[GENERAL] The AKB48 Thread

They are not appearing on Kouhaku either:
https://twitter.com/nhk_kouhaku/status/1592792081529028608

Understandable, their releases this year have been... kinda bad.

I'm more surprised at STU not being invited when their song has been so well received.

 

AKB have zero chance to appear in Kouhako not only next year, but also in the next 3 years an even more (or even never at all). Fans need to relax.
The group has no recognizable members and will not have them in the near future. There is no "mythology" that draws people's attention. Their activity is extremely low. 2 singles and 5 MV in a year? For the group that have over 80 members? C'mon...
Only SKE48 is trying to do at least something.

 

This !


on another note, AKB48 and STU48 will perform at FNS Kayosai day 2 (22-12-14)
https://natalie.mu/music/news/501468

 

For me it's Boku Nanka by Hinatazaka46. I'm not too surprised AKB48 or 48g in general isn't nominated, my hopes were highest for STU48 but also not massively. But I'm surprised no Sakamichi group was nominated either.

My hopes for Kouhaku are also low in general, I agree unfortunately that AKB48 doesn't have any members that get recognised easily by the general public (maybe Hiichan - but every time I mention her to Japanese people, they don't know she's in AKB48 and only know her as one of the Japanese members in IZ*ONE). It's still a shame when it comes around and there are no 48g on there.

Last year, we argued with Sakamichi if Sakurazaka46 is included, then should AKB48 (as sales were quite similar)... so rather than adding AKB48, Kouhaku has gone ahead and removed Sakurazaka

 

akb not invited to Kouhaku has nothing to do with people reconogising the members but simply akb itself is no longer popular and people don't care about them anymore.
twice or hina46 are not invited bc people know who the members are, and i can say the same for other groups as well.

like you say they need to do more activity that draws people to them instead of cooking senbatsu or Hado.

 

AKB this, AKB that...
It's not like removing AKB has improved Kouhaku's viewership
Last year it was even their lowest ever recorded in history:
https://english.kyodonews.net/news/...ear-end-kohaku-music-show-hit-record-low.html
This show should be treated like an afterthought at this point, not something to be aspired to like in the past
For me the Japanese public either stop caring about it, or they just don't understand what's acceptable to be invited so why bother
https://news.yahoo.co.jp/articles/951c3bf49752f66e0e12f0a1a1406108eaff9d0c

 

34.3% is still significant tho.

 

It's significant, but SSK for exp was able to pull similar number back then (32.7%):
https://www.oricon.co.jp/news/2025450/full/
You have to look at the bigger picture regarding Kouhaku, like this comment I agree with here:

Spoiler

Streaming platforms for different festivals this past three years have proven to have a higher audience ratings than Kohaku. The numbers don't lie. The music scene have changed, that's just how things normally go, but so did the show with it. Not everyone wants to be associated with NHK or follow the programe anymore. Calling an artist "washed up" just because they don't want to appear on a music show that has been flopping year after year is not it girlie. There are many new artists on the japanese music scene who are very vocal about not wanting to fit in with the show's model and who earn and enjoy themselves a lot more by doing their own thing on New Year's eve. Kohaku has become just another music show for a very niche audience. The prestigé is gone.

https://aramajapan.com/news/tvmovie...k-kohaku-uta-gassen-is-a-ratings-flop/116620/

 

Screw NHK. They should just do their own AKB kouhaku thing again and invite some artists. Like, DAPUMP will happily jump in and do nemohamo for example.
I hear Momokuro does this every year with great success.

 

That was SSK in 2013 tho, when AKB still pretty relevant (and Sasshi shocked the nation when she won the whole thing)
In the same year Kouhaku achieved 44.5%

 

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