[GENERAL] The AKB48 Thread

This should be the spirit right?
I feel even when AKB was more popular with the public, management remained Small/Chika Idols level who craves any bit of promotion or something
They were so short-sighted like we always bang about it here, by not simply refusing invitations from Kouhaku or whatever as much as they could. There are popular figures in Japan who don't give a damn about all that

 

I'm not a fan of mixing 48G activities, but Kouhaku is a good idea. Maybe not a red-white battle but West-East competition Could even invite 46G as a guest. And other groups which they have a connection. JO1 or INI

 

If sales is a big factor, I'm curious with the groups that got invited. I mean if its just "poor" sales that's preventing from AKB, then at least the problem is clear.

It does feel that management has stopped caring. The two releases are not enough. Promotions are not enough. The group is gaining a bit of traction, getting noticed again by people beyond the usual wota demographic but management is not grabbing the opportunity.

Sure, we can say Kouhaku doesn't matter but it just comes off as sour graping unless AKB reaches again the sales numbers that are better than those invited groups.

 

As far as getting invited to kouhaku matters, I'm not sure sales numbers are relevant except as a measure of public interest.

 

NHK criterias evolved over time, sales are not a big factor anymore, meanwhile public interest (conducted through a survey) and digital charts / streaming matter more.

 

I guess TikTok is also a big factor nowadays.

 

It’s a huge factor for sure. A lot of these Kouhaku acts had viral songs on tiktok this year

 

Don't see how pointing out reality would come off as sour graping
There are things I want AKB to improve: More MVs per single, Theater upgrades, CD sales, etc,...
However, this group being on the declining media outlets like Kouhaku ain't one of them.
A hashtag has been trending in Japan, apparently:
#紅白見ない - "I'm not going to watch Kouhaku".
It seems the public is really furious about its lineup this time Too many names with influences from korea amongst the reasons

Spoiler

https://news.yahoo.co.jp/articles/d6de1be299f4f653684948d13d50de0d49208262

 

I'd rather watch quality K-Pop groups than boring enka singers tbh.

Besides which, all the K-pop groups featured have Japanese members.

 

AKB kouhaku with JPN48 and INT48 groups sounds fun. I want to see them duke it out against MNL vocal or JKT rearrangement. Maybe just for shocking factor they could invite SNH lol

 

I LOVE Enka!

 

A few months ago, the assassination of Shinzo Abe (Japan's former PM) has been connected to a korean cult.
Tomu was praised by the public for freely voicing her opinion in this political issue, as an AKB's member:

Spoiler

https://twitter.com/CRAAE16/status/1565535470854975489
I think that might have something to do with it. They don't care if there are Japanese members or any other justification.

 

Just to clarify, are you trying to say this is the reason people are complaining about Korean groups being in Kouhaku? While that might have contributed a little, I doubt the reaction would be any different without Abe's assassination and the resulting (re-)exposure of his party's connection to the Moon cult. There's plenty of other reasons to be upset about the inclusion of five KPOP groups (several without Japanese releases) in one of Japan's crown music programs.

For example, they could have invited Taylor Swift instead.

 

It's part of the reason, but reality could be more complicated for sure.
Maybe future PM Tomu knows a thing or two about that
I think most international artists -unlike korea- just want to have a concert in the country & nothing else
They probably had a blast with Bruno Mars recently.

 

I prefer boring enka singers

I'm against spreading misinformation though. The only one without Japanese release is LE SSERAFIM. TWICE is already well established in the Japanese music industry and have been invited numerous times already, while IVE also released a Japanese single quite recently (though I don't agree with them being invited). The other groups people have been complaining are NiziU and JO1, both of them are based in Japan, sing in Japanese with 100% Japanese members.

 

They just need to hold out for like another 4 years (20th aniv) and then they’ll start getting invited back to kouhaku for the nostalgia factor.

