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AKB48

AKB48 is an all-female Japanese theater/idol group produced by Yasushi Akimoto. AKB48 is theater-based and has its own theater in Akihabara (a district in Tokyo) where the group performs once every weekday, and more than once on both Saturday and Sunday. The theater is set up on the 8th floor of Don Quijote.[1] Some of the title songs released as a single have been made a tie-in song for a television show or a television advertisement. The name derives from a shortened form of 'Akihabara'. AKB48 currently holds the Guinness World Record for being the "Pop group with the greatest number of members".[2]

AKB48 is divided into three teams: Team A, Team K and Team B. There are a total of 56 members as of April 9, 2011, with 16 members each in team A and K, 15 members in team B,[3] and 9 members without team assignment, 8 of those promoted on December 8[4] and one on February 12, 2011.[5] Minami Takahashi is the captain of Team A, as well as the de-facto leader of the entire group,[6] Sayaka Akimoto is the captain of Team K,[7] and Yuki Kashiwagi is the captain of Team B.

History

2005

File:AKB48Theater.jpg
AKB48 Theater in Akihabara, Tokyo

In July 2005, Yasushi Akimoto 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.

2006

In January 2006, Akimoto 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 pass 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 Usami Yuki 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.

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 kōsai—voluntary underage prostitution—though this has not been confirmed.

On February 3, AKB48's second photo book AKB48 JUMP&CRY, which photos were taken by Kishin Shinoyama, 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 respectivley, Watanabe Shiho and Masuyama Kayano graduate.

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 most 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 Day, 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.[8] In August 2008, they moved from DefStar Records of Sony Music Entertainment to King Records.

In August 2008, Kikuchi Ayaka was fired (She was rehired through another later audition).[citation needed]

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, Nakanishi Rina, Komatani Hitomi, Ohe Tomomi, Narita Risa, and Tojima Hana graduated.

2009

On February 11, Noguchi Reina, Matsuoka Yuki and Kawasaki Nozomi 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, Oshima Mai and Hayano Kaoru graduated. On May 24, Naruse Risa graduated.

AKB48 Team A became the honour guest for the Japan Expo in Paris between July 2 to 5, 2009,[9] 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. Their 13th single, "Iiwake Maybe", was released on August 26, 2009.

AKB48 had a US debut concert at Webster Hall in New York on September 27, 2009.[10]

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.[11] Their 14th single, "River", was released on October 21, 2009, and hit number 1 on Oricon upon its debut.

2010

AKB48 released their 15th single, "Sakura no Shiori", 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.[12] Their 16th single, "Ponytail to Shushu", 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 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.

2011

The first single of the year, named "Sakura no Ki ni Narō", 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").[13] The single sold 826,989 copies in its first week, AKB48's highest record.[14]

In February, it was announced that Yūki Kanazawa and Manami Oku would be graduating from the group.

Their second studio album, named Koko ni Ita Koto (ここにいたこと), was originally scheduled to be released on April 6. However, it was later announced that the album's release date will be pushed back to 8 June 2011 due to the 2011 Tohoku earthquake and tsunami, and it was also mentioned that part of the proceeds from the album will be donated to the victims of this disaster.[15] 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.

On March 14, it was announced on their official blog that their concert "Takamina ni tsuite ikimasu (たかみなについて行きます, lit. "(We) will follow Takamina")", scheduled to be held on March 25–27 at Yokohama Arena, would be cancelled, and bank accounts had been opened to raise donations for earthquake and tsunami relief, as part of their project named "Dareka no tameni" (誰かのために, lit. "on someone's behalf").

On March 15, it was announced to donate 500 million yen on those bank accounts as AKB48 groups, including SKE48, SDN48, NMB48, and Yasushi Akimoto. On the same day on their official blog, as well as postponement of the release of their new album, Koko ni Ita Koto (ここにいたこと).[15] It was also annouced that the group will hold a Senbatsu to determine the participating members for their 22nd single.[15]

On March 26, they used the Yokohama Arena, which would have been used for a 3-day concert, for their 2-day charity events under "Dareka no Tameni" project, although 12 main members attended Okinawa International Movie Festival on the same day for the same purpose.

