Kuramochi Asuka Solo Debut Single [Itsumo Soba ni] Tracklist

Kuramochi Asuka's solo debut single [Itsumo Soba ni] will be released on 29 May 2013. As previously reported, this will be released in one CD+DVD type, and 5 "one coin" CD only types, costing just 500 yen each. Each of these types has a cover design chosen by a magazine. The "one coin" types include a voting ticket to select your favourite cover, and one winner who guesses the correct order of popularity of all 5 covers gets to spend a day at the horse races with Mocchi.

On our last post, only the 5 "one coin" type covers were revealed. Today the remaining CD+DVD cover was revealed on Kuramochi's website, pictured on top. The tracklist was also updated.

The coupling song [Guuzen no Mikata] is common to all types but the CD+DVD Type contains an extra track, [Himawari]. This was also the title of Mocchi's unit song in Himawari-gumi's 1st Stage [Boku no Taiyou], so could be a solo version of that song.

Kuramochi Asuka 1st Single
Itsumo Soba ni
いつもそばに
29 May 2013

Type A 1,600yen	[CD] 01. Itsumo Soba ni 02. Guuzen no Mikata 03. Himawari 04. Itsumo Soba ni (instrumental) 05. Guuzen no Mikata (instrumental) 06. Himawari (instrumental) [DVD] 01. Itsumo Soba ni (Music Video) 02. Making of Kuramochi Asuka TV-CM Shooting
Type 1~5 500yen	[CD] 01. Itsumo Soba ni 02. Guuzen no Mikata 03. Itsumo Soba ni (instrumental) 04. Guuzen no Mikata (instrumental)

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Nogizaka46 Announces New Center: Shiraishi Mai

Announced during Nogizaka46's handshake event on 20th April, Nogizaka46 will have a new center for their 6th single. Shiraishi Mai will be replacing Ikoma Rina, who has been the center of Nogizaka46 since the group was formed back in 2011.

Currently the title of the single as well as the release date has not been announced, but the senbatsu line up was revealed. The Hachi fukujin for the single are:
Shiraishi Mai (center)
Matsumura Sayuri
Hashimoto Nanami
Sakurai Reika
Ikuta Erika
Ikoma Rina
Nishino Nanase
Takayama Kazumi

And the remaining 8 senbatsu members are:
Ito Marika
Inoue Sayuri
Nakada Kana
Wakatsuki Yumi
Hoshino Minami
Akimoto Manatsu
Fukagawa Mai
Saito Yuuri

In (Senbatsu): Ito Marika, Saito Yuuri
Out (Senbatsu): Ito Nene, Nagashima Seira

In (Hachi Fukujin): Nishino Nanase , Takayama Kazumi
Out (Hachi Fukujin): Akimoto Manatsu, Hoshino Minami

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JKT48's 1st Single [RIVER] Will Release Next Month

JKT48 have officially announced that they will be releasing their first single [RIVER] next month. The single is still a translation of AKB48's single, not yet their original song. No exact release date or tracklist has been announced as of yet.

JKT48 first performed RIVER at a Heavy Rotation special show in the JKT48 Theater last week, and again just yesterday during the [AKB48 Group Rinji Soukai] Concert in Nippon Budoukan.

This will be the first time JKT48 is using the 16 member Senbatsu system for their songs. The songs in their previous album [Heavy Rotation] featured all the 23 members of Team J. The senbatsu members for RIVER will still only include members of Team J, but the members that made it into senbatsu are:
Devi Kinal Putri (captain)
Jessica Vania
Rena Nozawa
Gabriella Maragareth Warouw
Melody Nuramdhani Laksani
Rica Leyona
Nabilah Ratna Ayu
Delima Rizky
Shania Junianatha
Jessica Veranda
Rezky Wiranti Dhike
Stella Cornelia
Beby Chaesara Anadila
Ayana Shahab
Aki Takajo
Nakagawa Haruka


As JKT48 still does not have an original song, the system of releasing singles in Indonesia is very different. All of JKT48's previous singles were released digitally, and then compiled into 1 Heavy Rotation album which they recently released. RIVER is the first single to be release in a CD+DVD format, which surprised many JKT48 fans.

Recently, the JKT48 Trainees have also been performing Mirai no Kajitsu, a song specially for the 2nd generation of JKT48. It could likely be the coupling song of RIVER.

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[AKB48 Group Rinji Soukai] Concert Promotions and Concurrent Team Changes

With today's [AKB48 Group Rinji Soukai] Concert at Nippon Budokan, we got a couple of member promotions as well as shocking member shuffles. First of all, the remaining 12th generation kenkyuusei were promoted today.

Promotions
Sasaki Yukari promoted to Team A.
Hirata Rina promoted to Team K.
Oomori Miyu promoted to Team B.

Last year during Tokyo Dome concert it was announced that Yokoyama Yui, Kitahara Rie, Kotani Riho and Ishida Anna will hold concurrent positions in NMB48, SKE48 and AKB48 respectively. Today the 3 members were released from their concurrent positions with new members from AKB filling them. Not only them but a lot of members were transferred to different teams, now holding posts in two teams.

