How does akb48 work

The prerequisites for being an idol are youth, cuteness, and a squeaky-clean public record. Mediocrity is written into the whole concept behind AKB So AKB48 is a girl band with members. Logistically, how on earth does that even work? Unlike mainstream bands who subsist on gigs and arena tours, AKB48 have their own theatre in Tokyo where they perform to their legions every single night. Of course, nobody has the stamina to actually fulfil such a punishing schedule, so the band itself is split up into teams of around 18 members who split the duties amongst themselves.

Again, unlike mainstream bands, the list of members of AKB48 is constantly rolling. HKT48 opened its theater in Hakata, Fukuoka.

HKT48 is generally famous for their young talent and their cute aura. Aki-P noticed the growing fanbase in Jakarta, Indonesia, and he wished to take advantage of a growing economy before other Japanese companies did.

Most songs are translated into Indonesian. Most songs are translated into Chinese. Each sister group has their own Kenkyuusei team. When a member of the sister group announces her graduation, a kenkyuusei is promoted to the team. These subunits produce music separate from the overall group and often act as separate entities. The short answer to this is that most people do not. The 48G fandom is also a complex one, which will be discussed in the future as well but is currently out-of-scope for this overview.

To explain this would require a bit of a 48G history lesson, so I will reserve this section for each group's respective articles. Being an entertainment company, there are, of course, certain rules and policies.

The most well-known policy is the 48G's no-dating policy. However, this policy is not an official one, as stated by Aki-P on several occasions. Yes, this unofficial policy has been broken on some occasions, thus leading to scandals. Responses to this question would considerably vary.

However, these idols are special because much like anime, manga, sushi, or karaoke, the 48G has become a symbol of Japan. They are very amiable, and many Japanese people adore them, no matter the age or gender. Yes, their songs are catchy, and that is by design to make a more marketable product for business. However, if one delves into the lyrics of some songs, one will quickly notice how strong the lyrics are.

Aki-P also serves as the main lyricist for most of the 48G's music, and often, he incorporates the members' feelings and experiences into song lyrics, the best example of this being AKB48 Team B's song titled "Shonichi. Personally, I think it's what makes these idols NOT so special.

AKB48 was formed with fans in mind, and their performances are the same. Rather than touring or performing on music shows though they also do this , the band has their very own theater in Akihabara, with daily shows.

With a capacity of only people per show, fans are required to enter a ticket lottery mon ths in advanc e in order to purchase tickets. The considerable number of idols in AKB48 is partly so that the daily performances are possible — members rotate in order to allow non-performing members to get some rest or conduct photo shoots, interviews, tours or other activities in the music industry. They are economic powerhouses, selling everything from bubble gum to computers, and they even represent Japan in political shows and military recruitment schemes.

AKB48 has its own manga series, video games and various sister groups and theaters scattered throughout Japan and Asia. Thanks to that, the idol industry continues to rake in tons of revenue from physical media sales, despite its predominately young and digital-savvy fandom.

They have yet to break into the biggest music market — the United States. Their single, Sakazaka , was released on in December. In January, Team 8 held various concerts, followed by solo concerts for the 13th Generation, 16th Generation and Mukaichi Mion. Furthermore, the 7th Special Stage "Thumbnail" started on May AKB48 received this stage as a gift for having the most members rank in Senbatsu in the General Election The general election was held once again in June.

The total vote count for Sashihara Rino broke another record with , votes and marked her fourth win third consecutive. Watanabe Mayu announced her graduation at the election. In September, the Rock-Paper-Scissor event was held once again and the winner would receive a solo debut. Members could participate in groups or alone, and the winners were Aramaki Misaki and Unjo Hirona. They debuted as fairy w! On November 22, the 50th single 11gatsu no Anklet was released.

It served as Watanabe Mayu's graduation single and also contained her graduation song. It was also the last time Minegishi Minami was chosen for senbatsu for a long time. This was a collection of all the music videos from their 32nd up to their 48th single. Yasushi Akimoto announced that AKB48 Group members would participate in the next season of Produce to be broadcast next summer.

At the 12 Year Anniversary Stage, a team shuffle was announced. All the kennin positions for all other 48 Groups were removed, but all Team 8 members received a kennin position, meaning all Team 8 members were now also part of Team A, Team K, Team B or Team 4. The role of co-captain was also removed.

Okada Nana and Yokoyama Yui also held their first solo concerts. On January 21, the Japanese 48 Groups held the third Draft Kaigai, where members would pick girls from an audition.

The chosen members would become Kenkyuusei bound to specific teams. On March 14, the 51st single Jabaja was released and featured Okada Nana in her first A-side center position.

