Ayaka Kikuchi was fired, though she was later rehired through another audition.
On October 22, 2008, the single "Ōgoe Diamond
Ōgoe Diamond
is the 10th major single by the Japanese idol group AKB48, the 12th overall and the first on King Records, released on October 22, 2008. It was the first single for Jurina Matsui from SKE48 and also the first AKB48's single to feature a member of the sister group...
" was released from newly contracted King Records on the "You, Be Cool!" label, and finished the first week at number three in the Oricon
Oricon
, established in 1999, is the holding company at the head of a Japanese corporate group that supplies statistics and information on music and the music industry in Japan. It started as , which was founded by Sōkō Koike in November 1967 and became known for its music charts. Oricon Inc...
charts. It was AKB48's first single that reached top three of the chart.
On November 3, 2008, Rina Nakanishi
Rina Nakanishi
is an AV idol and former Japanese idol singer who has also used the name Rico Yamaguchi.-Life and career:Nakanishi dropped out of high school in Ōita Prefecture, Japan in 2005 to audition for the Japanese female pop singing group AKB48...
, Hitomi Komatani, Tomomi Ohe, Risa Narita, and Tojima Hana graduated.
2009
Yuki Matsuoka
is a voice actress from the Hirano-ku ward of Osaka. She graduated from Otemae Women's University in Nishinomiya. She is affiliated with Production Baobab.- 2001 :*Mo~tto! Ojamajo Doremi *Cosmic Baton Girl Comet-san...
and Nozomi Kawasaki graduated.
AKB48 released their 11th single, "10nen Zakura
10nen Zakura
is the 11th major single by the Japanese idol group AKB48, released on March 4, 2009. The single peaked at number 3 in the Oricon weekly singles chart.- Track listing :...
", on March 4, 2009. The single reached number three on the Oricon charts in the first week and eventually became the first single for them to sell over 100,000 copies on the Oricon charts.
On April 26, Mai Oshima
Mai Oshima
is a singer and a former member of the Japanese all-girl pop group AKB48.-As an AKB48 member:Oshima passed the first AKB48 audition in December, 2005 along with 23 other girls. She was assigned to Team A, and participated in most of AKB48's singles. On April 26, 2007, it was announced that her...
and Kaoru Hayano graduated. On May 24, Risa Naruse graduated.
AKB48 Team A became the honour guest for the Japan Expo in Paris between July 2 to 5, 2009, and featured English-lyric version of "Ōgoe Diamond
Ōgoe Diamond
is the 10th major single by the Japanese idol group AKB48, the 12th overall and the first on King Records, released on October 22, 2008. It was the first single for Jurina Matsui from SKE48 and also the first AKB48's single to feature a member of the sister group...
" first time.
AKB48's 12th single, "Namida Surprise!
Namida Surprise!
is the 12th major single by the Japanese idol group AKB48, released on June 24, 2009. The single peaked at number 2 in the Oricon weekly singles chart.- Track listing :...
", was released on June 24, the single include handshaking event ticket and a voting card (with a serial number) for their next single. "Namida Surprise!
Namida Surprise!
is the 12th major single by the Japanese idol group AKB48, released on June 24, 2009. The single peaked at number 2 in the Oricon weekly singles chart.- Track listing :...
" sold 104,180 copies in the initial week on the Oricon charts.
The 13th single, "Iiwake Maybe
Iiwake Maybe
- Members :Participating members were chosen by election. Top 21 members sang the A-side "Iiwake Maybe". Those, who were voted 22nd to 30th, sang the B-side "Tobenai Agehachō" under the name of Under Girls.- "Iiwake Maybe" :# Atsuko Maeda...
", released on August 26, 2009, surprisingly outsold SMAP
SMAP
SMAP is a Japanese boy band formed by Johnny & Associates. While originally consisting of six members, the current group members are Masahiro Nakai, Takuya Kimura, Goro Inagaki, Tsuyoshi Kusanagi, and Shingo Katori...
on its first day, taking the 1st place in the Oricon Daily Singles Chart, but eventually ranked 2nd for the week.