Concurrent position cancellations
AKB48 Team K Kitahara Rie is no longer in SKE48 Team S
AKB48 Team A Yokoyama Yui is no longer in NMB48 Team N
SKE48 Team S Ishida Anna is no longer in AKB48 Team B
NMB48 Team N Kotani Riho is no longer in AKB48 Team A

New concurrent positions
Oba Mina → AKB48 Team B / SKE48 Team KII
Ichikawa Miori → AKB48 Team B / NMB48 Team N
Furuhata Nao → SKE48 Team E / AKB48 Team K
Yagura Fuuko → NMB48 Team M / AKB48 Team A
Kodama Haruka → HKT48 Team H / AKB48 Team A
Miyazawa Sae → SNH48 / AKB48 Team K
Suzuki Mariya → SNH48 / AKB48 Team A
Takajo Aki → JKT48 / AKB48 Team B

Along with that Sashihara Rino holds a position as the HKT48 theater manager as well as HKT48 Team H member.


I'm glad about the promotions because it was high time for the three to be promoted. About the transfer to teams, I am dreading that this is already going to be a thing for 48 group now. Also Sasshi as manager, I'm definitely not sure about this decision.

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AKB48 5 Big Dome Concerts Announced!

In conjunction with the bidding of Tokyo for the 2020 Summer Olympics, AKB48 will be holding a series of 11 concerts at the 5 biggest dome stadiums in Japan, from July to August. This was announced by the Governor of Tokyo Inose Naoki through a VTR at the end of the [AKB48 Group Rinji Soukai] Concert, held over 4 days at the Nippon Budokan.

The concerts series will take place in Fukuoka, Sapporo, Osaka, Nagoya, and will end with a 4 day concert in the Tokyo Dome. Of those 5 Dome locations, only Sapporo, Hokkaido does not have a 48 group stationed.


2013 5 Big Dome Concert
Fukuoka Yahoo! Auctions Dome: 20th ~ 21st July (Sat ~ Sun)
Sapporo Dome: 31st July (Wed)
Osaka Kyocera Dome: 7th ~ 8th August (Wed ~ Thurs)
Nagoya Dome: 16th ~ 17th August (Fri ~ Sat)
Tokyo Dome: 22nd ~ 25th August (Thurs ~ Sun)


The concert will take place just 1 month after AKB48's 5th Senbatsu Election and concert located at the Nissan Stadium in Yokohama, which will be AKB48's first time performing in an open air stadium. Previosuly, the AKB48 Group has performed in the Tokyo Dome back on 2012, as well as the Seibu Dome in 2011. This will be their first time performing in the other 4 Domes.

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AKB48 Group Kenkyuuseis to have their own Budokan Concert

It was announced during the 4th day noon performance of  the [AKB48 Group Rinji Soukai] Concert that all of the AKB48 Group Kenkyuuseis will have their own solo Budokan concert on 5th June. This is the first time any of the Kenkyuuseis have a solo concert on their own.


AKB48 Group Kenkyuusei Concert [Oshimen Hayaimonogachi]
Date: 05 June 2013
Venue: Nippon Budokan
Time: TBA


Details are unclear if "AKB48 Group" is limited to the groups residing in Japan (AKB48, SKE48, NMB48, HKT48), or will include the overseas 48 groups like JKT48 and SNH48.

Yuasa Hiroshi 1:51 - Public
AKB48 Group Kenkyuusei,
5th June
Budoukan concert announced!!

This is great news!
Please look forward to it.
Oshimen First Come First Serve!

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AKB48 31st Single [Sayonara Crawl] Cover Art

The covers for AKB48's 31st Single [Sayonara Crawl], releasing on 22nd May, 2013, have just been revealed. The covers were shot by renowned Japanese photographer Ninagawa Mika, who previously directed AKB48's Heavy Rotation PV, as well as Yobisutte Fantasy and Sugar Rush.

Ninagawa Mika is known for her vibrant and flowery photos, the covers of Sayonara Crawl are saturated with exactly that. Check out all 7 different covers below.

TYPE A (Limited) cover, Type A (Regular) cover


TYPE K (Limited) cover, TYPE K (Regular) cover


TYPE B (Limited) cover, TYPE B (Regular) cover)


Theater ver.

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[AKB48 Group Rinji Soukai] Concert at Nippon Budokan Set Lists

AKB48 Group Rinji Soukai ~Shirokuro Tsukeyou Janai ka!~
ＡＫＢ４８グループ臨時総会 ～白黒つけようじゃないか！～

Venue: Nippon Budoukan
Date: 25 ~ 28 April, 2013

25 April 2013	(Thursday)	17:30	SKE48
26 April 2013	(Friday)	17:30	NMB48
27 April 2013	(Saturday)	12:00	HKT48
27 April 2013	(Saturday)	17:30	AKB48
28 April 2013	(Sunday)	12:00	All Groups
28 April 2013	(Sunday)	17:30	All Groups

The Sunday 17:30 JST All Groups concert will be livestreamed as part of YouTube Music Week


