[Article] The 48 Japanese Schoolgirls Aiming to Take Over the World

[nmskalmn]

Excerpt:

Why AKB48, though? Musically, they sound unremarkable and reminiscent of the similarly marketed groups before them, the worst tendencies of Europop fused with dinner-theater cheesiness. There isn't much separating the Dance Dance Revolution throb of 2010 track "Ponytail And Scrunchie" from 2011's "Everyday, Kachūsha." What's more, if the world were looking for good and varied J-Pop, there isn't a shortage, from the infectious dance pop of Perfume to the genre-slithering of Kaela Kimura to the grandiose-done-right sounds of Ayumi Hamasaki.

Yet, like a lot of J-Pop and pop music around the world, the music plays only a small role in group's popularity. Ashcraft writes that one of AKB's strongest selling point aren't the tunes but the illusion of a personal connection. With four-dozen girls in the group blessed with different interests and personalities, Ashcraft says the group is "an idol smorgasbord where fans can find at least one idol to his or her taste." This manufactured connection is what drives listeners to become obsessive about the group.

Ultimately, AKB48 says a lot about Cool Japan and efforts like it. Although the people behind this cultural push have tried to emphasize more traditional aspects of the country—think textiles—the stuff that sticks has been pretty much the same for the past 20 years: anime, video games, cute characters—all things heavily associated with Akihabara. AKB48 isn't blazing a new path forward for Japanese culture; it's an extension of what has been selling but applied to music, and Akimoto's clever business strategy may be the only truly trailblazing aspect of the group. It's working, though. After Jakarta and Taipei have their theaters, China and Thailand may be next, Akimoto has said.

Read it: The 48 Japanese Schoolgirls Aiming to Take Over the World

[Chibi-Chan]

Haha, yeah that's exactly what I think... xD

[Ranma Matsuri]

The person is right about Ponytail to ShuShu and Everyday but I disagree about their discography not being varied (and of course, not being good as naturally, I don't consider anything I listen to be bad ). They've explored just as many (probably even more) genres and styles in their stages and sub units as their peers and predecessors.

But yeah, obviously their massive success is due to their model and the marketing genius of Akimoto, good catchy songs like Heavy Rotation and Beginner help as well.

It's very interesting how the writer calls the 48 concept: Japan's "next" cultural export... I always thought of their global branching like as an expanding franchise but never truly thought of the connotations so this is intriguing. Thanks for posting.

[ExodusUK]

Beginner and Dear J are their only good songs.

[Polyrhythm]

Haters gonna hate.

[happiholic★]

I can see AKB48 taking over Asia, but not the West. What North Americans want from a celebrity doesn't match the values of AKB48. Although, I can picture AKB48 doing a cute dance in the background of a Nicki Minaj video.

[brener]

AGREED

[Maemi]

LOL at this. Yeah right, I can totally imagine them taking over the west.

[bondingo]

They mention varied artists and use PERFUME as an example? Same writer/producer for every single song and more than half of them are indistinguishable. Don't get me wrong, I like them, but seriously? And Ayu, who's barely been changing it up for the past...I don't know, since MY STORY? What a strangely biased article.

Originally Posted by Ranma Matsuri

I disagree about their discography not being varied

As do I. Listen to Beginner, then Flying Get, then Sakura no Shiori and tell me they sound even remotely similar.

[Andrenekoi]

^Listen to STEP you, Ladies Night, Bold & Delicious, alterna, 1Love, Beautiful Fighters, Startin', Born to be, Marionette, Mirrorcle World, Rule, Sparkle, EnergizE, Rollin', Sexy Little Things, Don't Look Back, Lady Dynamite, Microphone, BRILLANTE and tell me if they sound even remotely similar...

[dreamland2.0]

AKB has a massive discography and a huge wide range of musical styles, much like Ayu does. Both have dived into the same styles before.
You either like it or you don't. Clearly AKB just isn't this person's cup of tea.
There are plenty of AKB fans who enjoy the girls + the music.

[Andrenekoi]

I don't like AKB48... not at all...

But I confess I was impressed that a girl idol group release some of the songs they did...

[koumori]

AKB are cute, but they're definitely a marmite group (you either love or hate them ) and are leading the trend of..well..big girl groups at the moment, with happy, poppy music. I think they're a feel-good band and their music is cute. Not particularly inspiring, but definitely makes you feel happy. I'm not a fan, I only know a few of the member's names (thanks to some AKB-obsessed friends ~) but I think they bring something interesting to the music industry at the moment. I never would of thought a group with so many members could get so popular. I guess it's all down to how they market themselves...the girls seem to do a lot of promotion and interact with their fans so much. That's probably one of the keys to their success I think.

Whether they or something similar could be successful in the West..? I don't think so. I think the West are somewhere much different in terms of what is popular right now in the industry. An interesting idea, but I don't think 48 Japanese girls could attract much of a serious audience, I think it'd be more a fad if it got popular, and it'd be "uncool" to admit to liking their music. Kinda like how it's uncool to admit to watching anime over the age of twelve.

But Love Shine said something about them collaborating with a Western singer? (like, dancing in a video or something..?) I could totally see that. But in all honesty, I think they'll probably ride out this huge burst of popularity in Japan. I think the closest they'll ever get is considering one of their many sister groups to be in a Western country.

[bondingo]

^ Your whole first paragraph

Originally Posted by Andrenekoi

^Listen to STEP you, Ladies Night, Bold & Delicious, alterna, 1Love, Beautiful Fighters, Startin', Born to be, Marionette, Mirrorcle World, Rule, Sparkle, EnergizE, Rollin', Sexy Little Things, Don't Look Back, Lady Dynamite, Microphone, BRILLANTE and tell me if they sound even remotely similar...

Dude, chill. I wouldn't be on an Ayu board if I didn't like her. And anyways, the lack of originality I feel with Ayu lately is if you compare her albums of the past 5-6 years, all you can see is the same kind of patterns with songs for the most part. There's usually one or two here and there that really change it up (Sparkle, Sexy little things, etc.), but I feel that for the most part it's just upbeat cute/summery song (fairyland, Blue Bird, glitter, Sunrise), ballad, rock song, and that's about it. just not feeling the creativity she used to show us.

[Andrenekoi]

^Her rock songs take inspiration from different genres of rock... most of them doesn't even sound alike...

and summer and winter singles are 2 songs per album... not enough to show any lack of creativity if u ask me (but I'm happy she had none for Love Songs and FIVE, anyway)

[Mirrorcle Monster]

I hate those kind of articles. Their lyrics are unusual for idolgroups, they have a great variety of songs (especially the non-singles) and they haver worked SO hard to become who they are

[sesshy]

I don't like them either, but impressed by the sales. I'm not one who's into cute idol girl groups besides Perfume (which is still weird to me ). But explain to me... how does the 48 group work? They're a theatrical group, right? It's so frustrating to even follow them. XD So yeah..

[Yumsushi]

Girl groups, no matter the size, have always been popular in East Asia but I don't think they'll ever see any success outside of this area, thank god. I can't stand them and I don't want to have to see them everywhere I go.