HKT48 to Perform the [Pajama Drive] Stage Himawari-gumi Style

It was announced today that HKT48 will start to perform the [Pajama Drive] stage from 2nd November 2013. This will be a 3rd stage in addition to the current Team H [Hakata Legend] stage and the kenkyuusei [Party ga Hajimaru yo] stage. This stage will be performed Himawari-gumi-style. This means that 16 members will be selected for each performance taken from both Team H and the kenkyuusei.

The Himawari-gumi idea was first introduced to AKB48 in 2007 when members were mixed from Teams A and K to first perform the [Boku no Taiyou] stage and then the [Yume wo Shinaseru Wake ni Ikanai] stage. Both of these were original stages written for Himawari-gumi, however, [Pajama Drive] is a revival of Team B's 3rd stage. It is also currently being performed by the AKB48 Kenkyuusei. Team H's first original stage is still scheduled to start on 22nd December 2013.

Team H currently perform three songs from [Pajama Drive] as part of their [Hakata Legend] stage. These are "Temodemo no Namida", "Two Years Later", and "Shiroi Shirts". Also, Team H members Sashihara Rino and Oota Aika were part of the original Team B performances of [Pajama Drive].

Finalists for AKB48's Draft Meeting Revealed

As previously announced, the AKB48 group will hold a draft meeting on November 10 where team captains of the 48 groups will draft new members for their team. The candidate audition for this draft meeting has been finished and the final 30 girls were presented to the public on September 22. The youngest candidates are 12 and the oldest is 24.

These 30 candidates will now be further presented in different media until the actual draft meeting and then it is up to the captains who they want for their team.

The candidates are from left to right:

Front row: Takatera Sana (13), Takatsuka Natsuki (13), Souda Sarina (20), Sutou Ririka (16), Suzuki Nene (17), Shimoguchi Hinana (12), Komiyama Yuka (24), Goudo Saki (17), Koishi Kumiko (18), Kawamoto Saya (15), Kaneko Mirei (16), Kaga Madoka (17), Ueshima Ayuka (13), Iso Kanae (20), Arai Yuki (15)

Back row: Yokoshima Aeri (13), Yamamoto Mao (17), Murakami Haruka (13), Mizuta Akira (16), Matsumoto Chikako (13), Majima Wakana (13), Fujimaki Maria (13), Fukushi Nao (14), Gotou Moe (12), Nishiyama Rena (12), Naiki Kokoro (16), Tomita Yoshino (13), Takei Sara (14), Takita Kayoko (16), Takahashi Mio (17)

SKE48 Announces 13th Single

During their handshake event in Seibu Dome SKE48 announced the release of their 13th Single. It will be released on November 20th.

Following the successful singles [Choco no Dorei] and [Utsukushii Inazuma], the upcoming single will be the third and most probably the last one this year.

 Official announcement video:




Looking forward to this. This single's senbatsu should reflect the election results so we will probably see some interesting changes in the line up.

AKB48's 33rd Single Titled [Heart Ereki] and Centered by Kojima Haruna

During the 4th Janken Tournament, AKB48 performed their 33rd single for the first time. This year's cool single, to be released on October 30, is called [Heart Ereki]. Kojima Haruna was surprisingly picked as center.

Apart from an unexpected center, some other interesting choices have been made for senbatsu. AKB48's Kawaei Rina and Iriyama Anna who up till now only have been selected for the mass senbatsu of [Manatsu no Sounds Good] and [Sayonara Crawl], are in as well as HKT48's Ota Aika who hasn't been in AKB48 senbatsu since [Everyday, Kachuusha].

All senbatsu members have a special nickname only for this song which is indicated in brackets in the senbatsu list below.