DAY 1 (25 April)
Group: SKE48

Kage-ana: Kimoto Kanon

M00 - Overture
M01 - Nakama no Uta
-----MC1-----
M02 - SKE48
M03 - Banzai Venus
M04 - Pareo wa Emerald
M05 - Tsuyoki Mono yo
M06 - Aozora Kataomoi (Matsui Jurina, Matsui Rena, Kizaki Yuria, Kinoshita Yukiko, Takayanagi Akane, Mukaida Manatsu, Ishida Anna)
M07 - Gomen ne, SUMMER (Matsui Jurina, Matsui Rena, Kizaki Yuria, Kinoshita Yukiko, Takayanagi Akane, Mukaida Manatsu, Ishida Anna)
M08 - Wimbledon e Tsureteitte (Furuhata Nao, Ego Yuna, Niidoi Sayaka)
M09 - Manazashi Sayonara (Furukawa Airi, Kitahara Rie)
M10 - Darkness (Kizaki Yuria, Kinoshita Yukiko, Matsui Jurina, Ishida Anna, Saito Makiko, Takeuchi Mai, Tsuzuki Rika)
M11 - Ame no Pianist (Matsui Rena, Oya Masana, Suda Akari)
M12 - Finland Miracle (Mukaida Manatsu, Kaneko Shihori, Isohara Kyoka)
M13 - Ookami to Pride (Kizaki Yuria, Kimoto Kanon)
M14 - Omoide Ijou (Matsui Jurina, Umemoto Madoka, Suga Nanako)
M15 - Cross (Takayanagi Akane, Yakata Miki, Yamashita Yukari)
M16 - Usotsuki na Dachou (Ishida Anna, Sato Seira, Nakanishi Yuka)
M17 - Mitsubachi Girl (New Team E)
M18 - Kodoku na Ballerina (New Team KII)
M19 - Innocence (New Team S)
M20 - Koi wo Kataru Shijin ni Narenakute (New Team S)
M21 - Seifuku no Me (New Team S)
M22 - Kizashi (New Team KII)
M23 - Winning Ball (New Team KII)
M24 - Wasshoi E! (New Team E)
M25 - Saka Agari (New Team E)
M26 - Chime wa LOVE SONG
M27 - Kataomoi Finally
M28 - Kiss datte hidarikiki
M29 - Aishiteraburu!
M30 - Choco no Dorei (all)
M31 - 1!2!3!4! Yoroshiku (all)
M32 - Oki Doki (all)
-----MC02-----
M33 - Kyou Made no koto, Korekara no koto (all)

-----ENCORE-----
EN1 - Hatsukoi no Fumikiri
EN2 - Pinocchio Gun (all)
-----MC3-----
EN3 - Tenohira ga Kataru koto (all)
-----MC4-----
EN4 - Te wo Tsunaginagara (all)
-----END-----

Sammy: Today's SKE48 concert saw the new team performs and while like usual OOO48 concerts, there isn't any shuffled units concerning the center but there is changes concerning the other members specially now since 8 SKE48 members have graduated. I'm mostly curious to see Kitarie in Manazashi Sayonara because while no one can replace Ogiso's husky sexy voice, Kitarie also has a sort of a husky voice.

Jul3: Wow, look at that! 31 songs in a row with no break for an MC. There was only an MC before the first song and one just before the final song (pre-encore). That is fantastic for a concert. Maximum music, minimal talking. With this and Tokyo Dome I hope they keep this trend up. It seems New Team S got a lot more songs than the other teams - I wonder if these new teams will be named after their Captains like the AKB48 teams. The multiple stages in the venue looks interesting, looking forward to the livestream on Sunday!

---

DAY 2 (26 April)
Group: NMB48

Kage-ana: Watanabe Miyuki

M00 - Overture
M01 - Nandeyanen, Idol
M02 - NMB48
M03 - Seishun no Lap Time
-----MC1-----
M04 - Warukii (Watanabe Miyuki)
M05 - Dazai Osamu wo Yonda ka? (Yamamoto Sayaka, Yamada Nana, Yokoyama Yui)
M06 - Baatari GO!
M06 - Mattemashita, Shingakki (Akagumi)
M08 - Kesshou (Shirogumi)
M09 - Fuyushogun no Regret (Namba Teppoutai no.1)
M10 - Chotto Nekoze
M11 - Hoshizora no Caravan (Shirogumi)
M12 - Namekuji Heart (Super Idol Senbatsu)
M13 - Jungle Gym (Yamamoto Sayaka)
-----MC2-----
M14 - Almond Croissant Keikaku (Team BII)
M15 - Lily (Team N)
M16 - With my soul (Team M)
M17 - Mikazuki no Senaka
M18 - Mousou Girlfriend
M19 - In-goal (Team BII)
-----MC3-----
M20 - HA!
M21 - Teppen Tottande!
M22 - Zetsumetsu Kurokami Shoujo
-----MC4-----
M23 - Nagiichi
M24 - Junjou U-19
M25 - Virginity
M26 - Kitagawa Kenji
-----MC5-----
M27 - 12月31日

ANNOUNCEMENT: NMB48 7th Single

-----ENCORE-----
EN1 - Todokana Soude Todoku mono (NMB48 7th Single c/w, used for Geinin 2 Opening song)
EN2 - Tenohira ga Kataru koto
-----MC6-----
EN3- Boku wa Matteru
-----MC7-----
Speech by Fukumoto Aina
Appearance by Kendo Kobayashi, Jinnai Tomonori, Tamura Kenji, Ikeno Medaka
EN4 - Oh My God!
-----END-----

Melos: In contrast to SKE48's MC-less unit song filled solo concert, NMB's had quite a number of MCs and an unsurprising lack of unit songs. Without any of their Teams having their own original stage yet, NMB48 is forced to perform only the single A-sides and c/ws. It's lucky that they already have 6 singles behind their back. What will HKT48 show tomorrow, being the newest grouped formed with only 1 single?