AKB48 had a US
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
debut concert at Webster Hall
Webster Hall
Webster Hall is a nightclub located at 125 East 11th Street, between Third and Fourth Avenues, near Astor Place, in Manhattan, New York City. Built in 1886, its current incarnation was opened by the Ballinger Brothers in 1992...
in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
on September 27, 2009.
In October 2009, their three singles "10nen Zakura
10nen Zakura
is the 11th major single by the Japanese idol group AKB48, released on March 4, 2009. The single peaked at number 3 in the Oricon weekly singles chart.- Track listing :...
", "Namida Surprise!
Namida Surprise!
is the 12th major single by the Japanese idol group AKB48, released on June 24, 2009. The single peaked at number 2 in the Oricon weekly singles chart.- Track listing :...
" and "Iiwake Maybe
Iiwake Maybe
- Members :Participating members were chosen by election. Top 21 members sang the A-side "Iiwake Maybe". Those, who were voted 22nd to 30th, sang the B-side "Tobenai Agehachō" under the name of Under Girls.- "Iiwake Maybe" :# Atsuko Maeda...
" were certified Gold by the Recording Industry Association of Japan
Recording Industry Association of Japan
The Recording Industry Association of Japan is an industry trade group composed of Japanese corporations involved the music industry...
at the same time for each shipments of 100,000 copies by September. Their 14th single, "River
River (AKB48 song)
"River" is the 14th major single by the Japanese idol group AKB48, released on October 21, 2009. It was the first AKB48's single to top the Oricon weekly singles chart, having sold 179,000 copies in its first week...
", was released on October 21, 2009, and hit number 1 on Oricon upon its debut.
2010
AKB48 released their 15th single, "Sakura no ShioriSakura no Shiori
is Japanese idol group AKB48's 15th single, released on February 17, 2010. The song was used as the theme song to the drama Majisuka Gakuen, starring Atsuko Maeda and many AKB48, SKE48 and SDN48 members....
", on February 17, 2010. The single topped the Oricon chart and sold over 300,000 copies in its first week, which is the best record in seven years of Japanese female artists. Their 16th single, "Ponytail to Chouchou
Ponytail to Chouchou
-Ponytail to Shushu:*Team A: Haruna Kojima, Atsuko Maeda, Mariko Shinoda, Aki Takajō, Minami Takahashi*Team K: Tomomi Itano, Minegishi Minami, Sae Miyazawa, Erena Ono, Yuko Oshima*Team B: Tomomi Kasai, Yuki Kashiwagi, Rie Kitahara, Miho Miyazaki, Mayu Watanabe....
", released on May 26, 2010, sold over 400,000 copies in its first day, and over 513,000 copies in its first week, making it AKB48's biggest selling single in its first week. On April 27, 2010, it was announced that AKB48 would be attending and performing in the United States at Anime Expo
Anime Expo
Anime Expo, abbreviated AX, is an American anime convention held in Los Angeles, California and organized by the non-profit Society for the Promotion of Japanese Animation . With rare exceptions, the convention is traditionally held on the July 4th weekend and lasts for four days...
, the nation's largest anime convention, as official guests of honor. AKB48 performed at a concert on July 1, 2010, at the Nokia Theatre.
At AKB48's concert at the Yoyogi National Gymnasium
Yoyogi National Gymnasium
is an arena in Yoyogi Park, Tokyo, Japan which is famous for its suspension roof design.It was designed by Kenzo Tange and built between 1961 and 1964 to house swimming and diving events in the 1964 Summer Olympics. A separate annex was used for the basketball competition at those same games...
on a Sunday in July 2010, it was announced that Team K member Erena Ono would be graduating from AKB48 to study acting abroad. Erena graduated from AKB48 on September 27, 2010 in a Team K theater performance.
On 23 October the band represented Japan and performed at the 7th Asia Song Festival
Asia song festival
Asia Song Festival, aka A-Song-Fe or ASF, is an annual Asian pop music festival held in South Korea, since 2004. It is hosted by Korea Foundation for International Culture Exchange and features artists from Asian countries...
, organised by Korea Foundation for International Culture Exchange, at the Seoul Olympic Stadium. On October 27, 2010 AKB48's new single "Beginner
Beginner (song)
-Beginner:*Team A: Haruna Kojima, Rino Sashihara, Mariko Shinoda, Aki Takajo, Minami Takahashi, Atsuko Maeda...