AKB48 33rd Single [Heart Ereki] Senbatsu
AKB48
Team A: Iriyama Anna (Veronica), Kawaei Rina (Kawaei), Takahashi Minami (Linda), Yokoyama Yui (Mary), Watanabe Mayu (Elizabeth)
Team K: Oshima Yuko (Lucy)
Team B: Kashiwagi Yuki (Catherine), Kojima Haruna (Center; Michelle), Shimazaki Haruka (Angelina)
Team 4: Minegishi Minami (Barbara)
SKE48
Team S: Matsui Jurina (Team K concurrent; Caroline)
Team E: Matsui Rena (Sandy)
NMB48
Team N: Yamamoto Sayaka (Rosanna), Watanabe Miyuki (Team B concurrent, Josephine)
HKT48
Team H: Ota Aika (Margaret), Sashihara Rino (Lola/Laura)


Personally I think it is a nice move to pick someone unexpected as center once in a while. Kojiharu fits the song and performs well. But this can also mean she is about to graduate soon and her becoming center and getting a bunch of solo lines would then be a graduation present... We'll see.

NMB48's Kobayashi Rikako Suspends Activities Due to Injury

Team BII's Kobayashi Rikako has announced that she will suspend all her activities due to a leg injury. She has been injured already for a while but nevertheless continued to perform. Following the advice of her doctor she now decided to take a break. An approximate length of this injury break has not been announced.

Kobayashi Rikako was one of the girls who won the NMB48 Janken Preliminaries, but because of her injury she also decided to withdraw from the upcoming AKB48 Janken Tournament.

Rikako has explained her decision in the NMB48 blog. You can read the translated statement below.


Kobayashi Rikako's Comment
Original Message

To all who always support me
I am sorry for this sudden announcement. Actually, this is something I should tell you (standing) in front of you, so I am very sorry for doing it in this manner.
A few months ago, I started to have some strange feeling in my leg. I went to the hospital and received continual treatment. Recently, the pain has become worse than before, but I still endured the pain in my leg even during theater shows. A few days ago my doctor made a diagnosis saying "It would be better to take a break and let your leg heal properly".
Concerning the Janken Tournament on the 18th, I thought this would be a great chance to me but even if I win and advance to the next rounds, my leg injury might cause troubles, thinking about this, I decided to withdraw. I am extremely sorry.
I know that this is a very important time for me and also for Team BII, but I think if I continued like this I would cause troubles to everyone and so decided to take a break.
I cause you all worries, but now I will focus on treatment and rehabilitation, and I'll do my best so that I can show my healthy self in front of you as soon as possible. Please wait until then. Please support me.

I hope she gets well soon. It's a pity that she had to withdraw from the Janken Tournament. Hopefully she will be fine again until the Shonichi of Team BII's new theater show.

NMB48 Team BII Announces New Stage

On September 13, Team BII performed the stage [Party ga Hajimaru yo] as a special and during this show it was announced that they will start a new stage. Team BII's current stage [Aitakatta] will have its Senshuuraku (final performance) on October 17 and the new stage will start on November 1.

NMB48 started [Aitakatta], originally Team A's 2nd Stage, in April last year as a Kenkyuusei stage for their 3rd Generation Kenkyuusei. When Team BII was formed in October last year, the [Aitakatta] stage was continued as Team BII's 1st Stage.

As previously reported, new stages for all teams have been announced during AKB48's Tokyo Dome Concert. Team BII's Shonichi (first performance) was set for August 9 next year, still almost a whole year to go. So the new stage about to start in November will most probably be either a redone stage or a waiting stage.


I am glad about this announcement. Team BII still has a long way to go compared to other teams and Aitakatta isn't really a stage that makes a team stand out, it has been performed by too many other teams. I hope Team BII gets a stage where they can grow as performers and show their potential.

Kashiwagi Yuki's 2nd Single [Birthday Wedding] Covers

Recently it was announced that Kashiwagi Yuki will release a 2nd solo single and now the title and covers have been revealed. The single is called [Birthday Wedding]. It will be released on October 16th, about 8 months after Yukirin's 1st single [Shortcake].


The six covers show Yukirin in different wedding outfits, appropriate to the title. Check them out below!

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


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


TYPE C (Limited) cover, TYPE C (Regular) cover

Yukirin looks absolutely beautiful on all covers and I do like the regular version covers because of their simple elegance, especially Type C regular. But I don't like the limited version covers, they look as if not much effort has been put into them. What do you say? Which is your favourite cover?