---

DAY 3 (27 April) Noon
Group: HKT48

Kage-ana: Sashihara Rino

M00 - Overture
M01 - Kimi no Koto ga Sukiya ken (all)
M02 - Onegai Valentine (all)
M03 - HKT48 (all)
-----MC1-----
M04 - Nagisa no Cherry (Sashihara Rino, Tani Marika, Okada Kanna, Yamada Marina)
M05 - Tonari no Banana (Tashima Meru, Tomonoga Mio)
M06 - Gyakuten Ouji-sama (Ota Aika, Wakatabe Haruka, Ueki Nao)
M07 - Ookami to Pride (Miyawaki Sakura, Motomura Aoi)
M08 - Zannen Shoujo (Kodama Haruka, Kumazawa Serina, Tanaka Natsumi)
M09 - Enjou Rosen (Murashige Anna, Nakanishi Chiyori)
M10 - Blue rose (Anai Chihiro, Matsuoka Natsumi, Moriyasu Madoka, Shimono Yuki)
M11 - Seifuku no Bambi (Sashihara Rino. Kodama Haruka, Miyawaki Sakura)
M12 - Wagamama Collection (Tomonaga Mio, Murashige Anna, Motomura Aoi, Akiyoshi Yuka, Yamada Marina, Fuchigami Mai)
-----MC2-----
M13 - Ima ga Ichiban (Umakuchi-hime)
M14 - Kataomoi no Karaage (Amakuchi-hime)
M15 - Kirei Goto demo ii janai ka?
M16 - Tansu no Gen (Tansu ga Set Sareru)
M17 - Rock da yo, Jinsei wa... (Team H + Fuchigami Mai)
M18 - 10nen Zakura (Team H + Fuchigami Mai)
M19 - Majisuka Rock 'n Roll (Team H + Fuchigami Mai)
M20 - RIVER (Kenkyuusei)
M21 - Melos no Michi (Kenkyuusei)
M22 - Kaiyuugyo no Capacity (Team H + Fuchigami Mai)
M23 - Iiwake Maybe (all)
-----MC3-----
M24 - AKB48 Group & Nogizaka46 Medley (all) (original artist listed in brackets)
 BINGO! (AKB48)
 Boku no Taiyou (AKB48)
 1!2!3!4! Yoroshiku! (SKE48)
 Oki Doki (SKE48)
 Zetsumetsu Kurokami Shoujo (NMB48)
 Seifuku ga Jama wo Suru (AKB48)
 Seifuku no Mannequin (Nogizaka46)
 Oh My God! (NMB48)
 Oide Shampoo (Nogizaka46)
 Oh My God! (NMB48)
 Aishiteraburu (SKE48)
 Banzai Venus (SKE48)
 Pareo wa Emerald (SKE48)
 Seishun no Laptime (NMB48)
 Ponytail to Shushu (AKB48)
 Kitagawa Kenji (NMB48)
-----MC4-----
M25 - Hatsukoi Butterfly

-----ENCORE-----
EN1 - Oogoe Diamond (Team H + Tashima Meru)
-----MC5-----
EN2 - Tenohira ga Kataru Koto (all)
EN3 - Hikoukigumo (all)
-----MC6-----
EN4 - Suki Suki Skip! (all)
-----END-----

Jul3: There was always going to be speculation about what HKT48 would perform since they only have 8 original songs (+HKT48). I love the way they drew in singles from all the other groups and performed them in one big singles-fest. What I'm most looking forward to seeing, however, are the original HKT48 songs that have never been performed live before, particularly Ima ga Ichiban and Tanso no Gen.

---

DAY 3 (27 April) Evening
Group: AKB48

M00 - Overture
M01 - AKB Sanjou!
M02 - AKB Festival
M03 - AKB48 (Kenkyuusei)
M04 - Pioneer (Shinoda Team A)
M05 - Korogaru Ishi ni Nare (Oshima Team K)
M06 - Team B Oshi (Umeda Team B)
M07 - Everyday, Kachuusha
M08 - Ponytail to Shushu
----MC1----
M09 - Candy (Umeda Ayaka, Kasai Tomomi Kobayashi Kana)
M10 - Plastic no Kuchibiru (Shinoda Mariko)
M11 - Kuchi Utsushi no Chocolate (Kashiwagi Yuki, Yokoyama Yui, Watanabe Miyuki)
M12 - Zero Sum Taiyou (Oshima Team K)
M13 - Beginner (Oshima Team K)
M14 - Itoshisa no Accel - (Takahashi Minami)
M15 - Pajama Drive (Watanabe Mayu, Kojima Mako, Nishino Miki)
M16 - Soko de Inu no Unchi Funjau ka ne? (Umeda Team B)
M17 - Kimi no Koto ga Suki Dakara (Umeda Team B)
M18 - Watashitachi no Reason (Kenkyuusei)
M19 - Nakinagara Hohoende (Oshima Yuko)
M20 - Tsundere! (Itano Tomomi, Shimazaki Haruka, Kato Rena)
M21 - Heart Gata Virus (Kojima Haruna, Matsui Jurina, Kitahara Rie)
M22 - Only Today (Shinoda Team A)
M23 - Iiwake Maybe (Shinoda Team A)
M24 - Shonichi (Umeda Team B)
M25 - Yuuhi Marie (Oshima Team K)
M26 - Ruby (Shinoda Team A)
M27 - Eien Pressure
----MC2----
M28 - Sugar Rush
M29 - Yuuhi wo Miteiruka? (opening: Kasai Tomomi)
M30 - Oogoe Diamond
M31 - GIVE ME FIVE! (dance ver.)
M32 - UZA
M33 - RIVER
M34 - Manatsu no Sounds Good!
M35 - Flying Get
M36 - Gingham Check
----MC3----
M37 - Tenohira ga Kataru Koto

