AKB48

AKB48 members are girls whose age ranges from 13 to 20-plus. They are recruited through auditions that are held regularly in Japan.^[11] Members of the group are not allowed to have boyfriends, and must be "well-behaved."^[18] If they "misbehave", they may be expelled from the group.^[19] When members get older, they "graduate" from the group and are replaced by new members.^[3]
AKB48 was founded based on the "idols you can meet" concept.^[20] The group's producer Yasushi Akimoto decided to create an idol group that, unlike a regular idol group that gives occasional concerts and that is mostly seen on TV, would have its own theater and perform there on a daily basis; the fans would always be able to go and see the girls live.^[15][20] AKB48 performs at the theater daily; because of demand, tickets are now distributed only via a lottery.^[11] The AKB48 Theater is located in the Don Quijote store in Akihabara, Tokyo.^[11]
The group consists of four subgroups: Team A, Team K, Team B, and Team 4. Having several teams not only allows the group to reduce the load on its members, since a daily concert at the theater is given by only one team, but also gives AKB48 opportunity to perform in several places and even countries simultaneously.^[16] Each of the teams also has a unique image.^[18] According to member Misaki Iwasa, Team A represents freedom, Team B is very idol-like with cutesy costumes, while Team K has a strong and powerful image.^[18] A number of aspiring members (so-called trainees or "Kenkyūsei") learn the group's songs and are appointed as stand-ins for the main members, so that a replacement is always available. In addition to singing performances, members are heavily promoted throughout the Japanese mass media.^[11] The group regularly holds "handshake events", where fans get a chance to shake hands with the group's members.^[11]
In 2009, the concept of "senbatsu general elections" was introduced.^[15] In these elections, fans vote for their favourite members of AKB48 and its sister groups. Members who receive most votes get to participate in the recording of AKB48's next single,^[15] are more heavily promoted,^[11] and get to sing center stage during the group's performances. To obtain a ballot, voters have to buy the group's singles.^[21] Another new concept, AKB48's rock-paper-scissors tournaments, was introduced in 2010 for the group's 19th single "Chance no Junban".^[22] Members of AKB48 and its sister groups compete against each other in the knockout tournament for being on AKB48's next single

Concept