It was revealed on January 31st that the formation of an official rival group of the popular female idol group “Nogizaka46” was decided. Recruitment of members will start on February 1st.
“Ligareaz Management”, which was established last fall, will hold “Nogizaka46 Official Rival Audition” as the first step of the “Ganbare! Nippon Idol” project. Females between the ages of 12 and 22 are eligible to apply. The application period is until February 18th, after which a nationwide large-scale audition will be held over several months, and the final selection is scheduled for April 22nd. It is said that they will discover the gemstones of the idols who will lead the next generation and aim for a major debut this summer from Avex Entertainment.
Nogizaka46 was formed in August 2011 as an official rival group of AKB48, which was at the height of its popularity at the time, and debuted under Sony Music Entertainment. This year, 12 years later, their own official rival group is finally born. Like the AKB48 group and Nogizaka46, this new group will also be produced by Yasushi Akimoto.
According to the people concerned, like Nogizaka46, who was born as an official rival of AKB48, they aim to pursue a big back and liven up Japanese idol culture together someday. Based on the idea of “I want to raise Nogizaka46, an idol that represents Japan, as my goal,” rather than being a “bachibachi” rival, I will be conscious and emphasize a relationship that “kudos each other” with respect.
Recruitment of members will be carried out by applying from a special site and public scouting by posting video application TikTok. In the idol world, where not only “Sakamichi” groups such as Nogizaka46, but also K-POP are emerging and diversifying, attention will be paid to whether she can become a new supernova from Japan.
