Tokyo Girls' Style

Tokyo Girls' Style
東京女子流
Japanese idol group TOKYO GIRLS' STYLE perform at the 2015 HYPER JAPAN summer festival.
TOKYO GIRLS' STYLE at HYPER JAPAN (2015)
Background information
Origin Tokyo, Japan
Genres J-Pop
Years active 2010 (2010)–present
Labels Avex Trax
Website tokyogirlsstyle.jp
Members Miyu Yamabe
Yuri Nakae
Mei Shyoji
Hitomi Arai
Past members Ayano Konishi

Tokyo Girls' Style (東京女子流, Tōkyō Joshi Ryū) (stylized as TOKYO GIRLS' STYLE) is a Japanese idol girl group created by Avex Trax.[1] Originally consisting of five teenage members, Miyu Yamabe, Hitomi Arai, Yuri Nakae, Ayano Konishi and Mei Shyoji,[2] the group was the first idol group that Avex had created in seven years.[1] Konishi retired from the group in December 2015.

The group's name symbolizes that the group is full of surprises and it is unknown how they would develop in the future, much like Tokyo's image.[3] They also hope that they can one day emulate Tokyo's success in areas such as entering overseas markets and coming up with their own unique style.[3]

History

Debut & Idol Career

Avex created the group Tokyo Girls' Style in 2009 to capitalize on the rising demand for Japanese idol girl groups, a trend fueled by the success of the female idol group AKB48.[4] Members of the group later said that they had previously worked with this record label before, and were reportedly encouraged to audition for the new group.[4] On December 1, 2009 the Japanese media made reports about this new group, though Avex kept the identities of the group's members a secret until January 1, 2010.[1] From January 1 to January 5, 2010, Avex gradually released more information on the members of the group,[5] and launched the group's official website.[2]

The group's debut single, "Kirari" (キラリ☆, lit. "Sparkling"), was released on May 5, 2010,[6] reaching a peak position of 30th place on the Oricon charts.[7] Their second single, "Onnaji Kimochi" (おんなじキモチ, "Same Feeling"), was subsequently released on May 19, 2010.[8] Their first album, Kodou no Himitsu, which is a compilation of their previous singles,[9] was released in Japan on May 4, 2011.[10] This album peaked at the 25th position on the Oricon charts.[10]

In order to break into other Asian markets, Tokyo Girls' Style re-recorded the song in their second single, "Onnaji Kimochi", in Mandarin Chinese.[9] This version of the song was included in the album entitled 心跳的秘密 (Xīntiào de mìmì), which was released in Taiwan on May 4, 2011, and in Hong Kong one week later.[3] The group admitted that "They were worried that their singing is not good because the Chinese pronunciation is so hard [to grasp]."[3]

Since then, the group has released more albums in these two places,[4] as well as releasing a Chinese-language official site.[11]

In 2012, they made their debut performance in Singapore.[4] They later commented that "they were surprised by how many people showed up to watch them.".[4]

Tokyo Girls' Style's 11th single, ""ROAD TO BUDOKAN 2012: Bad Flower", was released on October 17, 2012, and it became their first single to debut on the Oricon TOP10 charts, debuting at the 4th position.[12] They later performed their first solo gig at Nippon Budokan on December 22, 2012,[4] becoming the youngest female group to perform at this location.[13] During this concert, the age of the group's members were revealed for the first time; previously, only their birthdays had been revealed.[13]

In 2014, the group starred in two films, Count Five To Dream Of You (directed by Yuki Yamato), and Kotodama – Spiritual Curse, a famous horror movie series in Japan. Of the experience Ayano Konishi shares, "It was horrifying to shoot at the abolished school at the middle of night. It was completely dark there, so it was too scary to be alone. Especially in front of mirror, I was not able to keep my eyes open because of the fear of accidentally seeing someone standing behind me." [14] The two films had a US premiere at the Japan Film Festival in San Francisco in July 2014. They also made their US performance debut at the J-Pop Summit Festival 2014 at Union Square.[15]

Post-Idol Career

On January 6, 2015, the group announced it would no longer be an idol group beginning April 2015.[16] They released their last single as an idol group, "Stay with Me" on March 3, 2015.

