AKB48 finished up their 5th General Election last night with the results determining the participants of their 32nd single. The single is announced for pre-order though not yet titled it will come on three Limited editions and three Regular editions all which will hit stores August 21st 2013. Read on for General Election results and more details on the new single…
~ more details “Koisuru Fortune Cookie” ~
The 5th General Election that included 230+ idols from AKB48, SKE48, NMB48, HKT48, JKT48, and SNH48 was full of some surprises. The outdoor stadium venue didn’t seem to provide that more intimate feeling with fans though overall it was a spectacular setting for the event. Perhaps the biggest news to come out of it was the graduation announcement of founding member Shinoda Mariko. She stated that her graduation performance, on short-notice, will happen next month at their Tokyo Dome event. Still a strong fan favorite, in the election results Mariko kept her #5 spot while gaining 30,000 votes over last year.
Of course the other big news was the jump by last year’s 4th place Sashihara Rino (HKT48) in the Center position. She gained a huge 83,000 votes over last year’s 67,000 for 150,000 total votes and took the top position over last year’s and AKB48’s leader Oshima Yuko by 14,000 votes. Sashihara didn’t seem well prepared to accept the Center position and was very surprised and tentative as she thanked fans. At one point worrying the new single would be a “weird one” and she turned to Oshima asking “help me out here….?”. Jokingly Oshima agreed it would probably be a weird song but that she and Watanabe Mayu would be there to support her.
The top 16 elected members will participate on the main song for the group’s 32nd single. The top 64 elected members will participate on additional coupling songs.
5th General Election Senbatsu members
1. HKT48 / AKB48 Sashihara Rino 150,570 votes
2. AKB48 Oshima Yuko 136,503 votes
3. AKB48 Watanabe Mayu 101,210 votes
4. AKB48 Kashiwagi Yuki 96,905 votes
5. AKB48 Shinoda Mariko 92,599 votes
6. SKE48 / AKB48 Matsui Jurina 77,170 votes
7. SKE48 Matsui Rena 73,173 votes
8. AKB48 Takahashi Minami 68,681 votes
9. AKB48 67,424 votes Kojima Haruna
10. SNH48 / AKB48 Miyazawa Sae 65,867 votes
11. AKB48 Itano Tomomi 63,547 votes
12. AKB48 Shimazaki Haruka 57,275 votes
13. AKB48 Yokoyama Yui 53,903 votes
14. NMB48 Yamamoto Aya 51,793 votes
15. NMB48 / AKB48 Watanabe Miyuki 44,116 votes
16. SKE48 Suda Akari 43,252 votes
The 32nd single will come on 3-pairs of editions with the Limited editions adding a handshake event ticket (1 of 2). The CD’s are all planned to have 3 new songs and the matching Karaoke tracks. All editions include DVD with music videos and additional footage planned.
– Limited / Regular A with DVD planned to include music videos for three new songs plus additional footage. First Press bonus photo (varies by store).
– Limited / Regular B with DVD planned to include music videos for three new songs plus additional footage.. First Press bonus photo (varies by store).
– Limited / Regular C with DVD planned to include music videos for three new songs plus additional footage.. First Press bonus photo (varies by store).
Title, full track list, jacket covers, and more will be updated when announced. Follow or come back to Comtrya Sugoi for updates.
AKB48 – 32nd single – release date August 21st 2013
