Tokyo Girls' Style

Tokyo Girls' Style (東京女子流, Tōkyō Joshi Ryū) (stylized as TOKYO GIRLS' STYLE) is a Japanese idol girl group formed in 2009, and was the first idol group created under Avex Trax after SweetS.[1] The idol group originally consisted of five members: Miyu Yamabe, Hitomi Arai, Yuri Nakae, Konishi Ayano and Mei Shyoji.[2] In December 2015, Konishi Ayano announced retirement from the idol group and the entertainment industry.

  • Tokyo Girls' Style
  • 東京女子流
TOKYO GIRLS' STYLE at HYPER JAPAN (2015)
Background information
OriginTokyo, Japan
GenresJ-Pop
Years active2010 (2010)–present
LabelsAvex Trax
Websitetokyogirlsstyle.jp
Members
  • Miyu Yamabe
  • Yuri Nakae
  • Mei Shyoji
  • Hitomi Arai
Past membersAyano Konishi

In April 2015, the group rebranded itself from an idol group and sought to be seen as serious post-idol artists, though they later performed at the Tokyo Idol Festival in 2017.

History

Debut and idol career

Avex created the group Tokyo Girls' Style in 2009 to capitalize on the rising demand for Japanese idol girl groups, a trend fueled by the success of AKB48.[3] Members of the group later said that they had previously worked with the record label and were encouraged to audition for the new group.[3] On December 1, 2009, the Japanese media began reporting about this new group, but Avex kept the identities of the group members a secret until January 1, 2010.[1] Between January 1 and 5, Avex gradually released more information[4] and launched the group's official website.[2]

The group's debut single, "Kirari" (キラリ☆, lit. "Sparkling"), was released on May 5, 2010,[5] and peaked at No. 30 on the Oricon charts.[6] Their second single, "Onnaji Kimochi" (おんなじキモチ, "Same Feeling"), was released on May 19.[7] Their first album, Kodou no Himitsu, which compiled their previous singles,[8] was released in Japan on May 4, 2011,[9] and peaked at No. 25 on the Oricon charts.[9]

In order to break into other Asian markets, Tokyo Girls' Style re-recorded "Onnaji Kimochi" in Mandarin Chinese.[8] This version of the song was included in the album entitled 心跳的秘密 (Xīntiào de mìmì), which was released in Taiwan on May 4, 2011, and in Hong Kong one week later.[10] The group admitted that "They were worried that their singing is not good because the Chinese pronunciation is so hard [to grasp]."[10] Since then, the group has released more albums in these two markets[3] as well as releasing a Chinese-language official site.[11] In 2012, they made their debut performance in Singapore.[3]

Tokyo Girls' Style's 11th single, "ROAD TO BUDOKAN 2012: Bad Flower", was released on October 17, 2012, and became their first single to debut on the Oricon TOP10 charts, at No. 4.[12] They had their first solo performance at Nippon Budokan on December 22, 2012,[3] becoming the youngest female group to perform at this venue.[13]

In 2014, the group starred in two films, Count Five To Dream Of You (directed by Yūki Yamato) and Kotodama – Spiritual Curse, the latter part of a Japanese horror movie series.[14] They also made their first US performance, at the 2014 J-Pop Summit festival in San Francisco.[15]

Post-idol career

On January 6, 2015, the group announced that it would cease to be an idol group from April 2015 onward.[16] They released their last single as an idol group, "Stay with Me", on March 3, 2015.

The group celebrated the fifth anniversary of their debut with the release of the compilation album 1st BEST ALBUM Kirari☆. They released their first post-idol single, "Never Ever", a month later on June 24, 2015. The title track was selected as the ending theme for the anime Fairy Tail. Before its release, member Konishi Ayano announced that she would be taking an indefinite leave of absence to focus on treatment for her lower back pain. Tokyo Girls' Style promoted itself as a four-member group as they proceeded to release their fifth album, Reflection, on December 23.

On December 30, 2015, Konishi Ayano announced her retirement from the music business, citing ongoing health concerns which she felt left her unable to fulfill her duties as a performer.[17] The group has continued on as four members.

