AKB48
AKB48 is a Japanese idol musical girl group named after the Akihabara area in Tokyo, where the group's theater is located. AKB48 has sold more records than any other female musical act in Japanese history. AKB48's producer, Yasushi Akimoto, wanted to form a girl group with its own theater and performing daily so fans could always see them live. This "Idols You Can Meet" concept includes teams which can rotate performances and perform simultaneously at several events and "handshake" events, where fans can meet group members. Akimoto has expanded the AKB48 concept to several girl groups within Japan, and internationally in China, Indonesia, Thailand, Taiwan, Philippines and Malaysia.
AKB48 have been characterized as a social phenomenon. They are among the highest-earning musical acts in Japan, and are the seventh-best-selling girl group worldwide. For example, their 2012 sales from record and DVD/Blu-ray releases reached $226 million, earning the group the top spot in the 2012 artist ranking. By April 2019, the group had sold over 60 million records, including over 6 million albums. At least 35 of AKB48's singles have topped the Oricon Weekly Singles Chart, with at least 30 singles selling over a million copies each, making the group the highest selling musical act in Japan in terms of singles sold. Their highest selling single, "Teacher Teacher", sold over 3 million in 2018 according to Billboard / Soundscan. Between 2010 and 2020, AKB48's singles occupied at least the top two spots of the Oricon Yearly Singles Chart. As of their 61st single, they sold over 70 million copies. With their 66th single released, they ranked #1 on Orion 53 consecutive times, starting with "RIVER" in 2009.
Concept
AKB48 was founded as "idols you can meet". Japanese idols are entertainers/performers who appeal directly to fans for support. Close interactions between fans and idols allow idols to cultivate and maintain loyal fan followings. The group's chief producer, Yasushi Akimoto, said that his goal was to create a unique idol group which, unlike other idol groups which perform occasional concerts and appear primarily on television, would perform regularly in its own theater. The AKB48 Theater is in the Don Quijote store in Akihabara, Tokyo.The group is split into several teams, reducing its members' workload and enabling AKB48 to perform simultaneously in several places. According to former member Misaki Iwasa, each team has its own theme. Team A represents freedom; Team B is idol-like, with cute costumes, and Team K has a strong, powerful image. According to an early press release, the group was intended to have 16 members on each of three teams, for a total membership of 48; but its membership has varied over time, and has exceeded 120 people. New members are called trainees who are understudies for the group, performing occasionally in the theater as a team.
The group members' ages range from their early teens to over 30, and they are selected from regular auditions. Members are not allowed to date, and must be well-behaved; any violation of these restrictions is to be punished, possibly by expulsion from the group. AKB48 has a system that allows members to "graduate" from the group when they are older and are replaced by trainees who are promoted. Monica Hesse of The Washington Post described the AKB48 audition process as "rolling American Idol-esque".
History
2005–2006: Creation and independent releases
In July 2005, Yasushi Akimoto held an audition for a new theater-based idol girl group. Of the 7,924 who auditioned, 24 were chosen as first-generation group members. On December 8, 20 members debuted as Team A in the AKB48 Theater performing "Party ga Hajimaru yo" to an audience of seven; attendance quickly increased. In January 2006, AKB48 cafe waitress Mariko Shinoda joined Team A as a "1.5 generation" member when her popularity with patrons prompted Akimoto to give her a special audition.The group's second audition was held in cooperation with telecommunications company NTT DoCoMo in February 2006, with applicants submitting audition videos on mobile phones. Of 11,892 applicants, 19 were selected, and 18 joined AKB48 as Team K in April. Team K performed Party ga Hajimaru yo and Team A moved to a new stage program, Aitakatta.
AKB48 released its first independent-label single, "Sakura no Hanabiratachi", in February 2006. It entered Oricon's weekly Top 10 chart, with first-week sales of 22,011. On March 31, Yuki Usami became the first member to "graduate" from the group. On June 7 AKB48 released its second independent single, "Skirt, Hirari", which sold 13,349 copies on its first day. The group made its first television appearance two days later, and signed a contract with DefStar Records in August.
2006–2007: ''Set List: Greatest Songs 2006–2007''
In October 2006 AKB48 announced auditions for Team B, and 13 girls were chosen out of 12,828 applicants in December. The group's first DefStar Records single, "Aitakatta", was recorded by 20 members of Teams A and K and released on October 25. It debuted at number 12 on the Oricon weekly singles chart, selling 25,544 copies in its first six weeks, and remained on the chart for a total of 65 weeks. On November 3–4 AKB48 performed its first concert, "AKB48 First Concert: Aitakatta ~Hashira wa Nai ze!~" at Nippon Seinenkan in Shinjuku. The group performed "Aitakatta" on the New Year's Eve TV program 58th NHK Kōhaku Uta Gassen as a part of the "Nihon ga Hokoru Saisentan! Special Medley". At 43 members, the group set a program record for the most people in one group onstage simultaneously. AKB48 made its first lineup change in December, transferring Kazumi Urano, Shiho Watanabe and Natsumi Hirajima from Team A to Team B as supporting members.AKB48's second major-label single, "Seifuku ga Jama o Suru", was released on January 31, 2007 and debuted at number seven on the Oricon Top 10 chart. Its music video and lyrics hinted at the subject of enjo kōsai, triggering controversy and negative reviews. On March 18 AKB48 released "Keibetsu Shiteita Aijō"; debuting at number eight on the Oricon chart, it dropped to number 98 in its second week. The group's second concert, "AKB48 Haru no Chotto dake Zenkoku Tour ~Madamada daze AKB48!~" on March 10, had poor ticket sales.
