E-girls

E-girls

E-girls at the 2014 MTV Video Music Awards Japan
Background information
Genres J-pop
Years active 2011–present
Labels Rhythm Zone
Associated acts
Website e-girls-ldh.jp
Members see Members
Past members see Former members

E-girls is a 20-member, Japanese, collective girl group signed to record company Rhythm Zone and managed by LDH and Avex Trax. It features all the members of the groups Dream, Happiness, Flower, and three original members who debuted as part of the group. They are the sister unit of the Japanese boy-band, Exile. The group name stands for Exile Girls Unit and Girls Entertainment project.

History

2010-2011: Pre-debut

In 2011, Exile held a nationwide audition event called "Exile Presents Vocal Battle Audition 3: For Girls". The televised competition was held to find members for LDH's dance-only four member group, Flower, and to find members for a new dance and vocal group, Bunny. Exile's Hiro announced the "Girls Entertainment Project" or E-Girls (later changed to E-girls) would consist of all members from Dream, Happiness, and Flower.

Bunny was not originally formed as part of E-girls, and was to debut separately in 2013, but they have never carried out any activities of their own except for one live performance at Vocal Battle Audition 3 titled "Why?".

2011-2012: Debut and "Follow Me"

Following their formation in 2011, E-girls consisted of 21 members, which included all the members of Dream, Happiness, and Flower at the time. They released their first single, "Celebration", on 28 December 2011. In 2012, for the release of their second single, "One Two Three", two new members joined the group, Reina Kizu, and Anna Suda, both being members of EGD (EXPG girls dancers) a dance group of Exile Professional Gym (Exile's Dance Academy). The single was released on April 18, 2012. Happiness member, Mayu Sugieda, went on a hiatus in August to undergo medical treatment after being diagnosed with infectious mononucleosis.[1]

Before they released their third single, "Follow Me", the group consisted of a total of 31 members (with Dream's Sayaka Yamamato and Happiness' Mimu Hioki on hiatus) due to the addition of Bunny and more EGD members. The increase in number led to a new system for the release of their next single in which the girls were required to undergo a period of training and afterwards, the girls who excelled and fit the image of the single would be chosen to participate. 16 girls were featured on the single jacket cover and music video. The single was released on 3 October 2012. It is E-girls' best selling single digitally and combined with sales of physical copies. It remains E-girls' most recognizable song to Japanese fans. Dream's Sayaka Yamamoto officially left the group on 31 March 2012. Mimu Hioki officially left the group in October 2012.[2]

2013: Lesson 1 and rise of popularity

In late 2012, three members from Bunny left E-girls, EGD member Ruri Kawamoto joined E-girls and all of the 28 remaining and newly added members were featured in the single "The Never Ending Story", on which their name was changed from E-Girls to E-girls. It was released on 20 February 2013. In the music video, they introduced a new member, Momoka Nakajima, the girl reading the book. On 13 March 2013, a new single was released, titled "Candy Smile", featuring 12 members. On 17 April 2013 the group released their first studio album, Lesson 1. It ranked at number 1 on Oricon's weekly albums chart, selling 57,337 copies in its first week.

In May, Anna Suda and Ruri Kawamoto, both from EGD, joined Happiness. Some months later, Reina Kizu from EGD left E-girls. Momoka Nakajima officially joined E-girls in September, replacing Reina Kizu. After months of being on hiatus, Mayu Sugieda returned to E-girls and Happiness. All 29 members were featured in the single "Gomennasai no Kissing You", released on 7 October. The single is E-girls best-selling physical single.[3] It won the MTV Video Music Awards Japan for best choreography.[4] On 11 October 2013, LDH announced a new member of E-girls, Marina Watanabe, being part of EGD. A week later, it was announced that Elina Mizuno had left both E-girls and Flower to focus on her actress career, with Marina Watanabe as her replacement. On the same day, their seventh single, "Kurukuru" (クルクル), was announced featuring 18 members on the jacket covers and music video. The group gained considerable momentum in 2013, appearing on year-end shows and being invited to Kōhaku Uta Gassen.[5]

2014: A Perfect Day for Love Letters, second album and first tour

On 5 January 2014, Dream's Aya Takamoto was appointed as the leader of E-girls. 10 members of the group, Shizuka, Kaede, Karen Fujii, and Anna Suda, Shuuka Fujii, Nozomi Bando, Harumi Sato, Kyoka Takeda, Anna Ishii, and Nonoka Yamaguchi, each starred in one episode of the drama A Perfect Day for Love Letters Based on a manga of the same name. Broadcast started on 6 January. The opening theme song of the drama, "Diamond Only", was released as their eighth single on 26 February.

