AKB48 now has sustainable center for upcoming single

Yahagi Moeka

2019 has been a pretty quiet year for the mega idol group AKB48 so far with the only release for the group this year being “Jiwaru Days” which came out in March. Last year they had a release for each quarter of the year and by this time we had “Jabaja” and “Teacher Teacher”. Well, we finally know the second single to be released for the year. It will be titled “サステナブル” (Sustainable) and will be released September 18. 

Around this date will be when the senbatsu song would normally come out, as “Sentimental Train” was released last year September 9, but this year there was no senbatsu so it has been unknown for awhile who will be serving as the center for “Sustainable”. However, now we finally have the answer to this question. Yahagi Moeka has been revealed to be the new center for “Sustainable” and this will be Yahagi’s first time serving as the center. Also, in commemoration of being center for the first time, Yahagi is also getting her very first photobook, which will be released August 7. If you are interested you can pre-order it here.

“Sustainable” will be released in a flurry of editions, six in total. There will be three standard editions and three limited editions. Both the standard and limited editions will manifest in types A, B, and C, with all of the editions including a CD and DVD, but the limited editions will also feature event tickets that will only be redeemable in Japan. You can pre-order you copy of “Sustainable” here.

Standard Edition Type A

Standard Edition Type B

Standard Edition Type C

Limited Edition Type A

Limited Edition Type B

Limited Edition Type C

Check out AKB48’s last single “Jiwaru Days” in the video below.

No general election for AKB48 this year

Mega idol group AKB48 announced on their blog March 13 that there will be no general election—commonly referred to as Senbatsu— this year. The election is held to determine which member will serve as the center for an upcoming single. In the blog post there is no mention as to why there won’t be an election this year, unfortunately.

Last year Jurina Matsui was the winner of the Senbatsu (which was also the tenth election). Matsui was to serve as the center for last year's “Sentimental Train” single; however, a week after she won she went on medical leave and instead of holding the release of the single, production moved forward without her. The music video was made with Matsui absent but was later edited with her inclusion after she returned.

The latest single “Jiwaru Days” is Rino Sashihara’s graduation song. Rino Sashihara is a three-time election winner.

AKB48 idol announces ambitions to start career in Korea

AKB48 idol Juri Takahashi announced that not only will she be graduating from the mega idol group, but she will also be pursuing a career in South Korea. Takahashi is currently the captain of AKB48’s Team B. The announcement came March 4 during a theater performance.

Takahashi competed on the idol reality TV show Produce48 and even though she didn’t ultimately win, she continued to speak with Korean officials and decided that this is what she wanted to pursue.

She also announced that she will be working with Woollim Entertainment—the company that manages Infinite, Joo, and Lovelyz, just to name a few. The final graduation date for Takahashi, along with the debut of her new record label, is still being worked out.

We here at Ongaku To You do wish Takahashi the best of luck with her new career pursuits. If you do want to check out some of her work, feel free to check out AKB48’s latest single “Jiwaru Days” (you can spot Takahashi here as well) below. 

King and Prince wins big at Japan Golden Disc Awards!

The thirty-third Japan Golden Disc Awards ceremony happened this past week and none other than Johnny’s new group King & Prince took home the gold, becoming 2018’s New Artist. 

There were certainly other points of interest from the award show. For the second year in a row, Amuro Namie became Artist of the Year for domestic side—with this being her third time winning the award overall. While not surprising, with their hit movie taking Japan, the band Queen took Artist of the Year for the western side—it has been fourteen years since they have last done so. Korean group BTS also won the award for Best Asian Artist while—also not surprising—Kiyoshi Hikawa won Best Enka Singer of the Year.

Check out a full breakdown of the winners below!

▽Winners of the 33rd Annual Japan Golden Disc Awards
■Artist of the year
【Domestic】Amuro Namie（Second year consecutively, third time overall ）
【Western】Queen（Fourteen years since last won and second overall） 

■Best Asian Artist of the year
【Asia】BTS

■Best Enka or Traditional Artist of the year
Kiyoshi Hikawa

■New Artist of the year
【Domestic 】King ＆ Prince
【Western】Alan Walker
【Asia】SEVENTEEN 

■Album of the year
【Domestic】『Umi no Oh, Yeah!!』（Southern All-Stars）
【Western】『Bohemian Rhapsody: The Original Soundtrack』（Queen）
【Asian】『FACE YOURSELF』（BTS） 

■Single of the Year
「Teacher Teacher」（AKB48）

■Song of the year/ Most popular downloaded
【Domestic】「Lemon」（Kenshi Yonezu）
【Western】「The Middle」（Zedd, Maren Morris, Grey）
【Asia】「Candy Pop」（TWICE） 

■Best Music Video
【Domestic】『namie amuro Final Tour 2018 ～Finally～』（Amuro Namie）
【Domestic】『ARASHI LIVE TOUR 2017-2018 「untitled」』（Arashi）
【Domestic】『Hey! Say! JUMP I/Oth Anniversary Tour 2017-2018』（Hey! Say! JUMP）
【Western】『From From The Vault: No Security - San Jose 1999』（The Rolling Stones）
【Asia】『2017 BTS LIVE TRILOGY EPISODE III THE WINGS TOURIN JAPAN ～SPECIAL EDITION～ at KYOCERA DO』（BTS） 

■Special Award
「U.S.A.」DA PUMP

AKB48 announces Sashi's final single!

Mega female idol group AKB48 announced their fifty-fifth single set for release March 13. Its title has not been announced as of this writing but this will be Rino Sashihara’s graduation single; Sashihara will be acting as the center for the song. As per usual, AKB48 will have several different editions for the single, with Type A including three additional songs which will serve as Sashihara’s own graduation songs. Type C will include songs sung by an all-star cast consisting of members from both the 48 and 46 groups—including a special guest from recently-debuting IZ*ONE from Korean reality TV Show Produce48, naming this all-star group IZ4648.

Rino Sashihara has been with AKB48 since 2007 and is mostly known for being in the sub-group Not Yet. However, in 2012 Sashihara was involved in a dating scandal that led her to a demotion to then-newly-formed HKT48. Even then, Sashihara’s popularity has only continued to grow, even winning her the 2013 Senbatsu (election) and enabling her to become the center for AKB48’s mega hit song “恋するフォーチュンクッキー” (“Koisuru Fortune Cookie”).

Pre-order this monumental single for Type A here and Type C here! Check out the song—“Koisuru Fortune Cookie”—that made Rino Sashihara a household name below!