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AKB48 Creator Yasushi Akimoto, Warner Japan Recruit for 'Idol Girls Band'

AKB48 producer Yasushi Akimoto and Warner Music Japan announced a partnership on Monday to produce a new "idol girls band," with member applications open from Tuesday to October 31. The project aims to produce an "idol girls band for the nation," debuting next spring.

The project plans to show the "Success Cinderella Band Story" of the band's development. It will use an election system similar to AKB48 and its sister groups to determine the new group's center and headlining members.

The project plans to produce a band with a changing lineup, depending on the music. The applications call for members for vocals, guitar, bass, drums, keyboard, and other instruments. Akimoto emphasizes that having the ability to play an instrument beforehand is not a requirement for applicants. The application is open to applicants betweens the ages of 12 to 19 (as of the end of March 2019).

The application will have three rounds of screenings, which involves screening the applicants' documents, and then two interviews. The project will announce the final members at an event at the Zepp Tokyo on December 23. Unlike with other idol groups, the application emphasizes that the group will allow romantic relationships for its members.

Akimoto founded the AKB48 idol group in 2005, and its sixth and latest domestic sister group, STU48, launched in summer 2017. Akimoto also founded AKB48's "official rival group" Nogizaka46, as well as its spinoff group Keyakizaka46.

Recently, Akimoto founded the 22/7 "dimension crossing" idol group. The group has released three singles (the most recent shipped on August 22), all with CG music videos. That project also has a planned anime, and its character videos began streaming in English in May.

NTV and Akimoto are also producing an original anime project titled Kimi dake ni Motetainda (I Want to be Popular Just to You).

Source: Oricon News, YABand official website via Otakomu