Aeri Yokoshima, member of AKB48, announced her graduation from the
pop idol group. Yokoshima shares “I had set a number of goals I wanted
to accomplish with AKB48 and had promised myself to leave the group if I
didn’t reach the goals by my 17th birthday. I had given it my all with
my performances and social media outreach but sadly, life is was bitter,
and I was unable hit the goals I set for myself. she continues “To be
clear, I am not graduating AKB48 having given up my dreams, I am
graduating to pursue other dreams.”
Details on final events and graduation concerts to come soon. AKB48
is a Japanese idol girl group named after the Akihabara area of Tokyo
where the group’s primary theater is located. AKB48′s producer, Yasushi
Akimoto, had envisioned the group as the girl next door and sought to
form a group with their own theatre featuring daily performances in
order for fans to see shows year-round. The concept of “idols you can
meet” evolved into a rotating roster of teams and sister groups able to
hold simultaneous performances at events around Japan and the world with
the recent expansion of AKB48′s international sister groups in China
and Indonesia.
The group is one of the highest-earning musical performers in Japan,
with 2013 sales of over $128 million, and has been characterized as a
social phenomenon. As of December 2015 the group has sold over 40
million records total which include over 36 million singles which made
the group the highest selling musical act in Japan. The girls have
consistently topped the Oricon charts since 2009 and have amassed 21
singles (since December 2015) which have surpassed the million sale mark
inside a week.
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