" was released. In only the first week, the 18th single sold 826,989 copies making it the highest first week sales for AKB48, as well as highest first week sales ever for a female idol group single. As of February 2011 the single has sold over 1,010,000 copies. At the end of October Mayu Watanabe
Mayu Watanabe
is a member of the Japanese idol group AKB48 Team B. She is also a member of Watarirouka Hashiritai and Team Dragon from AKB48.- 2007–2009 :In 2006, Watanabe was chosen out of 13,000 applicants to become a member of the Japanese idol group AKB48....
appeared on the cover of the December issue of UP to boy magazine together with Airi Suzuki
Airi Suzuki
is a Japanese pop singer and currently member of idol groups C-ute, Buono! and Hello! Project Kids. Both of her parents, Tōru and Kyoko Suzuki, are professional golfers, although her mother has already retired.- Career :...
from °C-ute. That was the first gravure collaboration between Hello! Project
Hello! Project
is the umbrella name for all female idol Japanese pop recording artists collective that are under contract with the Up-Front Group. The "mothership" group of Hello! Project is the super-group Morning Musume. Hello! Project's current leader is Risa Niigaki, the leader of Morning Musume...
and AKB48.
In November 2010, AKB48 performed in Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
for the first time. A 12-member team gave a concert on November 20 at the Japanese Pop Culture Festival which took place in Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
. Also in November 2010, AKB48 performed in the Cool Japan Night in Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
as part of the Anime Festival Asia X. This is followed by a 2nd performance also in Singapore at the Singapore Toy Games & Comics Convention.
2011
The first single of the year, named "Sakura no Ki ni NarōSakura no Ki ni Narō
is a 20th single by Japanese idol girl group AKB48, released on February 16, 2011.-Release information:It is the 20th major-label single released by AKB48. It was released in five versions: a limited type-A CD+DVD edition, a regular type-A CD+DVD edition, a limited type-B CD+DVD edition, a regular...
", was released on February 16. Upon the first day of release, AKB48 sold 655,000 copies of their single, beating their previous top record (568,000 copies of "Beginner
Beginner
Beginner Beginner Beginner (formerly Absolute Beginner is a German rap group from Hamburg, consisting of Eizi Eiz [alias Jan Delay/Eißfeldt], Denyo and DJ Mad.- Band history :...
"). The single sold 826,989 copies in its first week, AKB48's highest record.
In February, it was announced that Yūki Kanazawa and Manami Oku would be graduating from the group.
Their second studio album, named , was announced on 21 February 2011. This is their first original album, and it contains 11 new songs that were never released before, including the title track Koko ni Ita Koto. It was scheduled to be released in Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
on 6 April 2011.
On March 12, 2011 it was also announced on their blog that the AKB Theater would close due to the 2011 Tohoku earthquake and tsunami
2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami
The 2011 earthquake off the Pacific coast of Tohoku, also known as the 2011 Tohoku earthquake, or the Great East Japan Earthquake, was a magnitude 9.0 undersea megathrust earthquake off the coast of Japan that occurred at 14:46 JST on Friday, 11 March 2011, with the epicenter approximately east...
, and all public events were cancelled until further notice. Two days later, it was announced on their official blog that their concert , scheduled to be held on March 25–27 at Yokohama Arena
Yokohama Arena
is an indoor sporting arena located in Yokohama, Japan. The capacity of the arena is 17,000 and was opened in 1989. The arena was modeled after US sports venue Madison Square Garden in New York City. It is a five minute walk from the closest subway station, Shin-Yokohama Station on the JR/Yokohama...
, would be cancelled. Bank accounts had been opened to raise donations for earthquake and tsunami relief, as part of their project named . Under this project, they used the Yokohama Arena for their 2-day charity events starting on 26 March 2011 instead. 12 of their main members attended Okinawa International Movie Festival on the same day for the same purpose. Three days later, it was announced that ¥500 million will be donated by AKB48 groups AKB48, SKE48
SKE48
SKE48 is an all-female Japanese theater/idol group produced by Yasushi Akimoto. The audition was held during the summer and debuted in October 2008. SKE48 performs in the newly built studio in the renovated Sunshine Sakae in Nagoya, Aichi Prefecture, every Saturday...
