In May 2007, singer and songwriter Yu-ki met the multi-talented, koakuma ageha—which is a fashion magazine—model Sakura ASAKURA and decided to work together. This was the birth of Jelly Beans, as well as the birth of their fan club. In August, the duo performed their first concert and were later invited as guests to a quiz show on television. In the following months, further concerts and television appearances were made, but were kept to a minimum, due to both singers own solo careers.
In February 2008, their first single, danshi kinsei, which may be translated as “Boys are forbidden,” was released. A few months later, they organised a fan club-only event. In July, they had their first career highlight when they were invited to France as an act for the well-known event JAPAN EXPO 2008. After coming back to Japan, they played some lives and were again invited as guests on television. But France seemed to have stayed in their minds, and so in November, they travelled once more to France to perform at another event. Towards the end of the year the duo presented their second single.
The year 2009 started fairly silent, with only two corporate events up till June. In the summer, their third single was released and the band travelled again to Europe, this time with Germany also in their schedule. That is probably one of the reasons why they got the “ambassador” title mentioned above. In France, they were again invited to the JAPAN EXPO. After travelling back to Japan the group released their first album, which was a collection of B-sides and several new songs. The rest of the year was spent holding several concerts, with one of these being a Countdown Live—a popular event on New Year's Eve.
In early 2010, the band travelled through Europe to promote their collaborative tour with visual kei artist Aoi, which was set up for April.
The music of this duo can be described as pop with several nuances of their own as both singers write their own songs. Several of their songs even have rock influences. The name of the group was chosen due to the musicians' preference for colors and flavors, which are best combined by the sweets known as jelly beans.
Even though the band was chosen as “ambassador of Japanese pop-culture” by the Japanese Consulate in Germany, it is still a side project of both young women. Both Yu-ki—who started performing in the streets back in 2004—and Sakura ASAKURA—who is known as a model and actress—have solo careers with several releases each.
