AKB48 YouTube Channel
Both Kodansha and Sony have been pretty stubborn about AKB48 videos on YouTube. Thankfully, after years of wait, AKB48 launched their own official YouTube channel last Wednesday.
Continue»
Tampilkan postingan dengan label AKB48. Tampilkan semua postingan
AKB48 Janken Senbatsu
In a strange and unexpected announcement, the management have announced that the lineup of AKB48′s December single will be decided by a Jankenpon (Rock-Paper-Scissors) Tournament which will be held this coming Tuesday.
Continue»
Heavy Rotation
AKB48's new single features a fan voted lineup
Heavy Rotation is AKB48′s 18th single. Days before its release last week, it was reported that over 650,000 copies had been shipped to stores. However many remained skeptical, believing surely that their last single’s sales were inflated by the voting campaign. The numbers are in now and AKB48 breaks the record again with 527,336 copies sold in its first week.
Continue»
AKB48 Fashion Book
Featuring rather a lack of clothes
This year’s photobook charts are being topped by AKB48. The top selling book is non-other than the AKB48 Fashion Book, which has sold more than 70,000 copies to date. Also appearing among the top 10 are two gravure books from Maeda Atsuko and the AKB48 Overseas Travel Diary.
Continue»
AKB48 General Election Guide Book 2010
A guide to AKB48 and SKE48's combined force of 104
Grabbed this AKB48 General Election Guide Book 2010 on a whim from the local Kinokuniya, which has recently started stocking up on AKB48 books of all sorts. A little late, since it was meant to be a pre-election mook and was released prior to the results of the Top AKB48 Members 2010. Inside you’ll find interviews with last year’s Top 10 AKB48 Members, the staff, as well as various lists and rankings.
Continue»
Top AKB48 Members 2010
Two weeks since AKB48 released Ponytail to Shushu. The final votes for the 2010 AKB48 Senbatsu election are in and the numbers tallied. Presented are the member rankings for this year that were announced only hours ago. The results will surprise!
Continue»
Ponytail to Shushu
AKB48's new summer themed single
Ponytail to Shushu is AKB48′s newest single after their recent chart topping album Kamikyokutachi. First press versions of the single contain the ballot cards for this year’s member election. As a result, Ponytail to Shushu has sold more than 500,000 copies since its release last week, making it the best selling CD this year (after Arashi’s Monster). It also takes the cake for the highest first week sales for any female artist ever.
Continue»
Majisuka Gakuen
AKB48's new drama is hard to take seriously
Majisuka Gakuen (マジスカ学園) is a midnight drama staring AKB48 that was recently aired in Japan back in March. Majisuka Rock & Roll, the B-Side from AKB48′s last single, served as the show’s theme song while the single itself, Sakura no Shiori was the drama’s ending theme. Majisuka Gakuen roughly translates to English as “Are you serious? Academy”. Not unlike other late night dramas, its a nonsensical show with little literary value, tolerable only by hardcore fans of the cast.
Continue»
Top 10 AKB48 Members
Personal Judging. Unofficial.
With a group of 48 members, it is really difficult for non-fans to tell apart one AKB48 girl from the next. Based off a public poll conducted late last year, this is a listing of the most popular members. A summary of each idol will hopefully help new viewers identify some of the members in the future.
Continue»
Kamikyokutachi
On April 2010 AKB48 released Kamikyokutachi (神曲たち) to major success. Kamikyokutachi (which literally translates to God Tunes) is their second major album after 2008′s “Best Of” set list. It sold a godly 300,000 copies within its first week and charted number one on global charts.
Continue»
Sakura no Shiori
The new AKB48 single is due in a few weeks time on the 17th of February. Like any good fan, I’ve already pre-ordered it to complete my collection of AKB48 singles. This time the title is called Sakura no Shiori (Sakura Bookmark) and it will be their 17th single. What’s special is that apart from a Theater-exclusive version there will be 2 different normal versions of the single.
Continue»
RIVER
AKB48's new single sweeps away the charts
AKB48′s latest single River was released on October 21st. I had pre-ordered my copy but it took me a while to get it since Yan helped to collect it. He needed to get a couple of singles from Ikimonogakari. River is probably AKB48′s most popular single right now, having sold more than 200,000 copies so far. It’s currently Japan’s second most sold single this year by any female artist.
Iiwake Maybe
Iiwake Maybe is AKB48′s 13th major release. It is especially notable for a variety of reasons, the first being that is featured a fan elected lineup of the top 21 girls for 2009. It was also voted AKB48′s most popular song last year. Due to continual use of Iiwake Maybe’s uniforms in performances and press, the outfit also remains AKB48′s most iconic getup.
Continue»
Namida Surprise!
Namida Surprise! (涙サプライズ!/Teary Surprise!) was AKB48′s 12th official single (the first two indies are generally neglected) and their 14th overall. The single was notable for being the first to include a voting card for fans to elect their favorite AKB48 members. The Top AKB48 Girls voted in would be chosen to perform their subsequent single, Iiwake Maybe.
Continue»
10nen Sakura
10nen Sakura/10年桜 (pronounced Junen Sakura) is AKB48′s 10th major single and the 13th overall. The normal single was released in March 2009 by King Record’s You, Be Cool! (an office dedicated entirely to AKB48), while the theater edition was released by the New King Records label.
Continue»
Oogoe Diamond
AKB48's big break
Two months after signing onto King Records, AKB48 released their 11th physical single, Oogoe Diamond (大声ダイヤモンド). The single was special in that it was the first to feature Matsui Jurina, the front girl of AKB48′s new Nagoya based spin-off, SKE48. The 11 year old Jurina, even took the center position for the single, displacing AKB48′s own cover girl Maeda Atsuko for the first time in history, to the displeasure of many AKB fans.
Continue»
Baby! Baby! Baby!
In July 2009, while in the midst of changing record labels, AKS (AKB48′s management) released Baby! Baby! Baby! as a digital download for NTT Docomo phones only. Making it AKB48′s 3rd indies and their only digital single.
Continue»
Sakura no Hanabiratachi 2008
Continue»
Romance, Irane
AKB48's 9th single toys with fans hearts
Romance, Irane (Romance, I Don’t Need It) from the second set of Himawari group songs, was released as AKB48′s 9th single in January 2008. The single sold a total of 23,209 copies during its 5 weeks on the Oricon charts. Despite the title, the songs lyrics voice the conflicting thoughts of a girl uncertain about love, rather than a declaration of independence.
Continue»
Yuuhi wo Miteiru ka?
Yuuhi wo Miteiru ka? (夕陽を見ているか？/ Are You Watching the Sunset?) is AKB48′s 8th single and their second as part of the combined Himawari group. It’s a bittersweet but comforting melody appropriate for its fall release, the lyrics reflect upon daily troubles and shortcomings, while motivating the listener to press on.
Continue»