Japan Goes Gaga Over a 92-Member Girl Group

Pop quiz: What act sold a million copies of its last three singles the first day of release? Not Lady Gaga. It was Japan’s AKB48, a group of 92 mostly teenage girls, armed with sugar-sweet pop tunes and sometimes-suggestive lyrics (“My school uniform is getting in the way”) that has saturated the country’s popular and commercial culture. The group is set to play a key role in Japan’s traditional New Year’s Eve four-hour-plus pop-song spectacular.

One day recently, members appeared on nine network-television shows and six radio programs, and blanketed magazine racks. An “AKB48” search on Google Japan yielded 175 million results. From a core fan base of adult men, the group is broadening its appeal to include younger girls. Top brands ranging from Google to Shiseido shampoo have signed up to be associated with the group. As Japan continues to struggle with its prolonged economic slump, AKB48 has become a one-group stimulus package. Peach John, Japan’s answer to Victoria’s Secret, said an AKB48-sponsored Heart Bra aimed at teenage girls sold out in days. Drinks maker Asahi Group Holdings Ltd. said choosing group members to promote its Wonda line of canned coffee—a salaryman staple—boosted sales nearly 7% over the first half of the year. The secret of success isn’t pop perfection, says the man behind AKB48. Quite the contrary. “AKB48 are unfinished,” says Yasushi Akimoto, AKB48 lyricist, producer and mastermind. “Other groups make their debut after auditioning and practicing, but AKB48 are unpolished. Fans can watch them progress,” Mr. Akimoto says. “Boys like them because they think the girls are cute. Slightly older men want to cheer them on, as they would little sisters or daughters,” he says. “Girls who like AKB48 want to be like them.” Following AKB48 is like rooting for your favorite baseball team, Mr. Akimoto says.

Mr. Akimoto has replicated AKB48’s success with sister groups in other cities in Japan like Osaka and Nagoya, but the group is less well known outside the country so far. Now the producer is ramping up plans to launch versions around Asia. In Jakarta, JKT48 is currently rehearsing. Groups are planned for Taiwan, Thailand, Vietnam and China. AKB48 cafés and stores have opened in Singapore, Hong Kong and Shanghai. Mr. Akimoto doesn’t rule out a move in the U.S. “Mr. Akimoto is not just developing an artist, he’s developing a business model,” says Alan Swarts, a vice president at MTV Japan, who asked AKB48 to present a June charity concert for victims of this year’s earthquake and tsunami.

SOURCE