Biography
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Years Active
2010 – present (14 years)
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Founded In
Namba, Naniwa-ku, Osaka, Osaka, Japan
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Members
- 三宅ゆりあ (2018 – present)
- 三浦亜莉沙 (2012 – 2015)
- 三田麻央 (2011 – 2019)
- 上枝恵美加 (2012 – 2017)
- 上西怜 (2017 – present)
NMB48 (short for Namba48) is a Japanese idol group and the 2nd sister group of AKB48. They have their own theater in the Yes-Namba Building in Namba, Osaka. The 1st generation members were announced on October 9, 2010 and debuted on March 21, 2011. The group belongs to Kyoraku Yoshimoto Holdings Co., Ltd., a joint corporation of Yoshimoto Kogyo Co., Ltd. and Kyoraku Sangyo Co., Ltd. Auditions were held in August 2010, and were broadcast on the TV show "Starhime Sagashitarou", which featured members of SKE48. Initially, 26 girls passed but there will still be inter-auditions to pick the 16 girls who will be Team N. The 26 girls were introduced on October 9th, 2010 at AKB48's Aki Matsuri.
On December 4, 2010, NMB48 announced that Team N and its captain will be announced at the shonichi performance of Team N's first stage. The remaining members will remain kenkyuusei. On January 1, 2011, NMB48 started performances of its first stage. On March 10, 2011 Team N was formed.
Their debut single, "絶滅黒髪少女" (Zetsumetsu Kurokami Shōjo, "Extinct Black-Haired Girl") was released on 20 July 2011, several months after their first original song "青春のラップタイム" (Seishun no Lap Time, "Lap time of youth") was being performed in the theater. After its release, the single broke the record for largest debut first-week sales for a female artist.
On June 6, the second generation winners were announced at the end of Team N's performance at TDC Hall. In Janaury 2012, NMB48 formed their second team, Team M, with 16 members. Shimada Rena was appointed as the team's captain. Team M performed their first stage, "Idol no Yoake", in May.
In February 2012, the third generation winners were announced, consisting of 23 members. The group also released their third single, "純情U-19" (Junjou U-19, "Pure heart U-19") on the 8th of the same month.
On May 9, 2012, the group released their fourth single, "ナギイチ" (Nagiichi). It became the group's best-selling single after its first week of release, selling 375,000 units according on Oricon. It was also the group's first single that did not chart #1 on the weekly charts, which was achieved by ARASHI's single "Face Down."
In August 2012, NMB48 released their fifth single, "ヴァージニティー" (Virginity). The single marked the first appearance of the third generation, with members Kato Yuuka and Yabushita Shu also appearing in Senbatsu. In October 2012, NMB48 formed their third team, Team BII, with 16 members. The team primarily consisted of third generation members, with Kamieda Emika being appointed as the team's captain.
On November 7th, 2012, NMB48 released their sixth single, "北川謙二" (Kitagawa Kenji) named after the titular staff member. It marked the group's fourth single in 2012 alone, the first appearance of Yokoyama Yui as an kennin NMB48 member, and the first after the formation of Team BII. In December 2012, the fourth generation winners were announced, consisting of 16 members.
On February 27, 2013, NMB48 released their first album, "てっぺんとったんで!" (Teppen Tottande!, "Take the top!") The album debuted #1 on the Oricon chart, with first-week sales of 328,000 units. On June 19, 2013, NMB48 released their seventh single, "僕らのユリイカ" (Bokura no Eureka, "Our Eureka"); the single is currently the group's best-selling single on Oricon, with total sales of 558,000 units.
On August 13, 2014, NMB48 released their second album, "世界の中心は大阪や~なんば自治区~" (Sekai no Chuushin wa Osaka ya ~Namba Jichiku~, "Osaka is the Center of the World ~Namba Territory~"),On October 15, 2014, Team M member Yamada Nana announced her graduation during the group's fourth anniversary event, which would be held on April 3, 2015. In January 2015 it was announced that NMB48 and SKE48 would be competing against each other with their next singles, to be released on March 31st. NMB48's eleventh single, "Don't look back!" was Yamada Nana's first solo center on a title track, as well as her last appearance in NMB48. The single ranked #2 on the Oricon weekly chart, with first-week sales of 447,000 units.