, SDN48
SDN48
SDN48 is a Japanese idol girl group, created and produced by Yasushi Akimoto. SDN48 was created based on an "adult idol" concept. Former AKB48 member Kayo Noro was chosen as the captain of the group...
and NMB48
NMB48
NMB48 is an all-female Japanese theater/idol group produced by Yasushi Akimoto. The group performs at NMB48 Theater on the basement of Yes-Namba Building in Namba, Osaka.-About:...
, and their producer Yasushi Akimoto
Yasushi Akimoto
is a Japanese television writer, lyricist, record producer, professor and vice president at Kyoto University of Art and Design. He also created some of Japan's top idol groups, Onyanko Club and the AKB48 franchise.- Career :...
to these bank accounts. On the same day, the postponement of the release of their new album, was announced. Part of the proceeds from the sales of the album will be donated to the victims of this disaster. It was also announced that the group will hold a senbatsu election to determine the participating members for their 22nd single. On April 1, they also released a single, through the Recochoku website as a digital download, and will donate all profits for earthquake and tsunami relief. Dareka no Tame ni was originally recorded on a live album released in 2007.
On April 8, Manami Oku graduated after performing at a Team B stage on the same day.
On May 1, a new AKB48 unit named HKT48
HKT48
HKT48 is a Japanese female idol group based in Fukuoka. The group is produced by Yasushi Akimoto, and it is the third sister group to AKB48. The group's 21 first-generation members were announced on October 23, 2011, and their debut performance will take place at the end of 2011.HKT48 is named...
was announced. It will be based in Fukuoka
Fukuoka
Fukuoka most often refers to the capital city of Fukuoka Prefecture.It can also refer to:-Locations:* Fukuoka, Gifu, a town in Gifu Prefecture, Japan* Fukuoka, Toyama, a town in Toyama Prefecture, Japan...
in Kyushu
Kyushu
is the third largest island of Japan and most southwesterly of its four main islands. Its alternate ancient names include , , and . The historical regional name is referred to Kyushu and its surrounding islands....
, and their theater will be established in the Hawks Town Mall of Fukuoka’s Chuo ward.
On May 3, The Straits Times
The Straits Times
The Straits Times is an English language daily broadsheet newspaper based in Singapore currently owned by Singapore Press Holdings . It is the country's highest-selling paper, with a current daily circulation of nearly 400,000...
reported that AKB48's first overseas theater will be opened in Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
. It will be based in *scape Youth Park, and 16 members of AKB48 and sister groups will be performing concerts there for two days in a month, with two performances each day. Apart from the theater, there will also be an AKB48 Official Shop where fans can purchase official AKB48 merchandise, and the world's first AKB48 cafe where Japanese fusion food and desert will be served.
The AKB48 staff blog announced that the trainees Nau Yamaguchi and Sara Ushikobu will leave the group for undisclosed reasons. They will perform their last event as members on June 19.
AKB48 released their 21st singles album entitled "Everyday, Kachūsha" on 25 May 2011. On its release day 942,475 copies were sold and 1,333,969 copies in the first week making it the highest first-week single sales record in Japan to that date. Later, on June 7, AKB48 announced a new team titled "Team 4" ahead of their nationwide tour concerts in Japan. The team was formed of ten members, with six more members to be added later to complete the 16-member team. This also marked 'Team Kenkyuusei' losing the 'Team' from their name.
On June 11, 2011, It was announced at a handshake event that Aimi Eguchi
Aimi Eguchi
is a fictional Japanese idol. She is a CGI composite of various features of six existing members of the theater/idol group AKB48.Eguchi was announced as the group's newest member in June 2011. According to an official profile she was a 16-year-old from Saitama, north of Tokyo...
, a girl who had supposedly auditioned for NMB48, would be joining AKB48 as a trainee. It was later revealed that Aimi Eguchi was not a real person, and had been created to promote the Glico product Ice no Mi.
