Oh my gosh, sorry for the late response. My computer been acting funny each time I log on to the forums. Yeah. I hope they don't make it to different, but if they want an USA48 do well they will probably make some pretty big changes. The costumes would have to be more western as well, since not lot of people will get the school uniforms, besides people who attend private schools and a few public schools who make them school uniforms. USA48 being 18+ will probably be best if they want them to dress sexy, but how many 18+ girls would want to be in an all girl group? Specially if the dating rule still applies? A lot of them would probably quick after two or three years. Yeah I referenced Miley Cyrus because it shows that your musical industry is recently sucking. And if they do it right I'm sure more people will prefer an organized group that serve/cares about the fans than a bratty teenager/adult who doesn't give two hoots about their fanbase and only think about making money. About the dating policy, I think it will help a lot with the fame and make the group more open to guys and female. I also think there should be a middle line. The girls who are really serious about it should be the starters (the ones who don't have boyfriends and follow AKB's rules to a T) and the other who are still dedicated to the group but not willing to follow the dating policy should be the back up dancers. They are just hurting their popularity. *shrugs* Yeah a few modifications will be good. I haven't seen that single yet! Link please. But now I kind want to now... xD Ah yes! I know the feeling as well. I have a close friend who's into Kpop and been trying to twist her arm into listening AKB48 but she doesn't like female groups.... >.> I'm like the "fiuhwhgfihn!" That link you share was rather interesting o.o
ehhh I forgot about this conversation somehow! The issue of age and the dating rule is a tough one indeed, what will remain the same and what will change in such a group. lol yes much of America's music industry is down the toilet, I don't pay any attention to it other than to ska and punk bands, the rest of American music is so far gone I have given up on them.
It's nice to see that there are other fans of AKB and the 48's in the US!!!!!! Anyway I do like the idea of having a 48 group in the US. However like it has been pointed out that many of the girls who would audition to join (if we ever get a group) would have no idea who AKB was and be pretty stuck up about the whole school girl theme. Being a teenage girl myself whenever I mention an idol group to other girls they always look at me like I'm extremely crazy and if I try to explain anything about AKB to them they once again find it crazy and weird . If we do ever get a group it would probably be a good idea to have the first gen members all be 48 fans. Now how we would discern who was a fan and who wasn't is completely beyond me. Personally I don't really think we would need to westernize things too much because wouldn't that really just defeat the purpose. Really what would worry me most about making a group would be the reception it would get. From what I've seen and sorry if this is incorrect we really haven't ever had a group like the 48's here. At first because not many people here seem to have heard of AKB I'd imagine the group would receive some curiosity but I'm somewhat afraid that that would be all they would really get. As it has been pointed out here many times already the current music scene here hasn't been very good, from the music I've seen lately a lot of it does have the techno or dubstep sound and that isn't a sound the 48's really produce very often. So really what I'd be afraid of was the group would end up being rather short lived . Like I said though I'd love to see a group here and maybe it would be best if they started with releasing songs like RIVER, Uza or Beginner as I fell like the group would get a better reception if they started with songs like that. Really though the biggest obstacle would be to find girls interested (I know I would be ).
