Favoring the bright, affectionate side of pop, AKB48 are an all-female Japanese theater troupe/musical unit. Created by the famous producer Yasushi Akimoto, "AKB" is short for Akihabara, a Tokyo district where the group performs daily in their own theater, and "48" was meant to refer to the number of members in this sizeable squad, although it operates more as an approximation. They made their recording debut with 2008's Set List: Greatest Songs 2006-2007, which collected earlier stage songs. The group then went to number one in Japan with their first proper studio album, 2010's Kamikyokutachi. By 2018, they had released their eighth straight chart-topper, Bokutachi Wa, Ano Hi No Yoake Wo Shitteiru, which continued their tradition of sparkling, warmly accessible J-pop. It was followed by a long string of number one non-album singles, among them 2018's "Teacher Teacher," 2019's "Sustainable," and 2023's "Doushitemo Kimi Ga Suki Da" ("I Really Like You").

Akimoto established AKB48 in 2005 by holding an audition attended by 8,000 participants, who were filtered down to 20; the winners debuted on-stage in 2005 as AKB48's Team A. In 2006, Akimoto teamed up with a telecom firm to produce the world's first ever audition based on mobile-phone-mailed submissions, which attracted close to 12,000 hopefuls, 18 of whom became Team K. The third unit -- naturally, Team B -- followed later the same year. The band debuted with the single "Sakura No Hanabiratachi" (2006), which sold decently for an independent release, and by the third single, "Aitakatta," that same year, they were picked up by DefStar Records, a sublabel of Sony Music.

In 2007, the single "Seifuku Ga Jama Wo Suru" rose to number seven -- then a career high for the group. Their next single, the Top Ten "Keibetsu Shiteita Aijou," approached the subject of school bullying. All in all, 2007 was a busy year for AKB48: they delivered a barrage of big releases, simultaneously cranking out six collections (three by Team A and three by Team K) and a stack of seven stage DVDs (again, by those two teams only). In addition, several of the teens starred in the movie Densen Uta, and the whole group appeared in the mega-popular TV show Kohaku Uta Gassen. The third branch of AKB48 released its own DVD in 2008, when the group also compiled the Set List: Greatest Songs 2006-2007 collection, which cracked Japan's Top 30 upon its release (a 2010 reissue went as high as number two). Inevitably with a cast of this size, the lineup adjusted constantly, with several members "graduating" during this span of time. Undaunted, AKB48 continued to perform and record, releasing singles in 2008 including the Top Three-charting "10nen Zakura." They eventually went all the way to number one in Japan for the first time with 2009's "River" from the album-chart-topping Kamikyokutachi. Their first proper studio LP, it was released on King Records in April 2010.

AKB48 continually returned to the top of the singles and albums charts over the course of the next decade. Their second album, Koko ni Ita Koto, went to number one in June 2011, with 1830m repeating the feat in August 2012. After January 2014's Tsugi No Ashiato returned them to the top of Japan's album chart with a boost from no less than seven number one singles (including the standout smash "Sayonara Crawl"), they went triple platinum with their most popular release to that point, January 2015's Koko Ga Rhodes Da, Koko De Tobe! Their sixth studio album, November 2015's Zero to Ichi no Aida, collected number one hits including "Bokutachi Wa Tatakawanai," and January 2017's Thumbnail was highlighted by the orchestrated adult contemporary outing "Tsubasa WaIranai," which, like many of their hits, received multiple version releases. They had their eighth straight Japanese number one album with January 2018's Bokutachi Wa, Ano Hi No Yoake Wo Shitteiru.

It would be several years before AKB48 would deliver another full-length release, but they continued to issue chart-topping singles on King Records in the form of 2018's "Teacher Teacher" and 2019's "Sustainable." Registered as the band's 60th career single, October 2022's "Hisashiburi No Lip Gloss" still went to number one. Not done yet, they returned with "Doushitemo Kimi Ga Suki Da" in early 2023. ~ Marcy Donelson & Alexey Eremenko