Oricon
Oricon
, established in 1999, is the holding company at the head of a Japanese corporate group that supplies statistics and information on music and the music industry in Japan. It started as , which was founded by Sōkō Koike in November 1967 and became known for its music charts. Oricon Inc...
announced on 22 June 2011 that AKB48 had the strongest album sales showing for the first half of 2011 in their sales ranking. They had the only two million-selling singles "Everyday, Kachūsha" and "Sakura no Ki ni Narō
Sakura no Ki ni Narō
is a 20th single by Japanese idol girl group AKB48, released on February 16, 2011.-Release information:It is the 20th major-label single released by AKB48. It was released in five versions: a limited type-A CD+DVD edition, a regular type-A CD+DVD edition, a limited type-B CD+DVD edition, a regular...
", which ranked as the best and second-best selling singles respectively. For the survey period between 27 December 2010 and 20 June 2011, AKB48 garnered ¥6.66 billion in total sales of all their merchandise.
In an announcement made on 28 June 2011, AKB48's producer Yasushi Akimoto
Yasushi Akimoto
is a Japanese television writer, lyricist, record producer, professor and vice president at Kyoto University of Art and Design. He also created some of Japan's top idol groups, Onyanko Club and the AKB48 franchise.- Career :...
revealed that he will be creating a group to become AKB48's "official rival". The group will be called and will debut with approximately 20 members. Yasushi Akimoto
Yasushi Akimoto
is a Japanese television writer, lyricist, record producer, professor and vice president at Kyoto University of Art and Design. He also created some of Japan's top idol groups, Onyanko Club and the AKB48 franchise.- Career :...
revealed that he teamed up with Sony Music Japan to produce this new group, whose auditions for members will start later this year.
AKB48 will release their 22nd single on 24 August 2011. The results of a Senbatsu held previously decided the participants of this single, and the results were revealed on 9 June 2011. Atsuko Maeda won the top position in this Senbatsu. The name of the single was then revealed to be on 29 June 2011. AKB48 will also be releasing their 23rd single in October 2011 and their 24th single in December 2011. The participants of the 24th single will be chosen in a Janken
Rock-paper-scissors
Rock-paper-scissors is a hand game played by two people. The game is also known as roshambo, or another ordering of the three items ....
tournament.
Two research students, Abe Maria and Iriyama Anna, were added to Team 4 as official members on 23 July 2011 At the same time, the captain of Team 4 was also revealed to be member Oba Mina.
AKB48 released their 23rd major single(25th overall), Kaze wa Fuiteiru
Kaze wa Fuiteiru
- Type B :- Theater Edition :- "Kaze wa Fuiteiru" :* Team A: Haruna Kojima, Rino Sashihara, Mariko Shinoda, Aki Takajō, Minami Takahashi, Atsuko Maeda* Team K: Tomomi Itano, Yūko Ōshima, Minami Minegishi, Sae Miyazawa, Yui Yokoyama...
on 26 October 2011. The single sold 1,045,937 copies on the first day of release, setting a new record for the first day sales of AKB48 singles, surpassing the previous record set by Flying Get
Flying Get
- Members :The participating members were chosen by general election. Top 21 voted members will sing the A-side, "Flying Get".- Members :The participating members were chosen by general election. Top 21 voted members will sing the A-side, "Flying Get".- Members :The participating members were...
.
2012
AKB48 will receive their first television animeAnime
is the Japanese abbreviated pronunciation of "animation". The definition sometimes changes depending on the context. In English-speaking countries, the term most commonly refers to Japanese animated cartoons....
series. This anime series is directed by Yoshimasa Hiraike
Yoshimasa Hiraike
-Anime involved in:*Aria The Natural: Screenplay, Storyboard , Episode Director *Excel Saga: Episode Director *Kaleido Star: Director , Assistant director*Pretear: Episode Director...
, while AKB48 producer Yasushi Akimoto
Yasushi Akimoto
is a Japanese television writer, lyricist, record producer, professor and vice president at Kyoto University of Art and Design. He also created some of Japan's top idol groups, Onyanko Club and the AKB48 franchise.- Career :...
will be in-charge of its planning and supervision of the production.