Hello!~ I know I'm late to reply, but I only recently joined this forum after lurking for quite some time. ^^ Anyway, I'm an 48 fan from the US! I live in Chicago, and I don't know anyone else who likes AKB48. T^T (All of my friends like k-pop). I've been a fan for several months now, but I'm still very new to the fandom! Hajimemashite. Maybe it's because I grew up in the south, but as much as I'd like to see a USA48, I feel that the conservative backlash would be too strong. :c Which is unfortunate. I'd love them to tour the US more thoroughly though! At least come to Chicago! D: Anyway. Nice to meet you all! ^^
They find us weird and crazy huh? Well I have experienced that first hand with coworkers and friends... and family but they become accepting, as to becoming fans, well keep working on them! My mom eventually became a Gundam fan over the years of me always watching Universal Century shows, then one day she says, 'oh your watching Gundam?' and sat down and watched Char's Counterattack with me. She can pick out certain characters and events anymore and keep up with the shows. I think that is enough for fandom, and may be a similar way to get friends or family into the 48family. The U.S. music scene right now, ugh I can't stand it outside of the ska music I listen to. Good idea you have there, if a USA48 group was to be formed, start with songs like River, Uza, and Beginner! lol dude I'm a conservative Republican and from Oklahoma there would be no 'conservative backlash' so no worries on that end! if anything most of them would rather see ya listening to J-pop than RAP or hip-hop from here in the U.S. But that aside, welcome to the fandom! Being a wota is a great joy, have you a oshi yet? Also need to get them k-pop fans into AKB48!!
Yay people are posting here again [party] ! It would be neat to convert or at least get K-pop fans to like AKB. I personally have nothing wrong with k-pop it's just that the amount of AKB fans here is sad (at least on Ohio) (and most people who I've talked to, their idea of K-pop is Gangam Style ). Gosh you're lucky you at least got your mom to like Gundam, I can't get my family interested in anything. Anyway I don't think conservative backlash would be too much of a problem because whatever a USA48 came out with would be a whole lot better than some of the stuff we have know. Sticking with reality though yes there will be some backlash, honestly what group doesn't have any. Though things shouldn't be too bad as long as they don't have the girls dancing in undies (I think they were onto something with Hebirote a bit), swimsuits shouldn't be too bad because honestly what else to teenage and 20 some year olds wear to the beach. Hmm I want to find ways to make AKB more known in the US, I at least did that in my math class when we had to make a math parody song and I did mine to Everyday, Kachuusa (did I spell that right?). Anyway does anyone have any thoughts on where a USA48 would be centered. A lot of people seem to think New York but I honestly think somewhere else would work better.
I too would like to see more Americans posting in this little topic, I mean yeah we have talked a lot about a hypothetical USA48, we are still American AKB48 fans so its a good place to check in I think Gangam Style, UGHHHHH that man is hilarious but I can not stand it... hilarious to the point of annoying and I don't even consider that song to be music! They call it kpop?! Or at least representative thereof?! I will jump off a cliff now... Yeah she has become accepting, though she had questions about my usage of Yukirin as my fb profile picture all the time, that and sometimes Haachan, I alternate the two. Oh you did well to do that in a math class, surprised they had you do such a thing, its close, Everyday Kachuusha. If there was to be a USA48, in terms of the entertainment world yeah Los Angelas or New York City would do. However, I think appealing to whatever state has the larger Asian population would be best. If we wanted to be geographically centered, maybe Dallas would be best(personally I want Oklahoma City, Oklahoma and my hometown of Lawton is ranked as one of the MOST demographically diverse in the nation). Chicago would be a clear NO. And as to getting AKB48 introduced to more people, if you drive like me, play it loud in the car, I have played jpop loudly while driving since I first started driving in 2000. That and get the buttons, I know on ebay you can find the sets of the green, pink, and blue AKB48 buttons, that and many other items that you can sport daily ya know. That and just blather on about AKB48, eventually interest will follow.
Yeah when I can drive in a few years I will definitely blare AKB (I already do around the house ). As for buttons I really want to get some but for now I have like a Mayuyu charm thingy that a friend got for me at the AKB cafe when she went to Japan. Blabbing about AKB is soooooo much fun even when people have no idea what you're talking about . I think I got my little brother to like AKB because recently when we have been in the car he grabs a side of my earbuds and listens for a bit. He says it's awful but thats not work to well when he is dancing in his seat, and wants to look at all the pictures I took during the election [rock] . He said Miichan looked like a baseball player, poor Miichan (I thought she looked really pretty ). Ah I need to find a place that sells j-pop cds, as far as I know we don't have any , but I will look! Oh awesome idea since I can't drive I wonder if I can get my mom to play AKB in the car , it probably won't happen but hey why not give it a chance ! Yeah I realize this was a random post but hey this thread really needs more love [nod], and as dorky as it sounds I do check this thread every time I get on because I like to talk to other US fans.