The group celebrated the fifth anniversary of their debut with the release of the compilation album 1st BEST ALBUM Kirari☆. A month after, they released their first post-idol single "Never Ever" on June 24, 2015. The title track was selected as the ending theme for the anime Fairy Tail. Before its release, member Konishi Ayano announced she would be taking an indefinite suspension of activities to focus on treatment for her lower back pain. The group continued to promote as four, leading up to the release of their fifth album Reflection on December 23, 2015.

On December 30, 2015, Konishi Ayano announced her retirement from both Tokyo Girls' Style and the music business in general, citing ongoing health concerns as the cause for her loss in confidence in her ability to fulfill her duties as a performer.[17] The group have continued on as four.

On August 5, 2017, the group made their first appearance at the Tokyo Idol Festival in over 3 years, despite their previous announcement that they would cease all idol activities. The girls relayed that they wanted to broaden the scope of their activities and wished to "be regarded as both an idol and an artist."[18] On October 25, 2017, the group simultaneously released two mini albums: PERIOD.BEST ~Otona ni Narun Dakara~ which featured re-recordings of their previous idol hits, and PERIOD.BEST ~Kimete Ii yo Watashi no Koto~ which featured singles released in 2016 and 2017.

Members

Current members

Name Birthdate[13][19] Age[13] Birthplace
Miyu Yamabe (山邊 未夢) June 24, 1996 22 Chiba
Hitomi Arai (新井ひとみ) (Sub-Leader) April 10, 1998 20 Miyagi
Yuri Nakae (中江 友梨) June 28, 1997 21 Osaka
Mei Shyoji (庄司 芽生) (Leader) July 2, 1997 21 Yamagata

Former Members

Name Birthdate[13][19] Age[13] Birthplace
Konishi Ayano (小西 彩乃) December 15, 1997 20 Osaka

Discography

Albums

#TitleRelease dateOricon peak
position[20]
1Kodou no Himitsu (鼓動の秘密)May 4, 201125
2Limited addictionMarch 14, 201225
3Yakusoku (約束)January 30, 201313
4Killing Me SoftlyJune 4, 201423
5ReflectionDecember 23, 201541

Compilations

#TitleRelease dateOricon peak
position[20]
11st BEST ALBUM「Kirari☆」 (1st BEST ALBUM「キラリ☆」)May 5, 201515
2PERIOD.BEST ~Otona ni Narun Dakara~ (PERIOD.BEST ～オトナニナルンダカラ～)October 25, 201754
3PERIOD.BEST ~Kimete Ii yo Watashi no Koto~ (PERIOD.BEST ～キメテイイヨワタシノコト～)October 25, 201756

Singles

#TitleRelease dateOricon peak
position[20]
1"Kirari☆" (キラリ☆)May 5, 201030
2"Onnaji Kimochi" (おんなじキモチ)May 19, 201030
3"Ganbatte Itsudatte Shinjiteru" (頑張って いつだって 信じてる)July 21, 201031
4"Himawari to Hoshikuzu / Kitto Wasurenai..." (ヒマワリと星屑 / きっと 忘れない、、、)October 6, 201019
5"Love Like Candy Floss"February 9, 201120
6"Kodō no Himitsu / Sayonara, Arigatō" (鼓動の秘密 / サヨナラ、ありがとう。)May 18, 201124
7"Limited Addiction / We Will Win! －Kokoro no baton po・pon no po~n☆－"
(Limited Addiction / We Will Win! －ココロのバトンでポ・ポンのポ～ン☆－)		August 24, 201111
8"Liar / W.M.A.D."November 23, 201118
9"Rock you! / Onnaji Kimochi -YMCK REMIX-" (Rock you! / おんなじキモチ)March 7, 201216
10"Tsuioku -Single Version- / Taisetsu na Kotoba" (追憶 -Single Version- / 大切な言葉)May 23, 201212
11"Road to Budokan 2012 ~Bad Flower~"October 17, 20124
12"Unmei / Wonderful Smile" (運命 / ワンダフル スマイル)June 5, 20136
13"Get The Star / Last Forever"September 25, 20134
14"Road to Budokan 2013 ~Chiisana Kiseki~" (ROAD TO BUDOKAN 2013 〜小さな奇跡〜)November 22, 201316
15"Partition Love"February 12, 20149
16"Jūjika: Eiga Gakkō no Kaidan Noroi no Kotodama Ver.〜" (十字架 〜映画「学校の怪談 -呪いの言霊-」 Ver.〜)May 21, 201411
17"Say Long Goodbye" (Say long goodbye/ヒマワリと星屑 -English Version-")December 10, 20148
18"Stay with me"March 11, 20157
19"Never ever"June 24, 201523
20"Shinkai" (深海)August 31, 201638
21"Mille-feuille" (ミルフィーユ)November 30, 201633
22"predawn / Don't give it up"March 1, 201722
23"Water Lily ~Suiren~" (water lily ～睡蓮～)July 5, 201717
24"Last Romance" (ラストロマンス)February 28, 201829

