NMB48 3rd Generation Kenkyuusei 1st Stage [Aitakatta] Shonichi

NMB48's 3rd Generation Kenkyuusei performed their 1st Stage [Aitakatta] on April 29th for the first time.  [Aitakatta]  was originally performed by Team A in 2006 as their 2nd Stage, and later redone by Team B and Team KII. For NMB48's version, 16 out of the 22 3rd Generation members were selected to perform the Shonichi show. An important position to watch out for in the [Aitakatta] Show is the lead girl for [Nagisa no Cherry] . This song is almost a solo and the lead part has been performed originally by Maeda Atsuko and later by Watanabe Mayu and Mukaida Manatsu. This time the...

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SKE48 Team E 2nd Stage [Saka Agari] Shonichi Announced

Team E's first performance of their second stage will come in less than 3 weeks on the 14th of May. E2 will be a revival of original-Team K's 5th stage, which was performed more than 2 years ago from February 2009 to February 2010. Team E just wrapped up its first stage [Pajama Drive] at the end of March, and the girls are quickly preparing for their comeback.With the graduation of 3 members from Team E, I wonder whether management will rotate research students in and out of performances, or just directly promote them to the team.I'm especially interested in who the unit members will be, especially...

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Maeda Atsuko's 2nd Single Titled [Kimi wa Boku da]

Maeda Atsuko's 2nd single has been titled [Kimi wa Boku da] and the release date has been set for June 20th. The single will be the theme song for the movie [LOVE Masao-kun ga Iku!]. The movie hits the theaters on June 23rd and is based on a true story about a Labrador named Masao. No other details have been revealed but Acchan's song [Mikigata] which is the ending for the AKB/JE drama [Shiritsu Bakaleya Koukou] is probably one of the b-sides. This is probably Acchan's last song as an AKB member and I'm really looking forward to it, because listening to Mikigata, she has definitely improved. ...

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New Subunit Formation for AKB0048 [NO NAME]

The Seiyuus of AKB0048 (Mayu Watanabe, Sato Sumire, Ishida Haruka, Iwata Karen, Sato Amina, Nakaya Sayaka, Yagami Kumi, Hata Sawako and Mita Mao) will be forming a new subunit for the opening and ending of the anime. The subunit is called [NO NAME]. The opening song is titled [Kibou ni Tsuite] while the ending song is titled [Yume wa Nandomo Umarekawaru]. Both songs will be written by Akimoto Yasushi. Other details about the single will be announced later. I knew they'd make a subunit but the name of the subunit...hmm. Anyways excited for the anime as well the OP/ED n...

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SKE48 [Aishiteraburu] tracklist + lineup + covers

SKE48's 9th single [Aishiteraburu], slated for release on 16th May, tracklist and line up for the b-side songs are out. This time there is a really really big change in the line up. Selection 8 is no longer a front girl line up which is a good change. Also Shirogumi will not have Matsui Jurina this time probably due to her health and that she was not able to do the recording for the song. A lot of kenkyuuseis now are a part of the b-sides along with the 5th gen Kenkyuuseis getting their own song titled [Me ga Itai Kurai Hareta Sora]. So here, check out the tracklist and line up: SKE48 9th...

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AKB48 Tour [Nonaka Misato, Ugoku.] Set List

*The Setlist will get updated as other Teams continue their performance. Nonaka Misato, Ugoku. ~47 Todoufuken de Aimashou~ 野中美郷、動く。　～47都道府県で会いましょう～ Date: 6th April ~ Team A (Fukuoka) Date: April 6th Kage-Ana: Oya Shizuka M00 - Overture M00 - Te wo Tsunaginagara (HKT48) M00 - 10nen Zakura (HKT48) -----MC1----- M01 - Party ga Hajimaru yo M02 - Only Today M03 - Tadaima Renaichuu M04 - Everyday, Kachuusha -----MC2----- M05 - Nage Kiss de Uchiotose! (Sashihara Rino, Maeda Ami, Nakagawa Haruka, Katayama Haruka, Nakaya Sayaka, Oya Shizuka) M06 - Faint (Shinoda Mariko, Kuramochi Asuka, Iwasa Misaki) M07...

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HKT48 and NMB48 as regulars in new TV show [Aru aru YY Terebi]

HKT48 and NMB48 both became regulars on a new TV show called Aru aru YY Terebi and broadcasted by TVQ, a local broadcasting station from Fukuoka, HKT48's home town. The show started April 23 and is broadcasted every week from Monday to Thursday night. HKT48 will appear every Monday, Wednesday and Thursday, while Tuesday will feature NMB48 together with the comedian duo Bad Boys, the hosts of AKBINGO!. Every weekday a different comedy duo from Yoshimoto appears as hosts. The shows topic is 'subculture'. The girls are supposed to learn the 'fascination of subcultures' through several different...

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Nogizaka46 to Hold Auditions for 2nd Generation Members

AKB48's official rival group Nogizaka46 has announced auditions for 2nd generation members. The auditions will be held on 29th April. It will be held in ETC Dance School (Ikebukuro branch)The requirements to join is that you must be a female between the age of 12 to 24. Beside this, no further details has been given as of yet. Seems like NGZ is upping their game, does this also mean they will have Teams now? Well, we'll just have wait and s...

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SKE48's Imade Mai Announces Her Graduation

At today's SKE48's Kenkyuusei theater performance, 3rd gen KKS Imade Mai announced her graduation. The reason for her announcement was for her wish to study abroad and also because of a leg injury. She also made a G+ post concerning this: At today's theater performance, I, Imade Mai, was allowed to make an announcement about my graduation. Another time, I will write a detailed post. For now, I'm sorry. This is really sad as Mai is the 4th member from SKE to graduate this year. The vacant spot left by Matsushita Yui and Nakamura Yuka as they graduated last year from Team S...

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SNH48 Announced

Kojima Haruna, Abe Maria, Suzuki Shihori, Kawaei Rina and Natori Wakana went to Shanghai on April 21st, 2012 for an event, during which fans sang Happy Birthday to celebrate Kojima's 24th birthday, which was on April 19th, 2012. More importantly, it was announced at this event that there will be a new sister group based in Shanghai, named "SNH48".  There will be management offices in bot Shanghai and Hong Kong.  Commercials and websites will start soon and auditions will be held in August 2012.  16 members will debut right before December 2012, when AKB48 celebrates its 7th...

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Sashihara Rino to Produce [Yubi Matsuri]

Sashihara Rino will be the producer for an idol event, called [Yubi Matsuri], an event where you can see the performances of all the current talked about idol groups.  It will be held at Budokan! The groups participating are: Idoling!! Sashihara Rino Shiritsu Ebisu Chuugaku SUPER☆GiRLS TOKYO GIRLS' STYLE PASSPO☆ Watarirouka Hashiritai 7 Date: 25 June 2012 Venue: Nippon Budokan Ticket price: 345 Yen Venue opens at 17:03:45 Concert starts at 18:03:45 The recurring numbers 3, 4 and 5 = Sa (3) Shi (4) Ko (5) There are 2 ways to get tickets: 1)...

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Sashihara Rino Single [Soredemo Suki da yo] Tracklist

The tracklist for Sashihara's debut single has just been unveiled on her official website. Her first CD release will be available for in-store purchase starting May 2nd in four editions (regular types A, B, C, along with theater ver. D). On this same day, Sasshi will compete with rival group Nogizaka46 on the Oricon chart!Aside from releasing 33 date simulation videos, Sashihara will treat her fans to a special cover of Matsuura Aya's [Yeah! Meccha Holiday]. Other songs included in this release are a solo rendition of [Renai Sousenkyo], a one-shot tune by YM7, and [Itoshiki Natasha] from Stage...

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NMB48 Tour [Osaka Juuban Shoubu] Set List

NMB48's Osaka Prefecture tour [Osaka Juuban Shoubu]  has started on April 19th in Kashiwara. Check out the setlist below. Osaka Juuban Shoubu 大阪十番勝負 Date: 19th April ~ 31st May First Show, Rivière Hall, Kashiwara Date: April 19th M01 - RIVER M02 - NMB48 M03 - Aitakatta -----MC1----- M04 - Renai no Speed (NMB Seven, Shiroma for Jo) M05 - Uso no Tenbin (NMB Seven, Watanabe for Jo) M06 - Blue Rose (Kinoshita Haruna, Kondo Rina, Kishino Rika, Yamaguchi Yuuki) M07 - Rider (Kadowaki Kanako, Jonishi Kei, Kotani Riho, Matsuda Shiori, Shinohara Kanna) M08 - Shinkirou (Yamada Nana,...

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AKB48 revival concert [Minogashita Kimitachi e 2] announced

AKB48 will be doing another round of the Minogashita concert this year, this time aptly titled [Minogashita Kimitachi e 2]. This year's Minogashita concert will span a total of 21 days, from May 3rd to 24th, 2012. The location is the same as last years', at the Tokyo Dome City Hall. The  Minogashita Kimitachi e 2 revival concert is a good way for newer fans to get to know the past stage songs of AKB48 as well as the sister groups, and for older fans to relieve their memories. Most of those songs do not make it to AKB48's concerts or even the Request Hour concerts. I would even go as far as to say that a lot of the old songs that ranked in the Request Hour 2012 concert wouldn't have made it there if not for last year's Minogashita concert. AKB48 Concert [Minogashita...

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AKB48 Single [Manatsu no Sounds Good!] Tracklist + Lineup + Covers

Today KING RECORDS revealed the tracklist and member lineup for AKB48's upcoming single [Manatsu no Sounds Good!], to be released on May 23rd, 2012. King Records: http://www.kingrecords.co.jp/cs/pages/soundsgood-senbatsu.aspx AKB48 26th Single Manatsu no Sounds good! 真夏のSounds good ! 23 May 2012 TYPE A Limited Regular 1,600yen[CD] 01. Manatsu no Sounds Good! (All Stars) 02. Mitsu no Namida (Special Girls) 03. Choudai, Darling! (Selection 10) 04. Manatsu no Sounds Good! off vocal ver. 05. Mitsu no Namida off vocal ver. 06. Choudai, Darling! off vocal ver. [DVD] 01. Manatsu...

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Applications for Auditions of 14th Generation Kenkyuusei Now Available

According to Togasaki, manager of AKB48, the management is now accepting audition applications for the 14th Generation Kenkyuusei. The full post is translated below: Today we will start accepting Kenkyuusei applications for 14th Generation.  Application period ends at the end of the month, on April 30th, 2012.For details, please see a later post.Today I had some questions from people who want to leave good impressions at auditions, so I'll answer them here.1 - What kind of people will make it?--> There is no clear standard for that.  If we had one, then there wouldn't be members...

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Nogizaka46 To Change Choreography for [Oide, Shampoo]

Since the first performance of Nogizaka46's [Oide, Shampoo] and the subsequent release of Music Videos, the most discussed aspect of this song is the choreography. On 2ch, a popular Japanese online forum, the discussion is especially fierce.  Many did not like the choreography and wondered why the management decided to go ahead with it. On April 15, their producer Akimoto Yasushi finally spoke up Akimoto Yasushi - Apr 15, 2012  -  Mobile  -  Public Business call. Konno at  Sony Music! See? Now that part of "Oide Shampoo", Nogizaka46's new song, is getting...

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SKE48 9th single titled [Aishiteraburu] + Senbatsu

Today SKE48's two day concert [Senyou Gekijou wa Aki made ni dekiru no ka?] ended today and as a part of their encore they performed a new song titled [Aishiteraburu] which is definitely the new single being released on May 16th, seeing as the members who performed are the usual senbatsu members. The title is actually pretty cute and probably is a combination of "Aishiteru" and "I love you". I'm pretty sure that this is a summer single as [Pareo wa Emarald] was one too last year. The members who performed this single in the concert today: (Kinoshita Yukiko subbed for Jurina today) Team S:...

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SKE48 [Senyou Gekijou wa Aki made ni dekiru no ka?] Setlist

Senyou Gekijou wa Aki made ni dekiru no ka? SKE専用劇場は秋までにできるのか？ Date: 14 ~ 15 April Location: Nippon Gaishi Hall Day 1 Kage-Ana: Yagami Kumi M00 - Kareha no Station (Matsui Jurina) ----MC1----- M01 - Glory Days (Matsui Rena, Yagami Kumi, Kizaki Yuria) M02 - Kizashi (Team KII) M03 - Boku no kaze (Team E) M04 - Koi wo Shijin ni Narenakute (Team S) -----MC2----- M05 - Party ga Hajimaru yo (Team S) M06 - Dear My Teacher (Team S) M07 - Shonichi (Team E) M08 - Wasshoi E! (Team E) M09 - Senaka kara Dakishimete (Team KII) M10 - Rio no Kakumei (Team KII) M11 - JESUS (Team KII) M12 - Omatase Setlist...

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NMB48 4th Single [Nagiichi] Tracklist

The tracklist for NMB48's 4th Single [Nagiichi] has been revealed. The single's coupling songs are [Rifujin Ball]  (Unreasonable Ball) sung by the Undergirls, [Saigo no Catharsis]  (The last catharsis) by Shirogumi, [Boku ga Mou Sukoshi Daitan nara]  (If I was a bit more bold/daring) by Akagumi, [Hatsukoi no Yukue to Play Ball]  (The direction/whereabouts of first love and play ball) by NMB Seven and, last but not least, [Warukii]  by Watanabe Miyuki. Warukii is a name used for Watanabe Miyuki coming from "warui mirukii" (bad Milky), and the...

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NMB48 Team M Kodakari Yuuka to Graduate

NMB48's Team M member Kodakari Yuuka announced on April 13, that she will graduate from the group. The reason for her decision is poor physical health. This announcement comes at a bad timing. Team M will start their first show [Idol no Yoake] on May 5th. They have to find a replacement for Yuuka quickly. This is also the third graduation announcement from NMB48 in less than two weeks after Ishikawa Kokoro and Hara Mizuki , but this time it is not a Kenkyusei but a full member. Even though quite a few Kenkyusei have left NMB48 in the past months, Kodakari Yuuka is only the second full...

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Matsui Jurina and Shimada Haruka Discharged From Hospital

Matsui Jurina was discharged from the hospital on April 12th, 2012. Here is the update from SKE48's official blog: Good evening. Sorry I was not able to update the blog often. Thanks to all the warm comments from everyone, they gave me energy and now I am out of the hospital!! I'm very happy to share this news with you. But I am not 100% recovered. I would really like to get back on stage in front of you guys as soon as possible... I want to see everyone... So I will get better as soon as possible. I will also start stretching so I can move better. I'll update again soon. Shimada...

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AKB48 Creates Horse Racing Club for JRA New Campaign

On April 12th, 2012, it was announced that JRA (Japan Racing Association) will use AKB48 in its new "Smart! JRA" campaign. A Horse-Racing Club was formed with 28 members, all of whom are above 20. They will participate in a campaign called "Gachi Uma", where they compete against one another in predicting the winning horses for 5 Grade-1 races from April 29th, 2012 to May 27th, 2012, and the winner will be featured in JRA's fall commercials. Starting from April 15th, 2012, new JRA commercials featuring AKB48 Horse Racing Club members will be aired.  The first commercial will show...

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