AKB48 Nakamata Shiori Announces Graduation

Nakamata Shiori, member of Yokoyama Team A, announced that she will graduate from AKB48. The announcement was made during Nakamata's birthday show in the AKB48 Theater on September 9th. She explained that she wants to work towards a new dream of hers from now on.

Nakamata joined AKB48 in 2010 as a 10th Generation Kenkyuusei. After passing the entrance exam for the prestigious Waseda University she was promoted in February 2011 to reward her hard work, it was the first promotion for a 10th Generation Kenkyuusei. She later joined Team 4 when it was formed for the first time, and became a Team A member after Team 4 was disbanded.

Her graduation show is scheduled for September 15th and her last activity, a handshake event, will take place on September 23rd.



Nakamata Shiori's Comment
Original Message

During today's theater show I announced my graduation. I am sorry for this sudden announcement and for surprising my fans. I experienced different kinds of work during AKB48 and I have found the work, a dream, I really want to do. I plan to graduate from AKB48 and make preparations for fullfilling my dream. From now on I will work with all my strength towards this new dream. Thanks to those who have supported me until now. My remaining activities as AKB48 are my last theater show on 09/15 and the individual handshake event on 09/23 which will really be my last activity. There is only a short time left but please support me. I will explain my feelings in my blog and G+ so please take a look at it if you want.
Nakamata Shiori

This is no surprise. Nakamata didn't get any spotlight and rarely got to perform in the theater. It's sad to see this smart and hard-working girl go. I wish her all the best for the future and hope she can make her new dream come true.

HKT48 2nd Single [Melon Juice] First Week Sales

HKT48's 2nd Single [Melon Juice], released on September 4, finished its first week and ranked number 1 in the Oricon Weekly Charts with 268,897 copies sold. First Day sales alone amounted to 222,984 copies which put HKT48 also on top for the Daily Charts.

These sales are a slight increase compared to the previous single [Suki!Suki!Skip!] which sold 250,147 copies in its first week. HKT48 is now only the second female group who topped the Oricon Charts consecutively with their first two singles since debut (the first group being NMB48).

Only a small increase in sales, but well, better than decreasing sales. Overall these numbers are fine, so nothing to complain for me.

NMB48 8th Single [Kamonegikkusu] Covers, Tracklist and Short PV Revealed

NMB48 has revealed further information regarding their 8th Single [Kamonegikkusu] which will be released on October 2: covers and tracklist are out and a short version of the PV has been posted on NMB48's official Youtube channel as well.

The covers show the girls in their kind of futuristic outfits from the PV. While the Type C cover features all senbatsu members, Type A, B and the theater version show a selection of front girls.

The tracklist includes the usual Akagumi, Shirogumi and Namba Teppoutai songs but also a Kenkyuusei song. Check out the full tracklist, covers and short PV below.