 

@sdn48oshi this is actually a great factor, but I'm not sure if it works for idol groups to be honest... Momusu is out since 2008 and they reached a lot of milestones in the 10+ years period, but have not been invited anymore. Although skeptical, I believe this can, indeed, work for AKB, but DH needs to promote them right when reaching these milestones. They couldn't do a good work for the 15 year anniversary, though I'll not judge them for that due to it happening during pandemic period.

 

Many arguments in this thread fall victim to the false dichotomy. Few things can be true at once:
1. This year's kouhaku invite list may be disappointing for many people. Not because it fails to invite akb, but because it invites kpop groups-some of which has yet to even make their japan debut.

Kouhaku might be on its way towards irrelevance. Similar arguments can be made for the japan record awards. Both NHK and japan record awards no longer have good public standings, especially after japan record awards' bribing scandals

2. But even so, and perhaps more importantly, the members do care abt these shows. They are blaming themselves, they feel shitty about it. This means more than any arguments made in this thread because it clearly upsets the girls. Only god knows whether it would eventually motivate or demotivate the girls..

3. And it should not be denied that
Akb has not done anything this year that makes them a must invite for kouhaku. ESPECIALLY in the rising waves of soloists (ado, kenshi, etc) and johnny groups which have gained wider and greater support and recognition.

Releasing good singles and Mv is not enough, they should not guarantee any awards or invites. In fact., releasing good singles, mv, and promotion should be a bare minimum. Yet it is something that the management fails to be CONSISTENT at in the recent years.

They did a lot of shortcut (e.g. increasing no of hs slots and/or including sistergroup members). They feel that as long as they sell well, they are entitled to be invited. The latter applies for the girls too. But it is no longer enough because the market is getting more saturated each day

(Akb also fails to fill up smaller arenas, yet their competitor can fill up domes so clearly we should not make Kouhaku or japan record award as the scape goat)

This is a VERY flimsy deduction. Yes, the rise of marumo no okite and kaseifu no mitazono can be attributed to the japanese earthquake. Many has shown that these two shows have certain elements that symbolizes the wills and the hope to recover from tragedies, which make them so heartwarming and appealing during earthquake.

But the rise of koichun cannot be attributed to that. Japan has always loved catchy and simple dance. Regardless of the earthquake. Koichun might be the first to make big wave outside Japan, but it wasnt the first in Japan.

Suzuki Papaya builds his reputation on creating such hits. His portfolio alone is an evidence that Japan was such a sucker to danceable, simple yet catchy dance.

Koi's popularity was also helped by japan's love to such dance. Remember that Koi and even Koichun happened ways after the earthquake

 

A TV show with 30+% rating is irrelevant niche? Sour grape at its finest.

Does the present AKB still hold the power to hold its own kouhaku and got a fair rating? Did you truly believe AKB and MomoClo were on the same level?

Le Sserafim especially was lashed for being unknown to broader public. However, once the press conference was held and Sakura was present as a rep of the group, the mainstream tone changed from "Who is this group?" to "OK. It's Sakura's group.". The sentiment has much appeased. Besides Sakura, I suppose the invitation has a lot to do with Universal Music Japan.

Rather than the market being saturated, it's the market being changed. The saturation cannot explain 6 first time appearances in this year kouhaku. As someone has pointed out, the music market now is more fragmented. It is so uncommon for a new artist to become a household name thus, it is so normal that they are some acts that many frowned at unable to recognize.

AKB48's members to guest Japan Expo Thailand 2023 are
https://twitter.com/JAPANEXPO_THAI/status/1593816624960004096
Sato Airi
Oda Erina
Mukaichi Mion
Shitao Miu
Yamauchi Mizuki
Kuranoo Narumi
Mogi Shinobu
Murayama Yuiri
Highly likely, these same members will perform in Circle Jam (replacement of Asia Fest) in the next day too.

 

Do you think having an active, married idol as perma-center would be enough to make the news again?