A new idol group of the franchise AKB48 was formed: this is STU48.
The name of the STU48 refers to the town of Setouchi, located in Okayama Prefecture.
After the formation of the sister group NGT48 in 2015, the group of STU48 will be the 6th national sister group of AKB48, scheduled to debut in summer of 2017.
The SNH48 Senbatsu General Election 2015 for their 9th single were held on July 25.
The principle of the senbatsu elections is that fans vote for their favorite members. The ballots were included in SNH48’s previous single (Manatsu no Sounds Good).
AKB48 announced a Team Shuffle during the concert held on March 26 at Saitama Super Arena.
Kitahara Rie has been transferred to NGT48. She is the new captain of the idol group from Niigata.
Several concurrent positions have been cancelled. It marks the end of the collaboration between AKB48 and Nogizaka46.
Check out the new line-ups after this shuffle.
AKB48 Group Dai Sokaku Matsuri (AKB48グループ大組閣祭り～時代は変わる。だけど、僕らは前しか向かねえ！～) was held on February 24, 2014 at Zepp DiverCity in Tokyo.
This event was the 3rd big shuffle of the 48 Family groups. Several transfers between the units and concurrent positions have been announced : Ikoma Riona (Nogizaka46 / AKB48), Matsui Rena (SKE48 / Nogizaka46), Miyazawa Sae (SNH48 / SKE48), Kashiwagi Yuki (AKB48 / NMB48), Chikano Rina (JKT48)…
Check out the new line-ups of AKB48, SKE48, NMB48 and HKT48 after this team shuffle.
AKB48’s 35th single Mae Shika Mukanee (前しか向かねえ) will be released on February 26.
This is the last single with Oshima Yuko as a member of AKB48. She will be the center on the title song.
The tracklist and the members of AKB48, SKE48, NMB48, HKT48, JKT48 and SNH48 selected in the various sub-units have been revealed.
A short version of the MV has been released.
SNH48 Team SII and Team NII were formed on November 11.
SNH48 Team SII consists of members of the 1st and the 2nd generations of the Chinese idol group, while Team NII has only members of the 2nd generation. The captain is Mo Han.
Former AKB48 members Suzuki Mariya and Miyazawa Sae are considered as foreign students and aren’t part of any unit.
Miyazawa Sae and Suzuki Mariya made their debut with SNH48 on October 11.
They appeared on stage for the first time and sung in Chinese . The event was held at SNH48 Theater in Shanghai, China. The 16 songs from the stage Saishuu Bell ga Naru (最終ベルが鳴る) and Heavy Rotation (ヘビーローテーション) have been performed.
Check out some photos of the live performance.
AKB48’s new single Koisuru Fortune Cookie (恋するフォーチュンクッキー) will be released on August 21.
The line-ups for this 32nd single were determined at the 5th AKB48 Senbatsu General Election 2013 won by Sashihara Rino.
3 editions are available. The coupling tracks are different for each one of them.
The Type K edition contains the graduation songs of Itano Tomomi and Shinoda Mariko.
They come with a DVD featuring the music videos and bonus footage.
The limited editions include a ticket for a handshake event.
Sashihara Rino won the 5th AKB48 Senbatsu General Election 2013. Oshima Yuko and Watanabe Mayu came in 2nd and 3rd position.
The first 64 members are selected to perform in AKB48’s 32nd single will be released on August 21.
Shinoda Mariko announced her graduation from AKB48.
The AKB48 32nd Single Senbatsu Sousenkyo (AKB48 32ndシングル 選抜総選挙) was held on June 8 at Nissan Stadium in Yokohama.
Check out the full ranking.
On the last day of the event AKB48 Group Rinji Soukai ~Shiro Kuro Tsukeyoujanaika!~ (AKB48グループ臨時総会～白黒つけようじゃないか！～) held at Nippon Budokan, it was announced that AKB48 will hold a concert tour in the 5 major Domes of Japan title AKB48 2013 Manatsu no Dome Tour ~Madamada, Yara Nakyaikenai Koto ga Aru~ (AKB48 2013真夏のドームツアー ～まだまだ、やらなきゃいけないことがある～) .
The concerts will take place in Fukuoka, Sapporo, Osaka, Nagoya, and Tokyo between July and August.
Moreover, some important team changes have been announced. Sashihara Rino has also been promoted to HKT48 Theater manager in addition to her activities as a member.