----ENCORE----
----Kasai Tomomi VTR----
EN1 - Masaka (Kasai Tomomi 1st single)
EN2 - Mine (Kasai Tomomi 2nd single)
----MC4----
EN3 - Enjoy Your Life! (Kasai Tomomi 2nd single c/w: Akimoto Sayaka, Umeda Ayaka, Ohori Megumi, Oshima Yuko, Kasai Tomomi, Kobayashi Kana, Matsubara Natsumi, Miyazawa Sae)
EN4 - Sougen no Kiseki (Akimoto Sayaka, Umeda Ayaka, Ohori Megumi, Oshima Yuko, Kasai Tomomi, Kobayashi Kana, Matsubara Natsumi, Miyazawa Sae)
----MC5 (Kasai exit)----
EN5 - After Rain
EN6 - Shoujotachi yo
EN7 - First Rabbit
EN8 - So long!
EN9 - Heavy Rotation
----END----

Jul3: It's great to have an AKB48 only concert for the first time in years. They opened with three songs with AKB in the title to really ram this home. I really like this setlist, full of Team songs, AKB songs, and some songs we've never seen performed live before. I also like it when they intersperse Team songs in between the unit songs to break them up. That was quite a big send off to Kasai in the encore - and nice for Meetan and Sae-chan to show up for the 2nd gen sendoff.

---

DAY 4 (28 April) Noon
Group: AKB48, SKE48, NMB48, HKT48, JKT48


Kage-ana: Oshima Yuko

M00 - Overture
M01 - RIVER
M02 - Beginner
M03 - Flying Get
M04 - Manatsu no Sounds good!
-----MC1-----
M05 - Kitagawa Kenji (JKT48)
M06 - Suki! Suki! Skip! (HKT48)
M07 - Teppen Tottande! (NMB48)
M08 - Choco no Dorei (SKE48)
M09 - UZA (AKB48)
M10 - Pareo wa Emerald (AKB48)
M11 - 1!2!3!4! Yoroshiku! (HKT48)
M12 - Onegai Valentine (NMB48)
M13 - Zetsumetsu Kurokami Shoujo (SKE48)
M14 - HA! (AKB48)
-----MC2-----
M15 - Iiwake Maybe (U-15 Senbatsu)
M16 - First Rabbit (U-15 Senbatsu)
M17 - Eien Pressure (U-19 Senbatsu)
M18 - Juuryoku Sympathy (U-19 Senbatsu)
M19 - AKB Festival (OVER20 Senbatsu)
M20 - Gingham Check (OVER20 Senbatsu)
M21 - Shoujotachi yo (U-15 Senbatsu + U-19 Senbatsu + OVER20 Senbatsu)
-----MC3-----
M22 - Kimi no Koto ga Suki Dakara (JKT48)
M23 - Nagiichi (HKT48)
M24 - Oh My God! (NMB48 + HKT48)
M25 - Okey Dokey (SKE48 + NMB48)
M26 - Kiss datte Hidarikiki (SKE48 + NMB48)
M27 - Oogoe Diamond (AKB48 + Matsui Jurina)
M28 - Everyday, Kachuusha (AKB48)
M29 - Heavy Rotation (all)
M30 - Ponytail to Shushu (all)
-----MC4-----
M31 - Tenohira ga Kataru Koto (all)

-----ENCORE-----
EN1 - Sayonara Crawl (all)
EN2 - Flying Get (BKA7 (Baka7): Kawaei Rina center, Takahashi Minami, Kojima Haruna, Shimazaki Haruka, Sashihara Rino, Kashiwaig Yuki)
EN3 - GIVE ME FIVE! (all)
EN4 - After rain (all)

ANNOUNCEMENT: AKB48 Group Kenkyuuseis will have their own solo concert in Nippon Budoukan on 5th June

EN5 - Shiroi Shirts (all)
EN6 - Aitakatta (all)
-----END-----

---

DAY 4 (28 April) Evening
Group: AKB48, SKE48, NMB48, HKT48, JKT48


Kage-ana: Watanabe Mayu

M01 - Jane Doe (Takahashi Minami)
M02 - Gingham Check (AKB48)
M03 - Choco no Dorei (SKE48)
M04 - Kitagawa Kenji (NMB48)
M05 - Suki! Suki! Skip! (HKT48)
M06 - Manatsu no Sounds good! (all)
-----MC1-----
M07 - Nageki no Figure (Watanabe Mayu, Matsui Rena, Tashima Meru, Tomonaga Mio)
M08 - Seifuku ga Jama wo Suru (Iriyama Anna, Kawaei Rina, Kimoto Kanon, Kuzaki Yuria, Furuhata Nao, Shiroma Miru, Kodama Haruka, Miyawaki Sakura)
M09 - 1994nen no Raimei (Matsui Jurina, Takajo Aki, Kikuchi Ayaka, Takayanagi AKane, Yokoyama Yui)
M10 - Cross (Yamamoto Sayaka, Takahashi Minami, Oshima Yuko)
M11 - Yuuwaku no Garter (Kojima Haruna)
M12 - Onegai Valentine (HKT48 Senbatsu)
M13 - Hashire! Penguin (Team 4)
M14 - Junjou U-19 (NMB48)
M15 - RIVER (JKT48)
M16 - UZA (Oshima Team K)
M17 - Ame no Pianist (Kashiwagi Yuki, Moriyasu Madoka, Matsuoka Natsumi)
M18 - Idol Nante Yobanaide (Ogasawara Mayu, Minegishi Minami, Oya Shizuka, Sashihara Rino)
M19 - Avocado Janeshi (Watanabe Miyuki, Shimazaki Haruka)
M20 - Juuryoku Sympathy (Team A)
M21 - Koi wo Kataru Shijin ni Narenakute (SKE48)
M22 - End Roll (Itano Tomomi solo)
M23 - Flying Get (Team B, Yukirin center)
M24 - Namida no Shounan (Akimoto Sayaka, Miyazawa Sae, Shinoda Mariko, Maeda Ami, Abe Maria)
-----MC2 (Nito Moeno graduation)-----
M25 - Kataomoi no Taikakusen (Nito Moeno, Kitahara Rie, Chikano Rina)
-----MC3-----
M26 - AKB48 Shuffle Medley
 Kimi no Koto ga Suki Dakara / Kimi no Koto ga Suki ya ken (JKT48 → HKT48)
 Nagiichi (HKT48 → NMB48)
 Oh My God! (NMB48 + HKT48)
 Okey! Dokey! (NMB48 → SKE48)
 Kiss datte Hidarikiki (SKE48 + NMB48)
 Oogoe Diamond (AKB48 + Matsui Jurina)
 Everyday Kachuusha (AKB48 + Matsui Jurina)
 Heavy Rotation (all)
 Ponytail to Shushu (all)
-----MC4-----
M27 - Tenohira ga Kataru koto (all)

