

I was very nervous when I sang songs or danced under the spotlight in front of strangers. When asked if she had any difficulties after joining the group, Takahashi said, “Yes. Akimoto with a theater in Tokyo's Akihabara district as our activity base.” At first, it was only decided we would sing songs in events produced by Mr.

įounding member Minami Takahashi said: “Twenty members passed the first audition, but only five remain.

The group was developed by songwriter Yasushi Akimoto, who also produced Onyanko Club, an all-girl idol group in the 1980s. Instead fans have such a strong connection to AKB48 that they feel like they can easily meet the idols.
#High school days akb48 tv
AKB48 is different from conventional idols that come to stardom through TV programs. ĪKB48 was formed in December 2005 for performances at the AKB48 Theater in Tokyo's Akihabara district. The group's membership grew to a size unprecedented in the nation's entertainment history to satisfy the demand for running the show every day. Hideki Sukenari wrote in the Yomiuri Shimbun: “The basic principle of AKB48 is "idols you can go to see." While Onyanko Club and Morning Musume, former leading all-girl idol groups, became popular through a TV program, AKB48 started out in a small theater in Tokyo's Akihabara district in 2005. It is as if Miley Cyrus, Taylor Swift and the entire cast of “Twilight” were placed into a saucepan and simmered on a low boil until nothing remained but the sweet, cloying essence of fame, and if that fame were then poured into pleated tartan skirts and given pigtails. Tickets to the band’s shows are distributed via lottery. The group’s past 11 singles have topped Japanese charts, and Japanese citizens get to vote on which members will appear in which videos. When its members get older, they graduate and are replaced with trainee AKB48s. It is the largest pop group in the world. The group contains 60-ish members, selected through a rolling “American Idol”-esque audition process. Monica Hesse wrote in the Washington Post: “How to explain AKB48. The win also reflects the group's popularity among the general public. Receipt of the awards means a group's songs were listened to the most, or sung most often at karaoke bars and other places. These awards are decided based on a group's contribution to profits through royalties during a one-year period. In the JASRAC disc awards announced in May 2012, AKB48 claimed the top 3 awards: gold, silver, and bronze. The election was televised at seven theatres in Hong Kong, Taiwan and South Korea, while official AKB48 stores have opened in Hong Kong, Taiwan and Singapore, where the all-girl group regularly performs.”Īs of early 2012 AKB48 had sold more than 10 million singles and albums. With the group's popularity showing no sign of flagging, the AKB48 juggernaut is looking to far-flung shores and becoming popular overseas. The more popular members are said to spend seven to eight hours a day at such events. But other events at which AKB48 members shake hands and "meet and greet" their fans are ongoing - though unfortunately still subject to fraud. Unfortunately, some fans have been ripped off when trying to buy tickets to the immensely popular shows. These days, tickets to AKB48's Akihabara theatre are extremely hard to obtain.

“Conventional idols appearing on TV, for example, were less accessible. During the early days of AKB48, there were times when only seven of the theatre's 250 seats were occupied.ĪKB-48's success and popularity is largely teh result of their acessibility, proximity and close relationship developed with its fans. When the group was created in December 2005 to perform in Akihabara, Tokyo, at a theatre owned by its management company it was largely ignored. It was the first million-seller in Japan since 2007. Their single “ Beginner “ topped the 1 million seller mark in January 2011. In December 2010, AKB48 was officially recognized by the Guinness World Records as the world's largest pop group. Three of these eight singles have sold more than 1 million copies.” Since "River" was released in October 2009, AKB48's last eight singles have hit the top spot in the weekly singles chart, according to entertainment information provider Oricon Co. Mutsumi Morita wrote in the Yomiuri Shimbun, “Ubiquitous media darlings who sell more than 1 million CDs whenever they release a new song, the popularity of all-girl idol group AKB48 is nothing less than a social phenomenon. AKB48 - a roughly 48-member group consisting of subgroups Team A, Team K and Team B, each with roughly 16 girls in their late teens and early 20s - is one of the most popular idol groups in Japan.