The group later released their second album, Colorful Pop, on 19 March, and made their first national tour in July and August, titled "E-girls Live Tour 2014 'Colorful Land'".[6][7] On 7 April, Mayu Sugieda left both Happiness and E-girls to pressure a solo career. Two weeks later, on 20 April, Kyoka Takeda left the group to focus on her studies and her acting career. On 12 June, LDH announced that the group would be releasing three singles consecutively, one per month. The first single, "E.G. Anthem: We Are Venus", was released on 9 July, and included all members and all vocalists singing. Since this release, the members from bunny and EGD were mixed into one unit, simply titled as the name of the group, E-girls. The names Bunny and EGD were also removed from their official website. The second single, "Odoru Ponpokorin", was released on 13 August, and included only 14 members in the music video and jacket covers. The song was used as the opening theme song of the TV anime Chibi Maruko Chan. The third single, "Highschool Love", was released on 10 September, and included all members on it. The song was used as the theme song for the Fuji TV's drama "Great Teacher Onizuka". In October, Flower member Chiharu Muto left E-girls to study abroad but she ended up launching her own fashion line. She left Flower in November after the recording date of Flower's eighth single "Akikaze no Answer" (秋風のアンサー) was pushed up so she could sing in it.

E-girls were invited to Kōhaku for the second time.[8]

2015

The group released their third album, E.G. Time, on 1 January 2015. They held their second national tour, titled "E-girls Live Tour 2015 'Colorful World'",[9] in February and March. On 27 January, LDH announced a new system for the members line-up, called "E-girls Pyramid". Following the same system used for "Follow Me", the girls undergo a series of reviews configured annually. The members who need more training get classified as Rabbits (high school age or older) or Bunnies (junior high school age or younger). Members Yuzuna Takebe, Misato Hagio, Rio Inagaki, Risa Ikuta, Momoka Nakajima, and Marina Watanabe therefore returned to the training period at Exile Professional Gym, reducing E-girls to 20 members. On 29 April, it was announced on both Dream's and E-girls' official websites that Dream member Ami would debut as a solo artist in summer 2015. Ami was also given an official website.[10][11][12][13]

On 7 October 2015, it was confirmed that Erie Abe would change her position from vocalist and performer to DJ and was given an official website, and Kyoka Ichiki would graduate from Flower and E-girls, making Flower a six-member group.[14] On 20 November 2015, the group announced the release of their first compilation album, E.G. Smile: E-girls Best, set to be released on 10 February 2016. On 15 December 2015, it was announced that Rabbits' member, Yuzuna Takebe would be rejoining E-girls, replacing Kyoka.

E-girls were, once again, invited to Kōhaku,[15] where they perfromed Dance Dance Dance as well as another year-end special on CDTV[16] where they revealed a new song from E.G. Smile: E-girls Best, "Dance With Me Now!"[17]

2016

On 23 April, 2016, It was announced that E-girls would release two singles, over the summer, in two consecutive months, one single to be released on 20 July to have the "E.G. Pop concept", with E-girls performing a pop song, show a cuter side, and another single to be released on 10 August with the "E.G. Cool concept", displaying the girls' edgier and more raunchy side.[18]

