AKB48

Name	AKB48
Background	group_or_band
Origin	Akihabara, Tokyo, Japan
Genre	Japanese pop
Years active	-present
Label	AKSDefStar RecordsKing Records/You! Be Cool
Url
Current members	Team A DetailsTeam K DetailsTeam B Details
Past members	Former Members

is an all-female Japanese theater/idol group produced by Yasushi Akimoto. Unlike other idol groups in Japan, AKB48 is theater-based and have their own theater in Akihabara (a district in Tokyo) where they perform once every weekday, and more than once on both Saturday and Sunday. The theater is set up on the 8th floor of Don Quijote. 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, Romanized representation of 'Akihabara'. AKB48 currently holds the Guinness World Records for being the "Pop group with the greatest number of members".

AKB48 is divided into three teams: Team A, Team K and Team B. Currently, there are 16 members in Team A, 16 members in Team K, and 16 members in Team B, getting to the total of 48 members in AKB48. Minami Takahashi is the captain of Team A, Sayaka Akimoto is the captain of Team K, and Yuki Kashiwagi is the captain of Team B.

History

2005

, 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. Finally, only 24 girls were chosen to be in the group.

In December 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, Mariko Shinoda joined the group. Ayako Uemura and Yuki Usami of Team A both graduated during 2006.

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.

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.

In December 2006, the first change was made to the three teams; taking members Kazumi Urano, Shiho Watanabe, and Natsumi Hirajima from Team A to Team B. 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 under 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. Their next single, "Keibetsu Shiteita Aijō", featured a theme of bullying throughout the lyrics and PV.

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.

On December 31, 2007, 46 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 entitled . On February 27, 2008, AKB48 released their 10th single entitled, "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 10 members from team A, along with 6 selected members from team K, and 5 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.

On October 22, 2008, the single "Ōgoe Diamond" was released and finished the first week with number-three in Oricon charts. It was AKB48's first single that made into top three of the chart.

2009

AKB48 released their 11th single "Jūnen Zakura" on March 4, 2009. The single made into number three of Oricon charts in the first week and eventually became the first single for them to sell over 100,000 copies on the Oricon charts.

AKB48 Team A became the honour guest for the Japan Expo in Paris between July 2 to 5, 2009.

AKB48 12th single "Namida Surprise!" 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 on September 27, 2009.

In October 2009, their three singles "Jūnen 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.

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. 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 become AKB48's first 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 had their concert on July 1, 2010, at the Nokia Theatre. On 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 and is now studying acting abroad in London. 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.

Members

Former members

Graduated Members

; Team A (December 6, 1984 in Saitama) Graduated on March 31, 2006. (July 20, 1985 in Nagano) Graduated on January 25, 2007. (November 19, 1985 in Chiba) Graduated on June 26, 2007. (February 10, 1994 in Saitama) Graduated on November 30, 2007. (June 15, 1989 in Tokyo) Graduated on November 23, 2008. (December 16, 1988 in Saitama) Graduated on November 23, 2008. (July 11, 1988 in Saitama) Graduated on November 23, 2008. (June 26, 1988 in Ōita) Graduated on November 23, 2008. (March 1, 1991 in Tōkyō) Graduated on November 23, 2008. (August 23, 1987 in Kanagawa) Graduated on February 27, 2009. (September 11, 1987 in Chiba) Graduated on April 26, 2009. (November 22, 1988 in Shizuoka) Graduated on May 27, 2010. Now, SDN48 Member.

; Team K (April 17, 1985 in Saitama) Graduated on June 22, 2007. (July 21, 1988 in Aichi) Graduated on June 22, 2007. (December 12, 1992 in Tōkyō) Graduated on April 26, 2009. (August 13, 1993 in Saitama) Graduated on May 24, 2009. (August 25, 1983 in Chiba) Graduated on February 21, 2009. Now, SDN48 Member. (October 28, 1983 in Tōkyō) Graduated on February 21, 2009. Now, SDN48 Member. (November 26, 1993 in Tōkyō) Graduated September 27, 2010.

; Team B (October 25, 1987 in Hyōgo) Graduated on October 2, 2007. (December 18, 1991 in Osaka) Graduated on September 29, 2008. (April 15, 1993 in Saitama) Graduated on February 1, 2009. (October 7, 1987 in Kanagawa) Graduated on February 1, 2009. (October 29, 1989 in Tochigi) Graduated on August 23, 2009. (October 23, 1985 in Saitama) Graduated on April 16, 2010. Now, SDN48 Member. (April 12, 1988 in Hiroshima) Graduated on April 16, 2010. Now, SDN48 Member.