On August 5, 2017, the group made their first appearance at the Tokyo Idol Festival in over three years despite their previous announcement that they would cease all idol activities. The girls relayed that they wanted to broaden the scope of their activities and wished to "be regarded as both an idol and an artist".[18] On October 25, 2017, the group simultaneously released two mini-albums: PERIOD.BEST ~Otona ni Narun Dakara~, which featured re-recordings of their previous idol hits, and PERIOD.BEST ~Kimete Ii yo Watashi no Koto~, which featured singles released in 2016 and 2017.

Members

Current members
Name Birthdate[13][19] Age[13] Birthplace
Miyu Yamabe (山邊 未夢) (1996-06-24)June 24, 1996 24 Chiba
Hitomi Arai (新井ひとみ) (Sub-Leader) (1998-04-10)April 10, 1998 22 Miyagi
Yuri Nakae (中江 友梨) (1997-06-28)June 28, 1997 23 Osaka
Mei Shyoji (庄司 芽生) (Leader) (1997-07-02)July 2, 1997 23 Yamagata

Former members
Name Birthdate[13][19] Age[13] Birthplace
Konishi Ayano (小西 彩乃) (1997-12-15)December 15, 1997 23 Osaka

Discography

Albums
No.TitleRelease dateOricon peak
position[20]
1Kodou no Himitsu (鼓動の秘密)May 4, 201125
2Limited addictionMarch 14, 201225
3Yakusoku (約束)January 30, 201313
4Killing Me SoftlyJune 4, 201423
5ReflectionDecember 23, 201541

Compilations
No.TitleRelease dateOricon peak
position[20]
11st BEST ALBUM「Kirari☆」 (1st BEST ALBUM「キラリ☆」)May 5, 201515
2PERIOD.BEST ~Otona ni Narun Dakara~ (PERIOD.BEST ～オトナニナルンダカラ～)October 25, 201754
3PERIOD.BEST ~Kimete Ii yo Watashi no Koto~ (PERIOD.BEST ～キメテイイヨワタシノコト～)October 25, 201756

Singles
No.TitleRelease dateOricon peak
position[20]
1"Kirari☆" (キラリ☆)May 5, 201030
2"Onnaji Kimochi" (おんなじキモチ)May 19, 201030
3"Ganbatte Itsudatte Shinjiteru" (頑張って いつだって 信じてる)July 21, 201031
4"Himawari to Hoshikuzu / Kitto Wasurenai..." (ヒマワリと星屑 / きっと 忘れない、、、)October 6, 201019
5"Love Like Candy Floss"February 9, 201120
6"Kodō no Himitsu / Sayonara, Arigatō" (鼓動の秘密 / サヨナラ、ありがとう。)May 18, 201124
7"Limited Addiction / We Will Win! －Kokoro no baton po・pon no po~n☆－" (Limited Addiction / We Will Win! －ココロのバトンでポ・ポンのポ～ン☆－)August 24, 201111
8"Liar / W.M.A.D."November 23, 201118
9"Rock you! / Onnaji Kimochi -YMCK REMIX-" (Rock you! / おんなじキモチ)March 7, 201216
10"Tsuioku -Single Version- / Taisetsu na Kotoba" (追憶 -Single Version- / 大切な言葉)May 23, 201212
11"Road to Budokan 2012 ~Bad Flower~"October 17, 20124
12"Unmei / Wonderful Smile" (運命 / ワンダフル スマイル)June 5, 20136
13"Get The Star / Last Forever"September 25, 20134
14"Road to Budokan 2013 ~Chiisana Kiseki~" (ROAD TO BUDOKAN 2013 〜小さな奇跡〜)November 22, 201316
15"Partition Love"February 12, 20149
16"Jūjika: Eiga Gakkō no Kaidan Noroi no Kotodama Ver.〜" (十字架 〜映画「学校の怪談 -呪いの言霊-」 Ver.〜)May 21, 201411
17"Say Long Goodbye" (Say long goodbye/ヒマワリと星屑 -English Version-")December 10, 20148
18"Stay with me"March 11, 20157
19"Never ever"June 24, 201523
20"Shinkai" (深海)August 31, 201638
21"Mille-feuille" (ミルフィーユ)November 30, 201633
22"predawn / Don't give it up"March 1, 201722
23"Water Lily ~Suiren~" (water lily ～睡蓮～)July 5, 201717
24"Last Romance" (ラストロマンス)February 28, 201829
25"Kiss wa Agenai" (kissはあげない)June 20, 201826
26"Hikaru yo / Reborn" (光るよ/Reborn)February 27, 201925