Members

Dream members
  • Shizuka Nishida (西田 静香 Nishida Shizuka) Stage name: Shizuka
  • Aya Takamoto (高本 彩 Takamoto Aya) (E-girls' leader) Stage name: Aya
  • Ami Nakashima (中島 麻未 Nakashima Ami) Stage name: Ami (Dream's leader)
  • Erie Abe (阿部 絵里恵 Abe Erie) Stage name: Erie, DJ Name: DJ Erie [upper-alpha 1]
E-girls members
  • Anna Ishii (石井 杏奈 Ishii Anna)
  • Nonoka Yamaguchi (山口 乃々華 Yamaguchi Nonoka)
  • Yuzuna Takebe (武部柚那 Takebe Yuzuna)
Happiness members
  • Sayaka Nagatomo (長友 さやか Nagatomo Sayaka) Stage name: Sayaka
  • Kaede Dobashi (土橋 楓 Dobashi Kaede) Stage name: Kaede (楓)
  • Karen Fujii (藤井 夏恋 Fujii Karen)
  • Miyuu Ariiso (有磯 実結 Ariiso Miyū) (Happiness' leader) Stage name: Miyuu
  • Yurino Suzuki (鈴木 結莉乃 Suzuki Yurino) Stage name: Yurino
  • Anna Suda (須田 アンナ Suda Anna)
  • Ruri Kawamoto (川本 璃 Kawamoto Ruri)
Flower members
  • Shuuka Fujii (藤井 萩花 Fujii Shūka)
  • Manami Shigetome (重留 真波 Shigetome Manami) (Flower's leader)
  • Mio Nakajima (中島 美央 Nakajima Mio)
  • Reina Washio (鷲尾 伶菜 Washio Reina)
  • Nozomi Bando (坂東 希 Bandō Nozomi)
  • Harumi Sato (佐藤 晴美 Satō Harumi)

Undebuted members

Rabbits members
  • Risa Ikuta (生田 梨沙 Ikuta Risa) (Rabbits leader)
  • Marina Watanabe (渡邉 真梨奈 Watanabe Marina)
  • Yuuki Hagiwara (萩原 汐希 Hagiwara Yuuki)
  • Futaba Araki (荒木 双葉 Araki Futaba)
  • Yuumi Nishimura (西邑 夕海 Nishimura Yuumi)
Bunnies members
  • Chino Ishii (石井稚乃 Ishii Chino)
  • Miyu Ogawa (小川未祐 Ogawa Miyu)

Former members

  • Sayaka Yamamoto (山本 さやか Yamamoto Sayaka) (Dream)
  • Mimu Hioki (日置 美夢 Hioki Mimu) (Happiness, Happiness' leader)
  • Runa Yamamoto (山本 月 Yamamoto Runa) (Bunny)
  • Mira Watts (ヴァッツ 美良 Vattsu Mira) (Bunny)
  • Miyuu Oishi (大石 美優 Ōishi Miyū) (Bunny)
  • Reina Kizu (木津 玲奈 Kizu Reina) (EGD)
  • Elina Mizuno (水野 絵梨奈 Mizuno Erina) (Flower, Flower's leader)
  • Mayu Sugieda (杉枝 真結 Sugieda Mayu) (Happiness)
  • Kyoka Takeda (武田 杏香 Takeda Kyōka) (Bunny)
  • Chiharu Muto (武藤 千春 Mutō Chiharu) (Flower)
  • Kyoka Ichiki (市來 杏香 Ichiki Kyōka) (Flower)
  • Rio Inagaki (稲垣 莉生 Inagaki Rio) (Rabbits)
  • Momoka Nakajima (中嶋 桃花 Nakajima Momoka) (Bunnies)
  • Misato Hagio (萩尾 美聖 Hagio Misato) (Rabbits)
  • Mizuki Hanayama (花山 瑞貴 Hanayama Mizuki) (Rabbits)
  • Rio Nishizumi (西住 梨央 Nishizumi Rio) (Rabbits)
  • Nanako Ono (小野 なな子 Ono Nanako) (Rabbits)
  • Sae Gushiken (具志堅 早恵 Gushiken Sae) (Rabbits)
  • Nokoa Naka (中心 愛 Naka Nokoa) (Bunnies)
  • Reo Yoshimura (吉村 玲緒 Yoshimura Reo) (Bunnies)
  • Rino Fujii (藤井 梨乃 Fujii Rino) (Bunnies)
  • Mizuki Nakamoto (中元 みずき Nakamoto Mizuki) (Bunnies)

Bolded members are vocalists.

