[ANGERME Debut Single (A Late Bloomer) PV English Sub]
ANGERME, as it was formerly called S/mileage, is a Japanese girls idol group belongs to Hello! Project, Japanese idol project from Up-Front Group and whose recordings are mostly produced by Japanese music producer Tsunku.
Historically, the primary group was initially consisted of four former Hello! Pro Egg (Hello! Project trainees) members, since then they left Egg in 2010 to become full-time members of Hello! Project. The group won the Japan Record Award for Best New Artist in 2010. Whereafter, five new members joined the group as of their second generation, in whom two of them were from former Egg and another three members were brand new. When three of the members left in 2014, another three new members joined the group to get balanced out . What is more when when two of the members left the group in 2015, additional two members has got called in in 2015 to keep the number of the members as always. As of July 2016 the total members of the group is composed of nine members.
As you may feel like a bit confused, ANGERM still has a dramatical history as though the group has its own transformation formula. If you watch below video of S/mileage, the must-see sight is that the existing leader Ayaka Wada is simply so young and cute, you will find the group is totally different to ANGEREME.
[S/mileage 10th Single Dot Bikini]
- History (S/mileage to ANGERME)
S/mileage era
2009: Formation
On April 4, a music producer Tsunku announced on his blog that a new girls group consisting of Hello! Pro Egg members would be formed. He later revealed of which the members would be Ayaka Wada, Yuuka Maeda, and Kanon Fukuda, all of them were formerly Shugo Chara Egg!, as well as fellow Egg Saki Ogawa, and Ayaka would be the leader of the unit. A month later, on May 7, 2009, he announced that the group’s name would be “S/mileage”. The name is a portmanteau of the English words “smile”, “mileage”, and “age”, and together the name means “the age of smiles”. S/mileage’s first single, “Ama no Jaku”, was released at Hello! Pro Egg: Nakano Step! concert on June 7, 2009.
2010: Debut
After their 3rd single released, the pruducer Tsunku announced that the group would become a full-time group in 2010 and their debut was set to May 2010. The group made their official event debut in Nagoya on March 19, with their fourth single “Otona ni Narutte Muzukashii!!!”, as their first release from Up-Front Works label. The single has got the No.1 spot on the Oricon weekly indies chart.
S/mileage appeared as the opening support act of their fellowship, another Hello! Project’s unit Cute’s concert on March 20, 2010. Their first major single, “Yume Miru Fifteen” (A Dreaming Fifteen Year Old), was released on May 26, and debuted on Oricon at No.5. Their first live tour, titled “Devil Smile Angel Smile,” began on October 9, 2010. Later on the same year, their official website revealed that their first album would have been relased in the winter. The first album’s Warugaki 1 (Evil Brats 1), was released on December 8, 2010. On December 30, S/mileage received the Japan Record Award for Best New Artist, beating, among other nominees, Girls’ Generation.
2011: New Members
On May 29, 2011, S/mileage had revealed at their first-anniversary event that they would be hold an audition for another new members to four-members line-up, as well as some of the members would leave the group. The new members were announced on August 14. From Hello! Pro Egg, Akari Takeuchi and Rina Katsuta, in addition, Kana Nakanishi, Fuyuka Kosuga, and Meimi Tamura also joined the group.
Since the beginning of 2012, the group is finally consisted of six members – two of them since the first-generation and four of them since the second generation members. On February 1, they released “Choto Mate Kudasai!”, as their ninth single, without Yuuka Maeda for the first time ever. Their 10th single “Dot Bikini” followed on May 2, their first best album released on May 20, and their 11th single “Suki yo, Junjō Hankōki” on August 22. On August 30, S/mileage’s 13th single and second album was announced to be released. The single, titled “Samui ne”, was released on November 28, and an album 2 Smile Sensation was released May 22, 2013.
ANGERME era
2015: Third generation and a new name
It was on September 24, 2014, the big was news announced. The third generation members would be joined from Hello Pro’s trainee, and the group would change the name, on October 31. On October 4, Mizuki Murota, Maho Aikawa, and Rikako Sasaki were to join the group as new members, which made the group consisting of nine members. On December 17, 2014, it was eventually announced that S/mileage would be renamed to “Angerme”. Since then, the group has become effectively new group with a revised membership.
On May 20, 2015, Kanon Fukuda announced that she would be leave ANGERME and Hello! Project in the fall to continue her university studies. On November 11, 2015, the group announced that their fourth generation membership auditions with Moe Kamikokuryou joined as the new member while at the same time Kanon Fukuda left the group on November 29, 2015, which made the group number of members nine. On December 20, 2015, it was announced that Meimi Tamura would leave ANGERME and Hello! Project in spring 2016. On July 16, a surprise announcement was made – Momona Kasahara, previously from Hello Pro trainee, will join the group as the sole 5th generation member.
[ANGERME (One by One, One after Another) PV English Sub]
[ANGERM Sally the Witch Live at Nihon Budoukan]