-----ENCORE-----

EN1 - Bara no Kajistu (Undergirls) (Sayonara Crawl c/w)
EN2 - Sayonara Crawl (Senbatsu)
EN3 - Shoujotachi yo (all)
EN4 - First Rabbit (all)
-----MC-----

ANNOUNCEMENT: AKB48 5 Dome Concert

ANNOUNCEMENT: AKB48 Kenkyuusei Promotions
ANNOUNCEMENT: AKB48 Group Member Shuffles

EN5 - AKB Festival (all)
-----END-----

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AKB48 31st Single Titled [Sayonara Crawl] + Tracklist

AKB48 has announced the tracklisting of their long awaited 31st single, AKA the Senbatsu General Election voting single. It is that time of the year again to vote vote vote! Just like last year's, the new single will have a summer theme and is titled [Sayonara Crawl], releasing on 22nd May, 2013.

[Sayonara Crawl] will be released in 7 different versions: Type A, Type K, Type B and Theatre versions. Type A, K and B is further separated into Limited and Regular Edition copies.

The Regular Edition copies of Type A, K and B come included with a voting ticket for AKB48's upcoming 32nd single Senbatsu General Election, a 20 page photobook shot by Ninagawa Mika (who directed the Heavy Rotation music video), which will be separated into type A, K and B, and a bonus photo (1 out of 50). Once again, there are Team songs on each of the Types.

The Limited Edition copies will also include the voting ticket and photobook, in addition to a national event handshake ticket and a special "kami cover jacket" but at the expense of the bonus photo.

For the first time, the Theatre Edition also includes voting tickets. Sales of the Theatre Edition have now finished, but it was available in two varieties - with voting ticket, 1 photo and 1 individual member handshake ticket, or with voting ticket and 2 photos. The photos for the Theatre Edition differ to the Regular Edition and are of the "election poster" campaign variety.

The voting period is 21st May to 7th June 2013, which closes a day before the senbatsu election itself, which is taking place as part of the AKB48 Super Festival in Nissan Stadium on 8th June.


AKB48 31st Single
Sayonara Crawl
さよならクロール
22 May 2013

TYPE A Limited Regular 1,600yen	[CD] 01. Sayonara Crawl (さよならクロール) //Senbatsu 02. Bara no Kajitsu (バラの果実) // Under Girls 03. Ikuru Koto (イキルコト) // Team A 04. Sayonara Crawl (off vocal ver.) 05. Bara no Kajitsu (off vocal ver.) 06. Ikiru Koto (off vocal ver.) [DVD] 01. Sayonara Crawl (Music Video) 02. Sayonara Crawl (Music Video ~swimsuit ver.~) 03. Bara no Kajitsu (Music Video) 04. Ikiru Koto (Music Video) 05. Making of Sayonara Crawl Music Video (Part 1) 06. Tekken Flipbook ~So long !~
TYPE K Limited Regular 1,600yen	[CD] 01. Sayonara Crawl (さよならクロール) //Senbatsu 02. Bara no Kajitsu (バラの果実) // Under Girls 03. How Come? // Team K 04. Sayonara Crawl (off vocal ver.) 05. Bara no Kajitsu (off vocal ver.) 06. How Come? (off vocal ver.) [DVD] 01. Sayonara Crawl (Music Video) 02. Sayonara Crawl (Music Video ~swimsuit ver.~) 03. Bara no Kajitsu (Music Video) 04. How Come? (Music Video) 05. Making of Sayonara Crawl Music Video (Part 2) 06. Tekken Flipbook ~Yume no Kawa~
TYPE B Limited Regular 1,600yen	[CD] 01. Sayonara Crawl (さよならクロール) //Senbatsu 02. Bara no Kajitsu (バラの果実) // Under Girls 03. Romance Kenjuu (ロマンス拳銃) // Team B 04. TBA // BKA48 05. Sayonara Crawl (off vocal ver.) 06. Bara no Kajitsu (off vocal ver.) 07. Romance Kenjuu (off vocal ver.) 04. TBA // BKA48 (off vocal ver.) [DVD] 01. Sayonara Crawl (Music Video) 02. Sayonara Crawl (Music Video ~swimsuit ver.~) 03. Bara no Kajitsu (Music Video) 04. Romance Kenjuu (Music Video) 05. BKA48 Music Video 06. Tekken Flipbook ~First Rabbit
Theater 1,000yen	[CD] 01. Sayonara Crawl 02. Bara no Kajitsu 03. TBA //AKB48 Kenkyuusei 04. Sayonara Crawl (off vocal ver.) 05. Bara no Kajitsu (off vocal ver.) 06. Track 03 (off vocal ver.)