On April 1, they released a single, "Dareka no Tame ni: What can I do for someone?" (誰かのために -What can I do for someone?-), which was originally on a live album released in 2007, through the Recochoku website as a digital download, and will donate all profits for earthquake and tsunami relief.

On April 8, Manami Oku graduated after performing at Team B stage on the same day.

On May 1, a new AKB48 unit named HKT48 was announced.[16] It will be based in Fukuoka in Kyushu, and their theater will be established in the Hawks Town Mall of Fukuoka’s Chuo ward.[16]

On May 3, The Straits Times reported that AKB48's first overseas theater will be opened in Singapore.[17] 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.[17] Apart from the theater, a 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, will be set up.[17]

The AKB48 staff blog announced that Nau Yamaguchi and Sara Ushikobu from Team Kenkyūsei will leave the group for undisclosed reasons.[18] They will perform their last event as members on June 19.[18]

AKB48 released their 21st singles album entitled "Everyday, Kachūsha" on 25 May 2011.[19] On its release day 942,475 copies were sold [19] and 1,333,969 copies in the first week making it the highest first-week single sales record in Japan to that date. [20]

Members

Team A

Team K


Team B

Regular Members (Teams Not Assigned)

  • Miori Ichikawa (市川 美織) (February 12, 1994 in Saitama)
  • Anna Mori (森 杏奈) (March 21, 1994 in Chiba)
  • Mariya Nagao (永尾 まりや) (March 10, 1994 in Kanagawa)
  • Shiori Nakamata (仲俣 汐里) (July 25, 1992 in Tokyō)
  • Mariko Nakamura (中村 麻里子) (December 16, 1993 in Chiba)
  • Mina Ōba (大場 美奈) (April 3, 1992 in Kanagawa)
  • Haruka Shimada (島田 晴香) (December 16, 1992 in Shizuoka)
  • Haruka Shimazaki (島崎 遥香) (March 30, 1994 in Saitama)
  • Miyu Takeuchi (竹内 美宥) (January 12, 1996 in Tokyō)
  • Suzuran Yamauchi (山内 鈴蘭) (December 8, 1994 in Chiba)

Team Kenkyūsei (チーム研究生)

  • Maria Abe (阿部 マリア) (November 29, 1995 in Kanagawa)
  • Nana Fujita (藤田 奈那) (December 28, 1996 in Tokyō)
  • Anna Iriyama (入山 杏奈) (December 3, 1995 in Chiba)
  • Rina Izuta (伊豆田 莉奈) (November 26, 1995 in Saitama)
  • Rena Katō (加藤 玲奈) (July 10, 1997 in Chiba)
  • Rina Kawaei (川栄 李奈) (February 12, 1995 in Kanagawa)
  • Marina Kobayashi (小林 茉里奈) (February 24, 1996 in Tokyō)
  • Natsuki Kojima (小嶋 菜月) (March 8, 1995 in Chiba)
  • Ayaka Morikawa (森川 彩香) (March 24, 1996 in Saitama)
  • Wakana Natori (名取 稚菜) (June 7, 1995 in Tokyō)
  • Sara Ushikubo (牛窪 紗良) (February 15, 1995 in Tokyō)
  • Nau Yamaguchi (山口 菜有) (January 19, 1994 in Kanagawa)


Former members

Main article: List of former members of AKB48

Single Units

  • Under Girls (アンダーガールズ)
  • Theater Girls (シアターガールズ)
  • Team PB (チームPB)
  • Team YJ (チームYJ)
  • Yasai Sisters (野菜シスターズ)
    • Special collaboration unit by AKB48 and Kagome Co.
  • MINT
    • Special collaboration unit by AKB48 and Ameba
  • DIVA

Units

Derivation Units

Discography

Main article: AKB48 discography

Media

For individual member's filmography, see their articles.