On October 7, 2015, NMB48 released their thirteenth single, "Must be now". The single marked the group's smallest Senbatsu, with nine members, along with being the first Senbatsu without Team M members. In February 2016, auditions were announced for NMB48's fifth generation, which would be the first new generation in over three years. The 10 winners were announced on June 28th; among the winners were Jonishi Kei's sister, Jonishi Rei, and Yamada Nana's sister, Yamada Suzu.
On April 13, 2016, Team BII member Watanabe Miyuki announced her graduation from the group. Her last performance with AKB48 was held on August 8th, whereas her graduation concert for NMB48 was held on August 9th. The group's fifteenth single, "僕はいない" (Boku wa Inai, "I'm Not Here"), marked her last appearance in NMB48.
On October 18, 2016, NMB48 held their first team shuffle, independent from its sister groups. The team shuffle saw one of the fastest promotions in 48 Group history, from fifth generation member Yamamoto Ayaka. In addition, the remaining kenkyuusei members were bound to one of the three teams, in a similar process to the AKB48 Group Draft Kaigi. The shuffle took effect on January 1, 2017; however, NMB48's sixteenth single, "僕以外の誰か" (Boku Igai no Dareka, "Someone Other Than Me"), was released with the new teams in effect on December 28th, 2016.
In April 2017, a trio of graduations concerts were held for Jonishi Kei, Yabushita Shu, and Fujie Reina, after Jonishi and Yabushita's announcements in 2016 and Fujie's announcement in January. On August 2, 2017, NMB48 released their third album, " 難波愛~今、思うこと~" (Namba Ai ~Ima, Omou Koto~, "Namba Love ~Right Now, What I Feel~"); the album sold 203,303 units.
On October 11, 2017, leading Team BII member Yagura Fuuko announced her graduation from the group, which was held on April 4, 2018. On December 27, 2017, NMB48 released their seventeenth single, "ワロタピーポー (Warota People, "Funny People"), one year after the group's previous single. The single marked Shiroma Miru's first solo center on a title track. The Type-D exclusive track "Which one", performed by Queentet (NMB48's first unit made by members Shibuya Nagisa, Yoshida Akari, Uemura Azusa, Ota Yuuri, and Murase Sae), was also met with critical praise.
In April 2018, it was announced that NMB48 would hold auditions for the group's sixth generation. The 14 winners were announced on June 28th. In June 2018, Team N members Umeyama Cocona and Naiki Kokoro, Team M members Kato Yuuka and Shiroma Miru, and Team BII members Uemura Azusa and Murase Sae participated in the South Korean survival show Produce 48. Umeyama and Uemura withdrew before the first elimination round. Naiki and Kato were eliminated in the first elimination round, after ranking #87 and #74, respectively. Murase was eliminated in the third elimination round, after ranking #22. Shiroma was eliminated in the final elimination round, after ranking #20.
On July 30, 2018, leading member and Team N captain Yamamoto Sayaka announced her graduation from the group, which was held on November 4, 2018. The group's nineteenth single, "僕だって泣いちゃうよ" (Boku Datte Naichau yo, "Even I will cry") marked her last appearance in NMB48. A total of 18 members represented Senbatsu, but all (71) promoted and kenkyuusei members at the time of release were featured in the music video.
On August 14, 2019, NMB48 released their twenty-first single, "母校へ帰れ!" (Bokou e Kaere!, "Return to Alma Mater!") The single saw the debut of NMB48's new dance sub-unit, Danceable!, consisting of Team N members Ishida Yuumi, Kawakami Chihiro, and Kawano Nanaho, and Team BII members Azuma Yuki, Kato Yuuka and Kojima Karin.
On September 4, 2019, leading Team N member Ota Yuuri announced her graduation from the group, which was held on November 30, 2019. The group's twenty-second single, "初恋至上主義" (Hatsukoi Shijou Shugi, "First love supremacy") marked her last appearance in NMB48. With Ota's graduation, the year 2019 saw the largest number of graduations from NMB48, with fourteen team members and two kenkyuusei members leaving the group.