Single B-side units
-
- Special collaboration unit by AKB48, ShueishaShueishais a major publisher in Japan. The company was founded in 1925 as the entertainment-related publishing division of Japanese publisher Shogakukan. The following year, Shueisha became a separate, independent company. Magazines published by Shueisha include Weekly Shōnen Jump, Weekly Young Jump,...
and Weekly PlayboyWeekly Playboyalso known as or WPB is a Japanese weekly magazine published by Shueisha since 1966.This magazine is not a regional edition of the American Playboy magazine; the Japanese edition of that magazine was published as Monthly Playboy by Shueisha until its cancellation in January 2009.-People in... - Special collaboration unit by AKB48, Shueisha and Weekly Young JumpWeekly Young Jump, launched in 1979, is a weekly Japanese magazine that publishes various seinen manga in each issue. It is published by Shueisha under the Jump line of magazines.- History :...
- Special collaboration unit by AKB48 and Kagome Co.
- Special collaboration unit by AKB48, Shueisha
- MINT
- Special collaboration unit by AKB48 and AmebaAmeba (website)Ameba is a popular Japanese blogging and social networking website. Its main competitor is Mixi.In December 2009 Ameba launched , a micro-blogging platform competing with Twitter...
- Special collaboration unit by AKB48 and Ameba
- DIVA
Stand-alone units
- Chocolove from AKB48Chocolove from AKB48Chocolove from AKB48 is a unit consisting of three members from the idolgroup AKB48. It is the fourth unit under AKB48, and the first to release more than one single...
- Not yetNot Yet (band)Not Yet is a sub-unit of the all-female Japanese pop group AKB48.-History:The formation of Not Yet was announced at AKB48's Request Hour Set List Best 100 2011 on January 21, 2011...
- DiVADiVA (band)Diva is a sub-unit of the all-female Japanese pop group AKB48.-Debut:The formation of Diva was announced to Sayaka Akimoto and Sae Miyazawa on January 10, 2011, and disclosed to public by the all Diva members at AKB48 Theater on February 27, 2011, on the same day Akimoto finished the Tokyo...
Derivation units
- ICE from AKB48
- Special collaboration unit by AKB48 and Crayon Shin-chanCrayon Shin-chanis a Japanese manga and anime series written by Yoshito Usui.Crayon Shin-chan follows the adventures of five-year-old Shinnosuke "Shin" Nohara and his parents, baby sister, neighbors, and friends and is set in Kasukabe, Saitama Prefecture, Japan....
- Special collaboration unit by AKB48 and Idoling!!!
- Special collaboration unit by AKB48 and Yomiuri GiantsYomiuri GiantsThe are a professional baseball team based in Bunkyo, Tokyo, Japan. The team competes in the Central League in Nippon Professional Baseball, the top level of professional play in Japan. They play their home games in the Tokyo Dome, opened in 1988. The English-language press occasionally calls the...
- Special collaboration unit by AKB48 and Crayon Shin-chan
- Queen & ElizabethQueen & ElizabethQueen & Elizabeth is a sub-unit of the Japanese pop band AKB48 consisting of members Tomomi Itano and Tomomi Kasai. The unit is named after the fictional characters the girls portray in the Kamen Rider W television series and films...
- Special collaboration unit by AKB48 and Kamen Rider W
- Special collaboration unit by AKB48 and Dragon BallDragon Ballis a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Akira Toriyama. It was originally serialized in Weekly Shōnen Jump from 1984 to 1995; later the 519 individual chapters were published into 42 tankōbon volumes by Shueisha. Dragon Ball was inspired by the classical Chinese novel Journey to the...
- Special collaboration unit by AKB48 and Takara TomyTakara Tomyis a Japanese toy, children's merchandise and entertainment company created from the March 2006 merger of two companies: Tomy and long-time rival, Takara...
- Special collaboration unit by AKB48 and Kaspersky Lab
- Team Kishin from AKB48
- Special collaboration unit by AKB48 and Kishin ShinoyamaKishin Shinoyamais a Japanese photographer.Shinoyama graduated from Nihon University. He worked with the Light Publicity agency while still a student, and freelanced after graduation....