Digital Singles

#TitleRelease date
1"Boku no Tegami" (僕の手紙)August 10, 2011
2"LolitA☆Strawberry in summer"August 1, 2012
3"Partition Love"September 25, 2013

References

  1. 1 2 3 2010年1月1日、エイベックスから7年ぶりにガールズグループが誕生 (in Japanese). Barks. December 1, 2009. Retrieved March 10, 2010.
  2. 1 2 謎のガールズグループ東京女子流、ついにベールを脱いだ (in Japanese). Barks. January 6, 2010. Archived from the original on 2012-12-23. Retrieved March 10, 2010.
  3. 1 2 3 4 "蘿莉少女大作戰！「東京女子流」襲台力拼AKB48" (in Chinese). KKBOX Taiwan Co., Ltd. 2011-06-14. Archived from the original on 2012-12-24. Retrieved 2012-12-24.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 St. Michel, Patrick (2012-12-20). "Tokyo Girls' Style to perform first solo gig at legendary Budokan, but first — homework". The Japan Times. Archived from the original on 2012-12-23. Retrieved 2012-12-23.
  5. ↑ 謎のガールズグループ東京女子流の集合画像を先行入手。メンバーは5人. Barks (in Japanese). Barks. December 28, 2009. Retrieved March 10, 2010.
  6. ↑ "東京女子流、5月に2枚のシングルでCDデビュー決定". Barks (in Japanese). Barks. March 18, 2010. Retrieved 2012-12-23.
  7. ↑ "キラリ☆ profile" (in Japanese). Oricon. Retrieved 2012-12-24.
  8. ↑ "おんなじキモチ profile" (in Japanese). Oricon. Retrieved 2012-12-24.
  9. 1 2 "東京女子流1stアルバム「鼓動の秘密」初回盤は写真集付き" (in Japanese). Music Natalie. 2011-02-09. Retrieved 2012-12-24.
  10. 1 2 "鼓動の秘密 profile" (in Japanese). Oricon. Retrieved 2012-12-24.
  11. ↑ "東京女子流 official Chinese page" (in Chinese). avex Taiwan. Retrieved 2012-12-24.
  12. ↑ "【オリコン】東京女子流、11枚目のシングルで初のTOP10入り" (in Japanese). Oricon. 2012-10-24. Retrieved 2012-12-23.
  13. 1 2 3 4 5 6 東京女子流 ： ももクロ抜き、女性グループ最年少で初武道館公演 (in Japanese). Mainichi Shimbun Digital Co.Ltd. 2012-12-22. Retrieved 2012-12-23.
  14. ↑ To, Jeffrey (July 14, 2014). "An Interview with J-pop Supergroup Tokyo Girls' Style". Nihongogo. Nihongogo. Retrieved July 14, 2014.
  15. ↑ "J!-ENT's Dennis A. Amith interviews Tokyo Girls' Style" (PDF). J!-ENT. Retrieved November 9, 2014.
  16. ↑ "TOKYO GIRLS' STYLE Say Goodbye to Idol World Hello! JPOP World". Pure Idol Heart. Pure Idol Heart. 2015-01-06. Retrieved 2016-01-08.
  17. ↑ "To Everyone That Has Supported Us". Tokyo Girls' Style (in Japanese). Tokyo Girls' Style. 2015-12-30. Retrieved 2016-01-08.
  18. ↑ "The Triumphant Return of TOKYO GIRLS' STYLE to Tokyo Idol Festival 2017!". Tokyo Girls' Update. Tokyo Girls' Update. 2017-08-18. Retrieved 2017-10-25.
  19. 1 2 "Tokyo Girls' Style official profile page" (in Japanese). Retrieved 2012-12-23.
  20. 1 2 3 "東京女子流のCD・DVDリリース情報、東京女子流のプロフィールならオリコン芸能人事典-ORICON STYLE" (in Japanese). Oricon. Retrieved 2010-06-19.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.