Discography

Albums

[19][20]

Album details Peak chart
positions		 Sales
(Japan)		 RIAJ Certifications
JPN
[21]
Lesson 1
  • Release: 17 April 2013
  • Label: Rhythm Zone
  • Formats: CD, digital download
 1 172,638 Gold (100,000+)[22]
Colorful Pop
  • Release: 19 March 2014
  • Label: Rhythm Zone
  • Formats: CD, digital download
 1 171,506 Gold[23]
E.G. Time
  • Release: 1 January 2015
  • Label: Rhythm Zone
  • Formats: CD, digital download
 1 271,685 Platinum (250,000) [24]
"—" denotes items which were not released in that country or failed to chart.

Compilation albums

Album details Peak chart
positions		 Sales
(Japan)		 RIAJ Certifications
JPN
[21]
E.G. Smile: E-girls Best
  • Release: 10 February 2016
  • Label: Rhythm Zone
  • Formats: CD, digital download
 2 270,131 Platinum [25]

Singles

[19][20]

Release date Title Chart position Sales
(Oricon)[26]		 Certifications Album
Oricon
Weekly
Singles
Chart
[27]		 Billboard Japan
Hot
100
*[28]		 First
week		 Total
28 December 2011 "Celebration!"[29] 7 39 18,720 26,666 Lesson 1
18 April 2012 "One Two Three"[30] 12 10 18,123 23,167
3 October 2012 "Follow Me"[31] 2 2 30,008 47,039
  • RIAJ (digital): Platinum[32]
  • RIAJ (digital): Double Platinum[33]
20 February 2013 "The Never Ending Story"[34] 2 5 40,055 49,272
13 March 2013 "Candy Smile"[35] 6 13 34,764 40,301
  • RIAJ (digital): Gold[36]
2 October 2013 "Gomennasai no Kissing You" (ごめんなさいのKissing You) 2 3 73,332 102,891
  • RIAJ (digital): Gold[32]
  • RIAJ (digital): Platinum[37]
 Colorful Pop
20 November 2013 "Kurukuru" (クルクル) 2 3 69,087 79,200
26 February 2014 "Diamond Only" 2 8 72,808 76,839
9 July 2014 "E.G. Anthem: We Are Venus" 2 5 49,207 61,236
  • RIAJ (digital): Gold[38]
 E.G. Time
13 August 2014 "Odoru Ponpokorin" (おどるポンポコリン) 5 9 31,777 40,955
10 September 2014 "Highschool Love" 2 4 61,046 73,353
  • RIAJ (digital): Gold[39]
26 November 2014 "Mr.Snowman" 2 3 43,653 54,546
  • RIAJ (digital): Gold[40]
20 May 2015 "Anniversary!!" 3 3 42,761 53,820
  • RIAJ (digital): Gold[41]
 E.G. Smile: E-girls Best
30 September 2015 "Dance Dance Dance" 4 3 46,378 56,542
23 December 2015 "Merry×Merry Xmas" 4 2 31,246 31,246
20 July 2016 TBA TBA
10 August 2016 TBA

Music videos

Year Title Director[42]
2011 "Celebration!" Shigeaki Kubo
2012 "One Two Three"
"Follow Me"
"Just in Love"
2013 "The Never Ending Story: Kimi ni Himitsu o Oshieyo"
"Candy Smile"
"Gomennasai no Kissing You"
"Kurukuru"
2014 "Diamond Only"
"Rydeen: Dance All Night"
"E.G. Anthem: We Are Venus"
"Odoru Ponpokorin"
"Highschool love"
"Mr.Snowman"
"Move It! -Dream & E-girls Time-"
2015 "Anniversary!!" Yu-ya Hara
"Dance Dance Dance" Kanji Suto
"Merry×Merry Xmas" Seki Ayano
2016 "Dance With Me Now!"
"Strawberry Sadistic" (STRAWBERRY サディスティック) TBA
TBA TBA
TBA TBA

Tours

Name Year Country Date Additional performances
"E-girls Live Tour 2014 'Colorful Land'"[43] 2014 Japan 18 July 2014 - 11 August 2014 19 July 2014, 25 July 2014, 12 August 2014
"E-girls Live Tour 2015 'Colorful World'"[9] 2015 14 February 2015 (Valentine's Day) - 29 March 2015 29 April 2015 (Saitama Super Arena)
"E-girls LIVE TOUR 2016 'E.G. SMILE'"[44] 2016 12 March 2016 - 7 July 2016 24 April 2016, 18 May 2016, 19 May 2016, 27 May 2016, 7 July 2016