Movies

The main casts were Yuko Oshima, Sayaka Akimoto, Haruna Kojima, and Atsuko Maeda. The AKB48 group themselves were shown at a scene containing a live concert.

Manga

TV/Dramas

  • AKB48+10! (2007.10.02-2009.09.05)
  • AKB1ji59fun! (AKB1じ59ふん!, AKB 1:59)(2008.01.24-2008.03.27)
  • AKB0ji59fun! (AKB0じ59ふん!, AKB ):59)(2008.04.07-2008.09.29)
  • AKBINGO! (2008.10.01-) (Nihon TV)
  • AKB48 Nemousu TV (AKB48ネ申テレビ, Family Theatre,ファミリー劇場, Family Gekijō)
    • Season 1 (2008.7.13-2008.10.12)
    • Special 1 (2008.12.24)
    • Season 2 (2009.07.10-2009.09.18)
    • Season 3 (2009.10.9-2009.12.18)
    • Special 2 (2009.12.24)
    • Special 3 (2010.03.27)
    • Special 4 (2010.04.30)
    • Season 4 (2010.07.04-2010.09.12)
    • Bangaihen(Extra edition) (2010.09.23)
    • Special 5 (2010.09.23)
    • Season 5 (2010.10.10-2010.12.19)
    • Special 6 (2010.12.25)
    • Special 7 (2010.12.26)
    • Special 8 (2011.04.17)
    • Season 6 (2011.04.24-)
  • Shukan AKB (週刊AKB, Weekly AKB) (2009.07.10-) (TV Tokyo)
  • AKB1/48 (2009.11.18-2010.06.17)
  • Majisuka Gakuen (マジすか学園, Serious High School) (TV Tokyo)
    • Season 1(2010.01.08-2010.03.26)
    • Season 2(2011.04.08-)
  • Ariyoshi AKB Kyōwa Koku (有吉AKB共和国, Ariyoshi AKB Republic) (2010.03.29-) (TBS Television)
  • AKB-Kyu Gourmet Stadium (AKB-級グルメスタジアム, AKB-Class Gourmet Stadium) (Skachan (スカチャン, Sukachan))
    • Season 1 (2010.06.27-2010.08.15)
    • Season 2 (2010.12.05-2011.02.13)
  • AKB600sec. (2010.07.05-2010.07.29) (Nihon TV)
  • AKB and xx! (AKBと××!, AKB to chome chome!)(2010.07.13-) (Yomiuri TV)
  • Akemashite AKB! ((あけましてAKB! 2011年もガチでいきます 生で晴れ着で全員集合 大新年会スペシャル)) (2011.01.01) (Nihon TV)
  • Mou hitotsu no AKB48 "1 Miri Saki no Mirai" (Another AKB48 Documentary "Future in 1 millimeters ahead", もうひとつのAKB48ドキュメンタリー「1ミリ先の未来」) (NHK General)
  • Sakura Kara no Tegami ~AKB48 Sorezore no Sotsugyo Monogatari~(桜からの手紙 〜AKB48 それぞれの卒業物語〜, Letters from Cherry Blossoms ~AKB48 Graduation Stories~)(2011.02.26-2011.03.06) (Nihon TV)

Radio

  • Countdown Japan (2006.4-2007.3)
Few members appeared on the radio, differing every week.
  • AKB48 no Yonpachi After (2006.4-2006.9)
  • ON8 (2006.11-)
Section of the show called "HashiraNIGHT with AKB48" on Mondays
  • AKB48 Konya wa Kaeranai... (AKB48 今夜は帰らない...) (2007.4-)
  • AKB48 no Zenryoku de Kikanakya Damejan!! (AKB48の全力で聴かなきゃダメじゃん!!) (2007.4-)
  • AKB48 Ashita made Mou chotto. (AKB48 明日までもうちょっと。) (2007.10-)
  • LISTEN? Live 4 Life (リッスン? 〜Live 4 Life〜) (2010.4.6-)
  • AKB48 no All Night Nippon (AKB48のオールナイトニッポン) (2010.4.9-)
  • AKB48 Akimoto Sayaka Miyazawa Sae no Ukkari Channel (AKB48秋元才加・宮澤佐江のうっかりチャンネル) (2010.10.7-)