Digital singles
No.TitleRelease date
1"Boku no Tegami" (僕の手紙)August 10, 2011
2"LolitA☆Strawberry in summer"August 1, 2012
3"Partition Love"September 25, 2013

References
  1. "Archived copy" 2010年1月1日、エイベックスから7年ぶりにガールズグループが誕生 (in Japanese). Barks. December 1, 2009. Archived from the original on October 11, 2012. Retrieved March 10, 2010.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  2. "Archived copy" 謎のガールズグループ東京女子流、ついにベールを脱いだ (in Japanese). Barks. January 6, 2010. Archived from the original on March 24, 2010. Retrieved March 10, 2010.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  3. St. Michel, Patrick (December 20, 2012). "Tokyo Girls' Style to perform first solo gig at legendary Budokan, but first — homework". The Japan Times. Archived from the original on December 23, 2012. Retrieved December 23, 2012.
  4. "Archived copy" 謎のガールズグループ東京女子流の集合画像を先行入手。メンバーは5人. Barks (in Japanese). Barks. December 28, 2009. Archived from the original on October 11, 2012. Retrieved March 10, 2010.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  5. "東京女子流、5月に2枚のシングルでCDデビュー決定". Barks (in Japanese). Barks. March 18, 2010. Archived from the original on December 27, 2013. Retrieved December 23, 2012.
  6. "キラリ☆ profile" (in Japanese). Oricon. Archived from the original on February 10, 2013. Retrieved December 24, 2012.
  7. "おんなじキモチ profile" (in Japanese). Oricon. Archived from the original on February 10, 2013. Retrieved December 24, 2012.
  8. "東京女子流1stアルバム「鼓動の秘密」初回盤は写真集付き" (in Japanese). Music Natalie. February 9, 2011. Archived from the original on December 27, 2013. Retrieved December 24, 2012.
  9. "鼓動の秘密 profile" (in Japanese). Oricon. Archived from the original on February 12, 2013. Retrieved December 24, 2012.
  10. "蘿莉少女大作戰！「東京女子流」襲台力拼AKB48" (in Chinese). KKBOX Taiwan Co., Ltd. June 14, 2011. Archived from the original on December 24, 2012. Retrieved December 24, 2012.
  11. "東京女子流 official Chinese page" (in Chinese). avex Taiwan. Archived from the original on August 21, 2012. Retrieved December 24, 2012.
  12. "【オリコン】東京女子流、11枚目のシングルで初のTOP10入り" (in Japanese). Oricon. October 24, 2012. Archived from the original on February 11, 2013. Retrieved December 23, 2012.
  13. "Archived copy" 東京女子流 ： ももクロ抜き、女性グループ最年少で初武道館公演 (in Japanese). Mainichi Shimbun Digital Co.Ltd. December 22, 2012. Archived from the original on December 25, 2012. Retrieved December 23, 2012.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  14. To, Jeffrey (July 14, 2014). "An Interview with J-pop Supergroup Tokyo Girls' Style". Nihongogo. Nihongogo. Retrieved July 14, 2014.
  15. "J!-ENT's Dennis A. Amith interviews Tokyo Girls' Style" (PDF). J!-ENT. Archived (PDF) from the original on November 9, 2014. Retrieved November 9, 2014.
  16. "TOKYO GIRLS' STYLE Say Goodbye to Idol World Hello! JPOP World". Pure Idol Heart. Pure Idol Heart. January 6, 2015. Archived from the original on February 10, 2015. Retrieved January 8, 2016.
  17. "To Everyone That Has Supported Us". Tokyo Girls' Style (in Japanese). Tokyo Girls' Style. December 30, 2015. Archived from the original on December 29, 2015. Retrieved January 8, 2016.
  18. "The Triumphant Return of TOKYO GIRLS' STYLE to Tokyo Idol Festival 2017!". Tokyo Girls' Update. Tokyo Girls' Update. August 18, 2017. Archived from the original on October 25, 2017. Retrieved October 25, 2017.
  19. "Tokyo Girls' Style official profile page" (in Japanese). Archived from the original on September 5, 2012. Retrieved December 23, 2012.
  20. "東京女子流のCD・DVDリリース情報、東京女子流のプロフィールならオリコン芸能人事典-ORICON STYLE" (in Japanese). Oricon. Archived from the original on May 19, 2010. Retrieved June 19, 2010.
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