[Sayonara Crawl] will be used as the CM song for Papico, a popular sherbet sold by Glico. You can hear a little bit of the song in the CM.





The handshake sales for this single have been pretty interesting. The inclusion of voting tickets has certainly boosted sales, after 6 rounds of sales, 1,696.2 blocks have sold out, compared to 1,285.1 for Manatsu no Sounds Good, and a lot more than the 650-850 blocks they've been selling for all singles in between. Looking at blocks sold out per sister group for this single, its AKB48 (751), SKE48 (420.3), NMB48 (266), HKT (258.9). HKT48 are the strongest gainers, almost selling out as many blocks as NMB48 but with far fewer members.

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Watanabe Mayu 2nd Photobook [Seifuku Zukan Saigo no Seifuku] Sales + 4th Single Announced

Watanabe Mayu's second solo photobook [Seifuku Zukan Saigo no Seifuku] went on sale on the 19th April 2013. Retailing for 1,400 yen, this features 256 full colour pages. It is set around a school theme, with Mayuyu wearing the seifuku (school uniforms) of 94 real Japanese schools.

On it's first week on sale, the photobook placed 9th in the Oricon overall books charts, selling 17,836 copies. For reference, her first photobook [Mayuyu], released 13th May 2011, sold 45,209 copies on it's first week on sale.

In addition to her 2nd photobook, Mayu's 4th solo single has been announced! This will go on sale in July 2013 with no specific date yet set. There will be a contest run on pixiv to help design the cover of the single. The contest will run between 26 April - 16 May 2013 with full details being released on the 26th. The winning artwork will be used on the cover of the Limited Edition of the single which will also feature an illustration book of other contest entries.

I'm hugely excited for Mayu's 4th single, and the events and photoshoots that come along with it. The illustration contest sounds interesting, similar to Hikaru Monotachi's Limited Edition illustration book. As for the sales of her 2nd photobook, I'm not surprised by the low numbers compared to her first photobook (and other AKB ones, more recent ones such as Matsui Rena, Watanabe Miyuki, and Yamamoto Sayaka sold between 25-30k copies 1st week). Her 1st photobook had a large variety of photos, showed off her assets well, and was A4 in size - this new one is only A5 sized, and features a small variety in photos - just school uniforms, and school sportsday photos.

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Kuramochi Asuka Solo Debut Single and Photobook Announced

Kuramochi Asuka will join the ranks of soloists from AKB48, releasing her first solo single on 29th May 2013. She is the 10th member from AKB48 to have a solo debut. Her official website was launched recently

Official website: http://kuramochiasuka.jp/

At the time of posting, the solo debut single is still untitled, but we do have some information about the single. It will have a total of 6 different versions, which is a huge number for an AKB48 solo artist. There will be the main CD+DVD limited edition version worth 1,600 yen, consisting of the main the A-side and 2 coupling songs, the instrumental versions of the said songs and the music video in the DVD.

Kuramochi Asuka 1st Single
[TBD]
29 May 2013

TYPE A no cover 1,600yen

[CD] 01. A-side TBD 02. c/w song 1 03. c/w song 2 [DVD] 01. A-side Music Video 02. Off shot video

The remaining 5 versions are "one coin types", priced at just 500 yen (the largest denomination for coins in japan) and will include only the A-side and 1 coupling song (same tracklisting on all types). The covers for the 5 "one coin types" have been revealed recently. Each of them were shot by different magazines. Included in the "one coin type" singles is a voting ticket to vote for the best cover of the single. Additionally, if anyone manages to guess the order of the final votes, etc "5→3→1→2→4", he/she will get to spend a whole day at the horse races with Kuramochi Asuka herself!

Young Champion, Friday, BLT



Weekly Playboy, Big Comic Sprits

The single will have lyrics written by Kuramochi Asuka herself, and will be used in a JRA (Japan Horse Racing Association) TV CM. Kuramochi won the 2nd AKB no Gachi Uma campaign, which had 27 members aged over 20 betting on horse races. Kasai Tomomi won the 1st campaign, hence her single and JRA CM. In addition to this solo single, Mocchi will be getting a her 1st solo photobook, details of which have yet to be revealed. Asuka will also feature regularly on the [SPORTS X] on BS Asahi, which features JRA jockeys.

Jul3: Like Kasai, Kuramochi was a surprise soloist, but that is the randomness of letting horse racing decide these things. She has not being in AKB48 Undergirls recently, so it's great to see her getting some exposure. The 500 yen types are intriguing and it will be interesting to see how well they sell. More so perhaps than her single, I'm looking forward to her photobook, which has been highly anticipated by fans.

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Kasai Tomomi 2nd Single [Mine] Tracklisting, Covers + PV Preview

Kasai Tomomi's 2nd solo single [Mine] will be released on the 8th May 2013. This follows her debut single [Masaka] released on 26th December 2013. The release of this new single is just after her graduation from AKB48 which takes place on 3rd May 2013.

[Mine] will be the theme song to the TV Tokyo drama [Meshibana Deka Tachibana] which she will play a leading role in. It will be released in 2 CD+DVD types and 1 CD only type. The CD+DVD types contain a photo and lottery application for tickets to a live event to be held in Tokyo on the 16th June. The CD only type will contain a handshake ticket to one of three events: 12th May in Tokyo, 26th May in Osaka, 1st June in Nagoya.

PV Preview after the tracklisting.