- Special collaboration unit by AKB48 and Kishin Shinoyama
- Team Z
- Special collaboration unit by AKB48 and Kyoraku Sangyo for "PachinkoPachinkois a type of game originating in Japan, and used as both a form of recreational arcade game and much more frequently as a gambling device, filling a niche in gambling in Japan comparable to that of the slot machine in Western gambling. A pachinko machine resembles a vertical pinball machine, but...
Zenigata HeijiZenigata Heijiis Japanese fictional character, the hero of a series of Japanese novels, films and TV programmes set in the Edo period of Japanese history. He is a policeman who catches criminals by throwing coins, the zeni of the title, thus Zenigata Heiji. The hero was created by novelist Kodō Nomura in 1937...
"
- Special collaboration unit by AKB48 and Kyoraku Sangyo for "Pachinko
Albums
- 2008: Set List: Greatest Songs 2006–2007
- 2010: KamikyokutachiKamikyokutachiis the 2nd album by the Japanese idol group AKB48, released in Japan on April 7, 2010. It contains 16 songs, 14 of which had been previously released on singles...
- 2010: Set List: Greatest Songs Kanzenban
- 2011: Koko ni Ita KotoKoko ni Ita Kotois the 3rd album by the Japanese idol group AKB48."Koko ni Ita Koto" was released in Japan on June 8, 2011 by King Records. There are 3 versions available: Limited Edition , Regular Edition , and Theater Edition .While all the group's albums had been almost entirely collections of previously...
Number-one singles
- 2009: "RiverRiver (AKB48 song)"River" is the 14th major single by the Japanese idol group AKB48, released on October 21, 2009. It was the first AKB48's single to top the Oricon weekly singles chart, having sold 179,000 copies in its first week...
" - 2010: "Sakura no ShioriSakura no Shioriis Japanese idol group AKB48's 15th single, released on February 17, 2010. The song was used as the theme song to the drama Majisuka Gakuen, starring Atsuko Maeda and many AKB48, SKE48 and SDN48 members....
" - 2010: "Ponytail to Shushu"
- 2010: "Heavy RotationHeavy Rotation (song)-Heavy Rotation:*Team A: Haruna Kojima, Atsuko Maeda, Haruka Nakagawa, Rino Sashihara, Mariko Shinoda, Minami Takahashi, Aki Takajo*Team K: Sayaka Akimoto, Tomomi Itano, Minami Minegishi, Sae Miyazawa, Erena Ono , Yuko Oshima,...
" - 2010: "BeginnerBeginner (song)-Beginner:*Team A: Haruna Kojima, Rino Sashihara, Mariko Shinoda, Aki Takajo, Minami Takahashi, Atsuko Maeda...
" - 2010: "Chance no JunbanChance no Junban-Chance no Junban:...
" - 2011: "Sakura no Ki ni NarōSakura no Ki ni Narōis a 20th single by Japanese idol girl group AKB48, released on February 16, 2011.-Release information:It is the 20th major-label single released by AKB48. It was released in five versions: a limited type-A CD+DVD edition, a regular type-A CD+DVD edition, a limited type-B CD+DVD edition, a regular...
" - 2011: "Everyday, Kachūsha"
- 2011: "Flying GetFlying Get- Members :The participating members were chosen by general election. Top 21 voted members will sing the A-side, "Flying Get".- Members :The participating members were chosen by general election. Top 21 voted members will sing the A-side, "Flying Get".- Members :The participating members were...
" - 2011: "Kaze wa FuiteiruKaze wa Fuiteiru- Type B :- Theater Edition :- "Kaze wa Fuiteiru" :* Team A: Haruna Kojima, Rino Sashihara, Mariko Shinoda, Aki Takajō, Minami Takahashi, Atsuko Maeda* Team K: Tomomi Itano, Yūko Ōshima, Minami Minegishi, Sae Miyazawa, Yui Yokoyama...
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External links
- AKB48 official website (Japanese)
- AKB48 official website (English)
- AKB48 King Records website (Japanese)
- AKB48 Official Shop Hong Kong (traditional Chinese)
- AKB48 Official Shop Hong Kong News (traditional Chinese)
- AKB48 Official Singapore Website (English)