Awards

MTV Video Music Awards Japan

Year Recipient/Nominated work Award Result
2014 Gomennasai no Kissing You Best Choreography Won

MTV Europe Music Awards

Year Recipient/Nominated work Award Result
2014 E-girls Best Japanese Act Nominated

Notes

  1. ↑ "Erie" was a vocalist and performer until October 2015 when she changed her position to DJ.

References

  1. ↑ "Happiness". Universal Music Japan. Retrieved 25 February 2015.
  2. ↑ "あらま They Didn't ! Japanese Entertainment News - Happiness' MIMU on Hiatus Until Graduation". livejournal.com. Retrieved 10 March 2015.
  3. ↑ "E-girlsのシングル売上ランキング". ORICON STYLE. Retrieved 10 March 2015.
  4. ↑ "Best Choreography - MTV VMAJ 2014". MTV Japan. Retrieved 10 March 2015.
  5. ↑ "Song list for '64th NHK Kohaku Uta Gassen' announced". tokyohive.com. Retrieved 10 March 2015.
  6. ↑ "EXILE TRIBE PERFECT YEAR 2014". exiletribe-perfectyear.com. Retrieved 10 March 2015.
  7. ↑ "【E-girls】"E-girls LIVE TOUR 2014 COLORFUL LAND in Nippon Budokan -DIGEST MOVIE-" starts to be available for viewing on UULA - NEWS (ALL) - LDH". ldh.co.jp. Retrieved 10 March 2015.
  8. ↑ "Song list for ’65th NHK Kouhaku Uta Gassen’ announced". ARAMA! JAPAN. Retrieved 10 March 2015.
  9. 1 2 "E-girls LIVE TOUR 2015 "COLORFUL WORLD" - LDH". ldh.co.jp. Retrieved 10 March 2015.
  10. ↑ "Dream Official Website". Dream-ldh.jp. Retrieved 2015-10-07.
  11. ↑ "E-girls（イー・ガールズ） OFFICIAL WEBSITE". E-girls-ldh.jp. Retrieved 2015-10-07.
  12. ↑ "Ami". Ami-ldh.jp. Retrieved 2015-10-07.
  13. ↑ "E-girls Member Ami To Make Solo Debut This Summer". Jpopasia.com. Retrieved 2015-10-07.
  14. ↑ "E-girlsの市來杏香が卒業 Erieは"DJ"に専念 | ORICON STYLE". Oricon.co.jp. Retrieved 2015-10-07.
  15. ↑ "Song list for ’66th NHK Kouhaku Uta Gassen’ announced". ARAMA! JAPAN. Retrieved 13 March 2016.
  16. ↑ "E-girls, Perfume, Hoshino Gen, and more added to lineup of CDTV's New Year's Eve Special". ARAMA! JAPAN. Retrieved 13 March 2016.
  17. ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iyq4ukwgZgA
  18. ↑ http://e-girls-ldh.jp/news/detail.php?id=1035177
  19. 1 2 "DISCOGRAPHY｜E-girls（イー・ガールズ） OFFICIAL WEBSITE". E-girls（イー・ガールズ） OFFICIAL WEBSITE. Retrieved 10 March 2015.
  20. 1 2 "DISCOGRAPHY｜E-girls（イー・ガールズ） OFFICIAL WEBSITE". E-girls（イー・ガールズ） OFFICIAL WEBSITE. Retrieved 10 March 2015.
  21. 1 2 "E-girls album ranking" (in Japanese). Oricon. Retrieved 2013-04-25.
  22. ↑ ゴールド等認定作品一覧　2013年4月 [Works Receiving Certifications List (Gold, etc) (April 2013)]. RIAJ (in Japanese). 2013-05-10. Retrieved 2013-05-14.
  23. ↑ ゴールドディスク認定作品一覧　2014年3月 [Works Receiving Certifications List (Gold, etc) (March 2014)]. RIAJ (in Japanese). 2014-04-10. Retrieved 2014-04-10.
  24. ↑ ゴールドディスク認定作品一覧　2015年1月 [Works Receiving Certifications List (Gold, etc) (January 2015)]. RIAJ (in Japanese). 2015-02-11. Retrieved 2015-02-11.
  25. ↑ ゴールドディスク認定作品一覧　2016年2月 [Works Receiving Certifications List (Gold, etc) (February 2016)]. RIAJ (in Japanese). 2016-02-11. Retrieved 2016-04-16.