On January 1, 2020, auditions were announced for NMB48's seventh generation. The 11 winners were announced on September 12th. In March 2020, it was announced that NMB48 would release their twenty-third single, "だってだってだって" (Datte Datte Datte, "Because") on May 13th. Due to circumstances surrounding the COVID-19 outbreak, the single was postponed to August 19th.
On August 16, 2020, founding member Yoshida Akari announced her graduation from the group; "恋なんかNo thank you!" (Koi Nanka No thank you!, "Love is No thank you!"), NMB48's 24th single, marked her last appearance in the group. In October 2020, leading Team N member Murase Sae announced her graduation from the group, with her graduation concert held on December 14th and official graduation date of December 23rd. NMB48 also held a series of concerts, including their 10th anniversary concert on the 23rd, a Next Gen concert and Yoshida Akari's graduation concert on the 24th. The 10th anniversary concert featured all active NMB48 members, but also a bunch of former members from first, second and third generations.
On January 1, 2021, it was announced that the teams would be dissolved on January 21st, with the beginning of a new event, NAMBATTLE. All team members remained as promoted "official" members, whereas kenkyuusei members would remain as such. NAMBATTLE saw all NMB48 members (except for Azuma Yuki, Sakamoto Nami, and Yamamoto Ayaka due to graduation announcements, and Miyake Yuria due to hiatus) grouped into six units of eight, where they would compete against each other in theater performances, live streaming, and fan voting, to revitalize the group's image. The final concert for NAMBATTLE was held on March 2nd, in which Kyunmart, consisting of Kato Yuuka, Kojima Karin, Satsuki Aika, Shiotsuki Keito, Shibuya Nagisa, Sumino Wakana, Hara Karen, and Hongo Yuzuha, emerged as the victor. Following the event's conclusion, founding member Shiroma Miru announced her graduation from the group, making her the last first generation member to leave NMB48. On June 16, 2021, NMB48 released their twenty-fifth single, "シダレヤナギ" (Shidare Yanagi, "Weeping Willow"), Shiroma Miru's last appearance in NMB48, as well as the first single following the teams' dissolution.
On August 14, 2021, NMB48 held their concert, "NMB48 LIVE 2021 in Shoka ~Hatsunatsu! Hatsuratsu!~," at Osaka-jo Hall. The group announced that a new member, Lee Siyeon, would join NMB48 as a 7.5th generation member. She is the first Korean member after SDN48's Siyeon to join a 48 Group. 7th generation kenkyuusei Hirayama Mai and Manabe Anju were also promoted to official members. After the concert, auditions were annouced for NMB48's eighth generation.
On January 1, 2022, it was announced that in February 2022, Team N and Team M would be reformed among the official members, while Team BII would be reformed among the kenkyuusei members without being promoted. A total of 14 winners were also announced for the group's eighth generation. On January 1, 2022, the reformation of Team N, Team M and Team BII was announced to take effect from February. As the new Team BII is composed entirely of kenkyuusei members, they will start to be officially referred to as Team BII Kenkyuusei.
On the same date, the project NAMBATTLE 2 was also announced, which, alongside other programmes, also include a general election for NMB48 members that will be held on March 27, 2022. Voting tickets for the event were included in the group's 26th single, "恋と愛のその間には (Koi to Ai no Sono Aida ni wa, "Between Love and Love"). The winner of the event was Chihiro Kawakami with 21,462 votes; she will subsequently be the center for NMB48's 27th single, "好きだ虫" (Sukida Mushi, "I Love Bugs"), released on September 21st. On November 3rd, it was announced that the group had been transferred from laugh out loud! records, where they had been since 2011, to Universal Music's Universal Sigma label.
On March 8, 2023, the group released their fourth album, NMB13, which sold 181,208 units. On August 7th, Shibuya Nagisa announced her graduation; the group's 28th single "渚サイコー！ (Nagisa Saikou!, "Nagisa is the Best!") will serve as her last appearance in the group. Her graduation concert was held on December 16th and 17th.
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