In April 2007 AKB48 posted its Team B roster on its website, with five fewer members than originally announced; for the first time, its membership numbered 48. The group's fourth single, "Bingo!", was released on July 18. AKB48's sixth single, "Yūhi o Miteiru ka?", was released on Halloween 2007 and sold 18,429 copies.
2008–2010: ''Kamikyokutachi''
On New Year's Day 2008, AKB48 released its first album, Set List: Greatest Songs 2006–2007, a collection of the group's singles and live song lists. The group's seventh major-label single, "Romance, Irane", was released on January 23 and reached number six on the Oricon Top 10 chart in its first week.On February 27, the group released its eighth major-label single, "Sakura no Hanabiratachi 2008", a reprise of its Team A debut single. This version featured ten members from Team A, six from Team K and five from Team B. The single's CD included a poster, and a promotion was planned in which fans who collected all 44 posters would be invited to a special event. The promotion was later canceled by DefStar Records amid concerns about possible violations of antitrust laws.
In June 2008, AKB48 announced plans to launch a sister group, SKE48, in Sakae, Nagoya. In August, the group moved from DefStar Records to King Records. That month Ayaka Kikuchi was the first member to be fired from the group, for "immature behavior" involving a leaked purikura photo of her with a boyfriend. Kikuchi returned to the group after a 2010 audition.
On October 22, AKB48's tenth single, "Ōgoe Diamond", was released on King Records' You Be Cool label. With 11-year-old SKE48 member Jurina Matsui as the single's center and cover girl, it was the first single featuring a member of AKB48's sister group and debuted at number three on the Oricon Top 10 weekly chart.
The group released its 11th major-label single, "10nen Sakura", on March 4, 2009. Also reaching number three on the Oricon charts in its first week, it was the group's first single to sell over 100,000 copies. The group's 12th major-label single, "Namida Surprise!", was released on June 24. Promotions included a handshaking-event ticket and a ballot for a member to headline its next single. "Namida Surprise!" sold 104,180 copies in its first week on the Oricon charts. AKB48's 13th single, "Iiwake Maybe", was released on August 26. Outselling rival SMAP's single, it reached number one on the Oricon Daily Singles Chart and number two on the Oricon Weekly Singles Chart.
AKB48's Team A was a guest of honor at the Japan Expo in Paris from July 2–5, 2009, performing an English version of "Ōgoe Diamond". The group made its U.S. debut with a show at Webster Hall in New York City on September 27.
In October, three AKB48 singles were certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of Japan. Its 14th single, "River" released on October 21, debuted atop the Oricon Top 10 weekly chart and was the group's first number one.
AKB48 released its 15th major-label single, "Sakura no Shiori", on February 17, 2010. In its first week, the single topped the Oricon chart with over 300,000 copies sold, the most by a Japanese female artist in seven years. This was the group's last single until the release of their first King Records album, Kamikyokutachi, which would top the Oricon album chart and be certified double platinum by the RIAJ for sales of over 500,000 copies.
2010–2011: ''Koko ni Ita Koto''
AKB48's 16th single, "Ponytail to Chouchou", was released on May 26, 2010. Its sales exceeded those of the previous single, with over 400,000 copies sold on its first day and over 513,000 in its first week. On April 27, Anime Expo, the largest anime convention in the United States, announced that AKB48 would be a guest of honor, and the group performed on July 1 at the Nokia Theatre.On October 23, AKB48 represented Japan at the seventh Asia Song Festival, organized by the Korea Foundation for International Culture Exchange, at Seoul Olympic Stadium. Four days later the group released its 18th single, "Beginner". It sold 826,989 copies in its first week, the highest first-week sales for a female idol group single. AKB48 member Mayu Watanabe appeared on the cover of the December issue of the idol magazine UP to boy with Airi Suzuki from the Japanese girl group Cute, the first gravure collaboration between Hello! Project and AKB48.
In November 2010, AKB48 participated in several events outside Japan. On November 20, 12 members of the group performed at the Japanese Pop Culture Festival in Moscow. AKB48 performed at the Cool Japan forum in Singapore as part of Anime Festival Asia X, and at the Singapore Toy, Games and Comics Convention. Group graduates in 2010 included second-generation member Erena Ono, who left on September 27 to pursue an acting career overseas.
The group's first 2011 single, "Sakura no Ki ni Narō", was released on February 16. It sold 655,000 copies on its first day, surpassing "Beginner's" first-day sales of 568,000. By the end of its first week the single sold 942,479 copies, the group's best and the fastest sales in Japan since 2000.
On February 21, AKB48 announced its first studio album, Koko ni Ita Koto, which would include 11 new tracks and was scheduled for an April 6 release. Due to the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami, the group stopped its AKB48 Theater performances and canceled some of its public events. AKB48 began the "Dareka no Tame ni" project, collecting donations for earthquake and tsunami relief. One of its concert venues, the Yokohama Arena, was used for a two-day charity event beginning on March 26 and 12 AKB48 members attended the Okinawa International Movie Festival that day for the same purpose. On March 15, AKB48 announced that ¥500 million would be donated by the group, its sister groups SKE48, SDN48 and NMB48 and associates of AKS, its management company. Koko ni Ita Kotos release was postponed until June 8, with part of the album's proceeds donated to disaster victims. On April 1 the group released the charity single "Dareka no Tame ni " on the Recochoku website as a digital download, with all proceeds earmarked for earthquake and tsunami relief.