Ok so I just had a bit of an awesome freak out moment as in I know love Itunes again! Ok so he only AKB song we have is Sugar Rush because Kamikyokutachi was taken off for some unknown reason, but the doesn't bother me too much because I already got it, we don't have any HKT, SKE or international sister group but we have like all the NMB stuff! This is like amazing because lately I have really been loving NMB and well I can actually support them at a reasonable price!!!!!!!!!!! Was I the only one unaware of this, because I feel like I'm dreaming a little bit . Now I must try to get them to get more 48 stuff
Also need to get major retailers like Hastings and that sort to start carrying AKB48 in their foreign music sections!
Sayumi4, open up a Japanese iTunes account. They have all the 48 group songs you could want. It's really easy to do. If you have questions, PM me. admiraltolokus, I've been waiting for Hastings to do that.
I thought US would have more fans lol I'm from Washington (no not D.C) I just recently did a power-point presentation in front of my English class about AKB48 and even though most of them are Asian, they don't seem to know much about our girls
They are probably more likely to know about Girls Generations or goodness forbid that ******* Psy and anything Kpop related. At least you gave them an introduction to the 48 family, did they take it well? No revolution or barely contained feminazi rage? There are a lot of fans in the U.S. I think really, going from fanatics(wotas) to fans who may just listen to the songs sometimes of which I know there are a great many more of the latter. If the KFC fan version of wotas from around the country says anything I think we may have good numbers, but very few knowing about stage48 or other ways to get organized. Of course I think some places like Malaysia or Indonesia may have us beat on the international fandom.
Yay another US fan welcome, welcome [party] ! Ah I feel your pain, I've done similar things with school projects and no one ever seems to know that the 48 groups even exist. Well I've had a bit of a thought granted when I think of things they are always different than what I originally thought but oh well. Anyway so i'm sure we're all well aware of how JKT is releasing some of their songs in English (barely understandable English). What I was thinking is that someone in charge has to know about the English speaking fan base for them to be doing this, so what I was wondering is if this could eventually lead to some form of an English speaking 48 group. I realize we have been of this topic for a while about but when you think about JKT releasing stuff in English it does sort of seems like a platform to launch a new group. I don't know it made sense to me. Lol, I feel like we bash K-pop a lot here but I mean everyone seems to know what K-pop is and yet they don't know that J-pop even exists. Sometimes people will listen to my music or I mention a group and they say "Oh aren't they that Korean group?", it gets annoying really fast
Yep that thing about them knowing Kpop so much better, good doorway to getting them into Jpop and AKB48! As to JKT's activities, that is a decent idea, there is one girl on youtube who is Indonesian and she sings a VERY good English rendition of KFC! [yt]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9HfMRWYCEnw[/yt] more stuff like her's making the rounds could make the songs more appealing in English, it can be done, a USA group maybe not, or not anywhere yet, but the songs definitely!
The US is too big to really have one group like that - it'd have to be something like midwest48, westcoast48, southeast48, etc etc. The songs though, can be done (check out Gille's english cover of Flying Get, it's pretty amazeballs.) Also hi, I'm a US fan who cosplays and performs 48-group songs and stuff [hi]
Hi, I am 48 fan from indonesia and soon will move to the states specifically in san francisco.... any fan there? ^.^ it would be great if we could gather!
Anyone here in Washington/Seattle that would be interested in talking over Skype (text and voice chat only) or text? I'm fine with people outside of Washington too, really, I just want a friend that likes AKB as much as I do.
I'll add you And don't worry, I mostly just use the typing parts, I don't like talking over mic or video much unless it's with someone I'm really close with.