; Team Research Students (March 14, 1988 in Mie) Graduated on November 26, 2007. Now, SKE48 Member. (January 24, 1989 in Aichi) Graduated on August 26, 2008. Now, SKE48 Member. (February 18, 1991 in Kanagawa) Graduated on January 19, 2009. (December 18, 1992 in Saitama) Graduated on January 19, 2009. (January 25, 1993 in Kagawa) Graduated on January 19, 2009. (February 11, 1991 in Tōkyō) Graduated on January 19, 2009. (June 22, 1991 in Tochigi) (Before Team B) (Demoted on January 25, 2009). Graduated on April 18, 2009. (August 24, 1992 in Kanagawa) Graduated on April 26, 2009. (November 30, 1991 in Tōkyō) Graduated on June 9, 2009. (July 28, 1991 in Shiga) Graduated on December 4, 2009. (June 24, 1991 in Kanagawa) Graduated on December 4, 2009. (February 6, 1991 in Yamanashi) Graduated on December 4, 2009. (April 29, 1994 in Saitama) Graduated on December 4, 2009. (July 13, 1995 in Kanagawa) Graduated on December 4, 2009. (June 6, 1995 in Tōkyō) Graduated on December 4, 2009. (March 17, 1994 in Kanagawa) Graduated on December 4, 2009. (June 28, 1995 in Chiba) Graduated on December 4, 2009. (June 5, 1988 in Chiba) Graduated on December 4, 2009. (September 24, 1993 in Saitama) Graduated on June 20, 2010. (March 28, 1995 in Tōkyō) Graduated on June 20, 2010. (March 23, 1997 in Tōkyō) Graduated on June 20, 2010. (March 19, 1996 in Saitama) Graduated on October 5, 2010. (January 22, 1992 in Tōkyō) Graduated on October 5, 2010.

Members who left

; Team K (February 7, 1986 in Saitama) Left on June 17, 2006.

; Condidate for Team B (August 10, 1992 in Tōkyō) Left on before April 8, 2007. (February 12, 1989 in Kanagawa) Left on before April 8, 2007. (March 18, 1990 in Tōkyō) Left on before April 8, 2007. (April 28, 1990 in Philippines) Left on before April 8, 2007. (July 14, 1993 in Tōkyō) Left on before April 8, 2007.

; Research Students (April 30, 1990 in Saitama) Left on before November 15, 2007. (December 22, 1989 in Aichi) Left on before November 15, 2007. (May 22, 1993 in Chiba) Left on before November 15, 2007. (September 1, 1984 in Tōkyō) Left on before November 15, 2007. (January 18, 1991 in Tōkyō) Left on before November 15, 2007. (May 14, 1992 in Kanagawa) Left on before August 23, 2008. (April 29, 1990 in Ibaraki Prefecture|Ibaraki) Left on after September 9, 2008. (May 23, 1991 in Tōkyō) Left on January 16, 2009. Left on July 14, 2009. (May 31, 1993 in Tōkyō) Left on July 18, 2009. (July 3, 1993 in Tōkyō) Fired on July 25, 2009. (December 12, 1995 in Tōkyō) Fired on December 4, 2009. (June 21, 1993 in Tōkyō) Left on January 6, 2010. (April 30, 1994 in Saitama) Left on February 1, 2010. (December 25, 1992 in Saitama) Left on June 20, 2010. (May 17, 1995 in Chiba) Left on July 6, 2010. Left on October 23, 2010. Left on October 27, 2010. Left on December 3, 2010.

Units

DIVA

Derivation Units

ICE from AKB48

Chocolove from AKB48

:*Special collaboration unit by AKB48 and Crayon Shin-chan :*Special collaboration unit by AKB48 and Idoling!!! :*Special collaboration unit by AKB48 and Yomiuri Giants :*Special collaboration unit by AKB48, Shueisha and Weekly Playboy :*Special collaboration unit by AKB48, Shueisha and Weekly Young Jump

Queen & Elizabeth

:*Special collaboration unit by AKB48 and Kamen Rider W :*Special collaboration unit by AKB48 and Kagome Co. :*Special collaboration unit by AKB48 and Dragon Ball :*Special collaboration unit by AKB48 and Takara Tomy

MINT

:*Special collaboration unit by AKB48 and Ameba :*Special collaboration unit by AKB48 and Kaspersky Lab

Team KISHIN from AKB48

:*Special collaboration unit by AKB48 and Kishin Shinoyama

Discography

Albums

2008:

2010: Kamikyokutachi

Number one singles

2009: "River"

2010: "Sakura no Shiori"

2010: "Ponytail to Shushu"

2010: "Heavy Rotation"

2010: "Beginner"

2010: "Chance no Junban"

Filmography

For individual member's filmography, see their articles.

Movies

Densen Uta (2007.8.25)

: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.

TV/Dramas

Music Station (2006.6.9, 2009.3.13)

:First time on Music station; performed Skirt, Hirari.

Densha Otoko Deluxe -Saigo no Seisen- (2006.9.23)

:AKB48 (members back then) appeared as a group, as themselves.

Karada de Asobo

:All 4 members of "Honegumi from AKB48" (Tomomi Itano, Manami Oku, Erena Ono, and Kayano Masuyama) appeared.

AKB48+10! (2007.10-)

AKB1ji59fun! (2008.1-2008.3)

AKB0ji59fun! (2008.4-2008.9)

AKB Nemosu TV (2008.7-)

AKBingo! (2008.10-)

AKB Nemosu TV season 2 (2009.7.10-)

Shukan AKB (週刊AKB) (2009.7.10-)

AKB Nemosu TV season 3 (2009.10-)

Majisuka Gakuen (マジすか学園) (2010.1-2010.3)

Ariyoshi AKB Kyowakoku (有吉AKB共和国) (2010.3-)

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 (2007.4-) (2007.4-) (2007.10-) (2010.4.6-) (2010.4.9-) (2010.10.7-)

Web Drama

Suzuki Wagon R presents Kissa Versailles (2007.3.14-5.7)

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

See also

SKE48

SDN48

NMB48

References

External links

AKB48 official website

AKB48 official website (English)

AKB48 Official YouTube Channel

AKB48 King Records website

YouTube official channnel

Category:AKB48 Category:Japanese girl groups Category:Sony Music Japan artists