Web Drama

All AKB48 Team K members appear; former member Ayumi Orii as a star.

See also

References

  1. ^ "AKB48 Official Site｜Where to see them".
  2. ^ "AKB48 is officially the world's biggest group".
  3. ^ "AKB48公式サイト｜メンバー情報" (in Japanese). (does not reflect recent promotion and graduation)
  4. ^ AKB48 Theater 5 years anniversary special live report (AKB48劇場５周年特別記念公演レポ) AKB48 Official blog dated 2010-12-10 Template:Ja icon
  5. ^ It is second appraisal today (今日は二次審査) AKB48 Official blog dated 2011-02-13 Template:Ja icon
  6. ^ Yasushi Akimoto described her as "eldest daughter of 48-sisters", at the joint interview to him and Takahashi in June 2010, recorded and broadcast "AKB5400sec." by Nihon TV in July 2000
  7. ^ "ＡＫＢ秋元、涙の完走でキャプテン復帰" (in Japanese).
  8. ^ "AKB48「ポスター44種類コンプでイベント招待」企画、「独禁法違反」のおそれで中止" (in Japanese). ITmedia News. 2008-02-28. Retrieved 2009-09-04. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |trans_title= ignored (|trans-title= suggested) (help)
  9. ^ "Come and discover AKB48 pop sensation!". 2008-02-25. Archived from the original on 2009-04-27. Retrieved 2009-05-12.
  10. ^ "AKB48 U.S. DEBUT CONCERT". newyork-tokyo.com. Retrieved 2009-10-14.
  11. ^ "ゴールド等認定作品一覧　2009年9月" (in Japanese). RIAJ. Retrieved 2009-10-14.
  12. ^ "AKB48 climbs to the top with choir song". Yeinjee.com. Retrieved 2010-03-01.
  13. ^ "AKB48 breaks single-day sales records, sells over 655,000 copies". Asia Pacific Arts. 02/18/2011. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  14. ^ "AKB48 sets record with Sakura no Ki ni Narou". Stareastasia. 03/01/2011. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  15. ^ a b c "AKB48 reschedules album, announces upcoming singles and next Senbatsu". Natalie, Tower Records. Tokyograph. 29 March 2011. Retrieved 2011-05-22. Translated from original articles by Natalie and Tower Records.
  16. ^ a b "Fukuoka-based HKT48 begins taking applications". Mantan Web, AKB48. Tokyograph. 1 May 2011. Retrieved 2011-05-22. Translated from original articles on Mantan Web and AKB48's official website.
  17. ^ a b c "S'pore to house Japanese girl idols' first overseas theater". The Straits Times. The Straits Times, Asiaone. 3 May 2011. Retrieved 2011-05-22. A reproduction of original article published in The Straits Times on 3/5/2011.
  18. ^ a b "AKB48 research students Yamaguchi, Ushikobu to quit". Sponichi Annex. Tokyograph. 12 May 2011. Retrieved 2011-05-26. Translated from original article on Sponichi Annex.
  19. ^ a b "AKB48: "Everyday, Kachusha" almost sells 1 million in one day, Oshima Yuko leads election". SOricon. Tokyograph. 25 May 2011. Retrieved 2011-05-30. Translated from original article on Oricon.
  20. ^ "AKB48 breaks Mr.Children's reign on the Oricon chart". HPriest. tokiohive. 2011-05-03. Retrieved 2011-06-01.
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