News
Idol Group 9nine Goes on Hiatus
posted on by Egan Loo
The official website for the idol group 9nine announced on Wednesday that it will go on hiatus, so that the individual members can take on new challenges separately. The group plans to hold one last live concert, "9nine one man live 2019 Forever 9nine," at Tokyo's Nakano Sun Plaza on April 6.
9nine's name comes from the original nine-member lineup at its September 2005 founding, but it gradually grew smaller to its current four members: Uki Satake, Hirona Murata, Kanae Yoshii, and Sayaka Nishiwaki (Perfume member Ayaka Nishiwaki's younger sister). The group made its debut on an independent label in 2006, and then made its debut on a major label in 2007. Actress Umika Kawashima was part of the group's lineup from 2007 to 2016, including during its biggest concert at the Nippon Budōkan stadium in 2014. The group also performed overseas in the United States, China, Taiwan, and other countries.
In addition to singing and voice guest roles in Star Driver, the group also performed the ending theme song "White wishes" for My Little Monster (Tonari no Kaibutsu-kun) anime and the theme song "Chikutaku☆2NITE" for the live-action Ranma ½ television special. Other contributions appeared in Beelzebub, Magi: The Kingdom of Magic, Ultimate Otaku Teacher, and Xuan Yuan Sword Luminary.
Satake starred as the robot QT in Space Dandy, and all four current members sang and appeared in Stan Lee and Studio DEEN's The Reflection superhero anime.
Sources: 9nine's website, Sports Nippon, Mainichi Shimbun's Mantan Web via Otakomu