Kasai Tomomi 2nd Single
Mine
Mine
8 May 2013

Type A 1,600yen	[CD] 01. Mine 02. Illumination 03. Boku no Summertime blues 04. Mine (off vocal) 05. Illumination (off vocal) 06. Boku no Summertime blues (off vocal) [DVD] 01. Mine Music Video 02. Mine making of 03. Cooking with Chiyuu
Type B 1,600yen	[CD] 01. Mine 02. Illumination 03. Enjoy your life ! 04. Mine (off vocal) 05. Illumination (off vocal) 06. Enjoy your life ! (off vocal) [DVD] 01. Mine Music Video 02. Enjoy your life ! Music Video 03. Meshibana Deka Tachibana Drama Documentary
Type C 1,000yen	[CD] 01. Mine 02. Boku no Summertime blues 03. Enjoy your life ! 04. Mine (off vocal) 05. Boku no Summertime blues (off vocal) 06. Enjoy your life ! (off vocal)

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MELOS no Michi is hiring

A good day to all our readers, this is Melos here. Most of you have noticed that over the past year, this blog has not been up to standards and we have been missing out on a load of news. I also have not been active on the blog and the AKB48 community.

The truth is that my interest in AKB48 has kinda died down quite a lot. And now this blog is really short of hands. Currently, there are only 2 active contributors to the blog, Miss Moonlight and Jul3, who by the way have been doing a damn good job keeping the blog alive while I was gone.

Well I'm back now. It all changed when I recently saw a JKT48 performance in Jakarta recently. I guess it kinda reactivated the idol sprit inside me that has been waning ever since AKB48 stopped performing in Singapore. However I am in the army now, so I won't be able to help out so much.

And so we need your help to continue posting accurate news in a timely fashion. This is an open call to anybody and everybody who wants to help us and contribute to the AKB48 overseas community.

Our requirements are quite simple.
- You should possess a decent understanding of the English language.
- Knowledge of Japanese language is not required, but it would be nice if you do know some basics.
- You have to be willing to help out for a long term. We have had many people volunteering before only to drop out within a month
- And most important of them all, you love AKB48 (and their other sister groups)

Please drop us an email at 48nojuujiro(a)gmail.com if you are interested.

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NMB48 Yamada Nana Moved To Team M+ Promotions

NMB48 held their [Request Hour Setlist Best 30] on April 18 in Osaka and during the event some surprise announcements were made.

First of all, it was announced that popular Team N member Yamada Nana would be moved to Team M. Nana is a 1st Generation member and has always been in Team N since it was formed. Nana will take the spot of former Team M member Hikawa Ayame who graduated in December.

To fill the spots left open by Shinohara Kanna's recent graduation and Yamada Nana's move to Team M, two Kenkyusei, Koga Narumi and Nishimura Aika have been promoted to Team N.

Koga Narumi is a 2nd Generation Kenkyusei who joined the group in 2011, and now has been promoted after almost two years as a Kenkyuusei. Nishimura Aika instead is a 4th Generation Kenkyusei who had just debuted in December last year.



Congratulations to the promoted girls. I am not so sure what I should think about Nana's move to M. I don't really like team shuffles or members being switched around and Nana just fits Team N better in my opinion. But let's see how it will turn out.

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NMB48 Request Hour Setlist Best 30 Results

NMB48 held their first Request Hour event on April 18 in the Orix Theater in Osaka. Fans could vote for their favourite songs and the Top 30 songs were performed. Voting tickets were included in Type B of  NMB48's 1st Album [Teppen Tottande].

The ranking showed some interesting results. No single made it into the Top 5 songs. The top spot was taken by the Shirogumi song [Kesshou], a B-side of NMB48's 2nd Single [Oh My God!]. The group's first original song [Seishun no Laptime] ranked second and Yamamoto Sayaka's solo song [Jungle Gym] came in 3rd.

You can see the full results below.



NMB48リクエストアワー2013 セットリストベスト30
NMB48 Request Hour Setlist Best 30
Date: April 18

01. Kesshou (Shirogumi; 2nd single coupling song)
02. Seishun no Lap Time (1st single coupling song)
03. Jungle Gym (Yamamoto Sayaka; 3rd single coupling song)
04. Warukii (Watanabe Miyuki; 4th single coupling song)
05. HA! (AKB48 29th single coupling song/NMB48 1st album song)
06. Kitagawa Kenji (6th single)
07. Nagiichi (4th single)
08. Fuyu Shougun no Regret (Namba Teppoutai Sono Ni; 6th single coupling song)
09. Hoshizora no Caravan (Shirogumi; 6th single coupling song)
10. Oh My God! (2nd single)
11. Nandeyanen, Idol (2nd single coupling song)
12. Mikazuki no Senaka (1st sinle coupling song)
13. Zetsumetsu Kurogami Shoujo (1st single)
14. Itoshiki Natasha (Team M stage song)
15. 12/31 (1st album song)
16. Almond Croissant Keikaku (Team M; 1st album song)
17. Sunahama de Pistol (Namba Teppoutai Sono Ichi; 5th single coupling song)
18. Renai Higai Todoke (Akagumi; 6th single coupling song)
19. Dazai Osamu wo Yonda ka? (1st album song)
20. (Tie) Rider (Team N stage song)
      Namekuji Heart (1st album song)
22. Shinkirou (Team N stage song)
23. Virginity (5th single)
24. Tengoku Yarou (Team M stage song)
25. Mousou Girlfriend (5th single coupling song)
26. Koike (Team N stage song)
27. Junjou U-19 (3rd single)
28. Saigo no Catharsis (Shirogumi; 5th single coupling song)
29. Teppen Tottande (1st album song)
30. (Tie) NMB48 (stage song)
      Mattemashita, Shingakki (Akagumi; 1st single coupling song)
 

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