The history of AKB48 started in 2005, when Yasushi Akamoto selected the new group of idols. From almost 8,000 girls he chose twenty which after their debut on December 5th became known as Team A. Soon after another casting occurred, where applicants were directed to send a short video of their performance by mobile phone. From 12,000 girls eighteen lucky ones formed Team K.
After the joining of a new member thanks to the fans' votes, AKB48 recorded their first album Sakura no hanabiratachi in February, 2006. Later on, after the release of the idols' first photo album, Yuki Usami was the first person to leave the group. Nevertheless, in the same month the girls made their major debut. After releasing their second album, AKB48 signed a contract with DefStar Records and another release went on sale, which reached twelfth on the Oricon charts. In between October and the end of December, the idols decreased their activity because of line-up changes: new girls joined, becoming Team B, while Ayumi Orii left the group.
In 2007 AKB48 continued to release singles, singing about social problems like bullying or prostitution of under-aged girls. Still, the idols put great importance on their performance, going on another tour around Japan - AKB48 Haru no chotto dake zenkoku Tour ~Madamada daze AKB48!~ - which started on March 10th. In April, the group witnessed line-up changes again: the number of idols went down by ten – from 53 to 43. Finishing the year, AKB48 appeared at the 58th edition of the annual Kouhaku uta gassen event, officially becoming the biggest group ever to perform on a stage.
Right on January 1st, the idols released their album titled Set List: Greatest Songs 2006–2007. Two singles later, the group changed their label to King Records and on October 22nd they released the album Oogoe Diamond, which took third place on the Oricon Charts. Unfortunately, on November 3rd, five girls left the group.
After yet another line-up change at the beginning of 2009, AKB48 released the single 10nen sakura. It was the first time in the group’s history that so many copies were sold, the number exceeding far more than 100,000. In July the girls gave their first performance outside Japan - at Japan Expo in Paris. A few months later they left their country again, this time going to the USA. In 2009, the idols continued to record singles, each of which appeared in the top ten of the Oricon charts. Three of those releases was certified Gold by the Recording Industry Association of Japan.
In 2010, in addition to continuous releases of singles selling a hundred thousand copies, AKB48 performed overseas a lot. The girls appeared at Anime Expo in the USA, and in Korea they represented Japan at the seventh edition of Asia Song Festival, and for the first time visited Russia and Singapore. All this time, Team K performed live in their theater and the idols appeared in the media with other J-pop groups like °C-ute.
In June 2011 fans could finally purchase their next album, Koko ni ita koto. The release date was originally set earlier, but after the tsunami the group’s activity was put on hold for a short time. The idols put their efforts into charity: they encouraged their fans to help others and donated a large amount of money for people in need.
Just after another decrease in the members' numbers, the official AKB48 website revealed a piece of information about forming another subgroup, Team 4. The group was to be joined by widely promoted Ami Eguchi which, as it turned out, has never existed. Her appearance and voice have been created based on data of all AKB48 members thanks to cyber technology. Another surprise was the number of copies of the group's 25th single Koko ni ita koto that were sold. On the first day, it exceeded a million copies.
AKB48 is definitely a hard-working group. Many releases, performances and appearances in the media have made the idols one of the best known groups in Japan.
AKB48 is an idol girl group lead by Yasushi Akimoto, an anime and manga scenario writer and producer.
The girls, of course 48 of them, are divided in three groups: Team A, Team K and Team B. The letters are an acronym for Akihabara, a popular neighbourhood in Tokyo known as “Otaku Mecca” and it’s in this neighbourhood that the theatre, in which the girls perform daily, is located.
Just like various other pop groups, the members change once in a while as a girl "graduates" from the group. Of course, the girls are also split up in various other units, usually relating to a special kind of theme.
Right from the start, the group has been a big success in Japan, most of their releases charting quite high in the Oricon charts. Recently, they have also started to focus on foreign countries, with performances in France and the United States.