  26. ↑ "オリコンランキング情報サービス「you大樹」". Oricon. Retrieved 9 February 2011. (subscription only)
  27. ↑ "E-GirlsのCDシングルランキング │オリコン芸能人事典-ORICON STYLE" (in Japanese). Oricon. Retrieved 2014-03-08.
  28. ↑ "Hot 100｜JAPAN Charts｜Billboard JAPAN" (in Japanese). Billboard.
  29. ↑ Shiso (2011-11-02). "E-Girls to release their 1st single "Celebration"". tokyohive. 6Theory Media, LLC. Retrieved 2012-09-12.
  30. ↑ ustar (17 March 2012). "E-Girls reveal cover jackets + track list + preview for 2nd single, "One Two Three"". tokyohive. 6Theory Media, LLC. Retrieved 2012-09-12.
  31. ↑ Shiso (11 August 2012). "E-Girls’ new single "Follow Me" to be released in October". tokyohive. 6Theory Media, LLC. Retrieved 2012-09-12.
  32. 1 2 レコード協会調べ　11月度有料音楽配信認定 [Record Association Investigation: November Digital Music Download Certifications] (in Japanese). Recording Industry Association of Japan. 20 December 2013. Retrieved 11 June 2015.
  33. ↑ レコード協会調べ　10月度有料音楽配信認定 [Record Association Investigation: October Digital Music Download Certifications] (in Japanese). Recording Industry Association of Japan. 20 November 2015. Retrieved 20 November 2015.
  34. ↑ Shiso (13 January 2013). "E-girls reveals the details on their 4th single". tokyohive. 6Theory Media, LLC. Retrieved 2013-01-13.
  35. ↑ Shiso (25 February 2013). "E-girls release the short ver. PV for "CANDY SMILE" + announce their 1st album". tokyohive. 6Theory Media, LLC. Retrieved 2013-02-25.
  36. ↑ レコード協会調べ　1月度有料音楽配信認定 [Record Association Investigation: January Digital Music Download Certifications] (in Japanese). Recording Industry Association of Japan. 28 February 2014. Retrieved 11 June 2015.
  37. ↑ レコード協会調べ　7月度有料音楽配信認定 [Record Association Investigation: July Digital Music Download Certifications] (in Japanese). Recording Industry Association of Japan. 20 August 2014. Retrieved 11 June 2015.
  38. ↑ レコード協会調べ　5月度有料音楽配信認定 [Record Association Investigation: May Digital Music Download Certifications] (in Japanese). Recording Industry Association of Japan. 19 June 2015. Retrieved 19 June 2015.
  39. ↑ レコード協会調べ　10月度有料音楽配信認定 [Record Association Investigation: October Digital Music Download Certifications] (in Japanese). Recording Industry Association of Japan. 20 November 2014. Retrieved 11 June 2015.
  40. ↑ レコード協会調べ　12月度有料音楽配信認定 [Record Association Investigation: December Digital Music Download Certifications] (in Japanese). Recording Industry Association of Japan. 20 January 2015. Retrieved 11 June 2015.
  41. ↑ レコード協会調べ　1月度有料音楽配信認定 [Record Association Investigation: October Digital Music Download Certifications] (in Japanese). Recording Industry Association of Japan. 19 February 2015. Retrieved 19 February 2015.
  42. ↑ "ミュージックビデオサーチ". Space Shower TV. Retrieved 2015-08-11.
  43. ↑ "Ldh Live Schedule". Exiletribe-perfectyear.com. Retrieved 2015-10-07.
  44. ↑ http://www.ldh.co.jp/eng/news/detail.php?lang=eng&site=Egirls&newsid=0000010140

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