The old team formations performed songs together, and then the new team formations performed songs together to mark the shuffle that took place in December On May 30, the 52nd single Teacher Teacher was released. On Day 1, it sold 1,, copies and broke the record set by Bokutachi wa Tatakawanai. Over the next few weeks, it sold 1,, copies, making it AKB48's second-best selling single of all time first still being Sayonara Crawl with 1,, reported sales.

In June, the tenth and last General Election was held. It was held in Nagoya, and also marked the ten year anniversary of SKE Her winner single, Sentimental Train , was released on September However, Jurina could not participate in the filming of the music video due to health reasons and a CGI sketch version of her was included in the original release of the video.

On June 12, the new teams performed new stages for the first time. In September, the 9th and last Rock-Paper-Scissor tournament was held. Like in the previous year, the winner would receive a solo debut and members could participate alone or for a team.

The winners were Tada Kyoka and Matsuda Yumi. Hitomi and Nako were also front row members for the single, and a B-side of the single featured the Top 16 Produce 48 members excluding Hitomi, Sakura and Nako. She appointed Mukaichi Mion as her successor. Moeka became the fastest member to ever receive a solo concert.

The center for this single was Yahagi Moeka , making her the member to achieve the quickest A-side center position ever except for Maeda Atsuko.

Okada Nana and Murayama Yuiri held a duet concert. It sold 1,, copies and was the highest first-week seller of at this point. AKB48 theater performances were also stopped around this time. However, Watanabe Mayu had retired from the entertainment industry in June 1, , and did therefore not participate. In June, the theater started holding "Social Distance" Stages, in which a smaller number of members would perform on stage.

In the beginning, there was no live audience, but viewers could stream the theater performances from home. Slowly but surely, members started holding graduation stages again.

In September, a limited number of people was admitted back into the theater. On September 18, most of AKB48's discography finally became available for streaming worldwide.

Early releases singles before Oogoe Diamond as well as most early stage recordings were not available. The stage recordings did not become available in every region, but most. The full Senbatsu first performed the song live on the special program Ongaku no Hi , with Oda Erina filling in for Kashiwagi Yuki who was recovering from her surgery. The group's style is loosely characterized as "bubblegum pop and synchronized dancing" that appeals to pre-pubescent girls as well as older males who support the group's merchandise.

Mari Yamaguchi of Associated Press wrote that the "performances can seem orchestrated. As the girls sing and dance in unison, fans follow a cheering formula" and likened the fan responses to a Kabuki audience. Monica Hesse of The Washington Post described the group's style: "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.

The music is typical Japanese pop: fast-paced numbers with high-pitched, singalong choruses. The pop group has achieved enormous popularity in Japan, and has been characterized as a social phenomenon. According to Oricon, AKB48 had sold a total of 11,, singles as of January 6, , breaking the record of "the most singles sold in Japan by a female group".

In , "Beginner" and "Heavy Rotation" placed, respectively, first and second in the list of Japan's best selling singles for the year, while in and AKB48 occupied the top five positions on the Oricon Yearly Singles Chart. AKB48 holds several Guinness World Records, including being recognized on December 1, as the "largest pop group", when it consisted of 48 members. It set the record for "Most Number of Same Product Television Endorsement within 24 Hours" on February 28, , after 90 of its group members appeared in 90 different commercials that were aired in the Kanto, Kansai and Tokai regions of Japan.

Over the years, AKB48 has received criticism for sexually suggestive lyrics, which some felt were unsuitable for its young members. When asked about it by CNN's Anna Coren, AKB48 founder Yasushi Akimoto, who also writes all of AKB48's song lyrics, said that his works were a way of "depicting reality" and were meant to provoke in listeners thought about difficult issues.

Underwear shots, teenage members hugging, kissing, and taking a bath together were complained about. In a TV commercial for the candy brand Puccho, which aired from March 15, , featured AKB48 members in schoolgirl uniforms passing a candy from mouth to mouth.

Although the girls held the candy between their teeth, some viewers were offended, and called it "encouraging homosexuality", apart from being simply "unhygienic" and a "bad example to children". In the second week of January , the group came under fire when an image that showed a boy's hands covering a topless Tomomi Kasai's breasts was intended to be published in Shukan Young Magazine.

The image was subsequently pulled from the magazine and from Kasai's upcoming photobook, where it would have been the cover picture. The sale of the magazine was postponed from January 12 to January In February , member Minami Minegishi appeared in a YouTube video with a shaved head to apologize after it was reported by a tabloid that she had spent a night with a man in violation of her contract.

The act of shaving her hair was seen as extreme and drew criticism on how the situation was handled. Labor expert and writer for The Japan Times Hifumi Okunuki argued that a no-dating clause in a labor contract would be in violation of Japanese labor laws. A few days after the March 11, earthquake and tsunami, AKB48's official blog reported that that a sum of more than million yen had been donated to the Japanese Red Cross Society.