Type A 1,600yen	[CD] 01. Kamonegikkusu 02. Sunglass to Uchiakebanashi (Kenkyuusei) 03. Doshaburi no Seishun no Naka de (Shirogumi) 04. Kamonegikkusu (off vocal) 05. Sunglass to Uchiakebanashi (Kenkyuusei) (off vocal) 06. Doshaburi no Seishun no Naka de (Shirogumi) (off vocal) [DVD] 01. Kamonegikkusu (MV) 02. Kamonegikkusu (MV Dancing Version) 03. Doshaburi no Seishun no Naka de (Shirogumi)(MV) 04. Special Footage Hoshi ni negau koto (First Part)
Type B 1,600yen	[CD] 01. Kamonegikkusu 02. Sunglass to Uchiakebanashi (Kenkyuusei) 03. Omowase Kousen (Akagumi) 04. Kamonegikkusu (off vocal) 05. Sunglass to Uchiakebanashi (Kenkyuusei) (off vocal) 06. Omowase Kousen (Akagumi) (off vocal) [DVD] 01. Kamonegikkusu (MV) 02. Kamonegikkusu (MV Dancing Version) 03. Omowase Kousen (Akagumi)(MV) 04. Special Footage Hoshi ni negau koto (Second Part)
TypeC 1,600yen	[CD] 01. Kamonegikkusu 02. Sunglass to Uchiakebanashi (Kenkyuusei) 03. Mou Hadashi ni wa Narenai (Namba Teppoutai Sono Yon) 04. Kamonegikkusu (off vocal) 05. Sunglass to Uchiakebanashi (Kenkyuusei) (off vocal) 06. Mou Hadashi ni wa Narenai (Namba Teppoutai Sono Yon) (off vocal) [DVD] 01. Kamonegikkusu (MV) 02. Kamonegikkusu (MV Dancing Version) 03. Mou Hadashi ni wa Narenai (Namba Teppoutai Sono San) (MV) 04. NMB48 feat. Yoshimoto Shinkigeki Vol.7
Theater Version 1,000yen	[CD] 01. Kamonegikkusu 02. Doshaburi no Seishun no Naka de (Shirogumi) 03. Omowase Kousen (Akagumi) 04. Jikan wa Katarihajimeru 05. Kamonegikkusu (off vocal) 06. Doshaburi no Seishun no Naka de (Shirogumi) (off vocal) 07. Omowase Kousen (Akagumi)(off vocal) 08. Jikan wa Katarihajimeru (off vocal)

NMB48 8th Single Titled [Kamonegikkusu] + Senbatsu Revealed

As previously reported, NMB48 will release its 8th single on October 2nd and today this single was performed for the first time in NMB48's theater. The single is called [Kamonegikkusu].

The senbatsu line-up for this single is almost the same as for the previous one [Bokura no Eureka]. The only change is that Shimada Rena is out  and Kadowaki Kanako back again.

Senbatsu:
Team N: Ichikawa Miori, Ogasawara Mayu, Kadowaki Kanako, Kotani Riho, Jonishi Kei, Shiroma Miru, Yamamoto Sayaka, Yoshida Akari, Watanabe Miyuki
Team M: Takano Yui, Tanigawa Airi, Yagura Fuuko, Yamada Nana, Yogi Keira
Team BII: Kato Yuuka, Yabushita Shu

In: Kadowaki Kanako
Out: Shimada Rena


Now this is a weird title! Some say the title might be a combination of the Japanese Pokemon names Kamonegi (Farfetch'd) and Kamex (Blastoise). Aki-p and his ideas for lyrics are really something!

Watanabe Mayu [Rappa Renshuuchuu] Release Solo Live in Nagoya Setlists

To commemorate the release of her 4th single [Rappa Renshuuchuu], Watanabe Mayu is holding four solo live events entitled [Mayu's Restaurant Zenkyoku Full Course wo Meshiagare]. Over the course of these four shows she will perform all 24 of her solo songs.

The first two shows were held on 1st September 2013 in Nagoya to 1300 people per show, and the second two will be held on 16th September 2013 in Omiya, Saitama to 2500 people per show.

Nagoya Show 1
Nagoya University Bunri Culture Forum <Inazawa city center>
1st September 2013: 14:00

1. Rappa Renshuuchuu
2. Kisu no Sonar-on
3. Hikaru Monotachi
4. Mayuyuroido
(Costume change: pink yukata)
5. Cousin
6. Shinjuku Yuutousei
7. Saisho no Jack
EN1. Synchro Tokimeki

Nagoya Show 2
Nagoya University Bunri Culture Forum <Inazawa city center>
1st September 2013: 18:00

1. Rappa Renshuuchuu
2. Lavender no Juutan
3. Otona Jelly Beans
4. Heart no Soup
MC (Mayuyu single mix by Hachioji P)
5. Saba no Kanzume
6. Itsu Demo Soba ni Ite Ageru
7. Goujou na Junjou
EN1. Synchro Tokimeki

Here is a photo of her with DJ Hachioji P:

And these are autographed balls Mayu threw out during Synchro Tokimeki.

And the exclusive goods as sold at the live events: