“What is AKB48?”, Why They’re a Huge Deal, and How Produce 101 is Based Off of Them.
I’m going to make this explanation as detailed as possible, specifically for the kpop fans who have no freaking idea how AKB48 works. So it’s going to be long.
AKB48 was initially created with the concept of “local idols you can meet”. They have a theater in Akihabara, Tokyo where different teams perform different songs every single day. While the original group is AKB48, sister groups with theater locations throughout Japan have been created. International groups exist as well.
~SKE48 in Sunshine Sakae, Nagoya
~HKT48 in Hakata, Fukuoka
~NGT48 in Niigata Prefecture
~STU48 in Setouchi Region
~MNL48 in Manila, the Philippines
~JKT48 in Jakarta, Indonesia
~BNK48 in Bangkok, Thailand
People always say “Omg, there’s too many girls! How do people remember them? How do they sing the songs when there’s so many of them?” As I mentioned above, AKB48 is split up into teams, 5 of them: Teams A, K, B, 4, and 8. This photo shows the different teams in different uniforms.
And the sister teams are split into 3 teams each. Teams consist of Captains, Vice-Captains, Members, and Trainees. So when someone says they’re an AKB48 fan, it usually means they’re a fan of a specific team or of a few specific girls.
Fans have to keep up with their favorite girls in order to vote during the Senbatsu Sousenkyo. This is a competition held every year with girls from AKB48 and all its sister groups throughout Japan. Fans vote for the top 16 girls who will end up singing the summer single. The #1 girl is the center. This is the system Produce 101 is based off of. The favorites for this year’s Senbatsu are Miyawaki Sakura (HKT48), the current center on Produce48 and Matsui Jurina (SKE48), an AKB top veteran.
Kenkyuusei are girls that have been training to become official members, and after the Senbatsu, the top trainees are transferred into their teams while older members graduate. Think of it like the NFL Draft of idol groups.
Because the voting involves buying the physical copy of the most recent single in order to get the voting ticket inside, the AKB48 family has the highest album single sales in all of girl group history. The past 29 singles have broken to 1 million sales in the first week, and almost all of them break 1 million sales in the first day. Their singles have been the highest selling songs in Japan (the second largest music industry in the world after US) for the past 8 years running.
AKB48 also “invented” the use of live streams to get closer to fans. In kpop, we have the V Live App, where our favorite groups and artists live stream anything. AKB48′s ‘Showroom’ is the original live stream idol service. Members can stream to their fans from the girl’s shared dormitories/housing complexes, usually in bare faces to keep up the “girl next door” feel. Every 15-30 minutes, a different member comes on the stream.
AKB48 has a manga, mobile games, musicals, 4 ongoing variety shows, 11 dramas, and a movie. Having this many members is a good thing when a company wants to create an entertainment empire. Here’s promo for one of their most popular dramas about high school delinquents: Majisuka Academy
So when people say things like AKB48 isn’t relevant, and that they don’t understand why Produce101 would partner up with a bunch of ‘rookies’? Do me a favor and shoot them down a peg will ya? AKB48 isn’t a group, they’re a goddamn phenomenon. They reinvented the idol system and brought something completely different to the music industry. Whether you like them or not, appreciate the concept, because there’s none other quite like it.
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