Bis (Japanese idol group)

The formation of Bis came about in late 2010 when Pour Lui, a solo artist known as a "new-age rock icon", announced her intention to retire as a singer and instead form an idol group, for which she would personally audition members.[3] The new four-member group Bis made its debut on the indie record label Tsubasa Records with the free digital single, "Taiyou no Jumon" (太陽のじゅもん).[4] Then, in March 2011, they released the album Brand-new idol Society, which included "Taiyou no Jumon" and a cover of "One day", a song originally by Pour Lui.[5]

After the release of Brand-new idol Society, Rina Yokoyama left the group due to a disagreement over the increasingly "un-idol" like direction the group was taking. As a three-member unit, they released the single "My Ixxx", which gained notoriety due to its music video in which the members appear to be completely naked.[6] After this, Yufu Terashima joined the group as a new fourth member.[7] The single "Nerve" (a song originally featured on the Brand-new idol Society album) followed in October.[8] The design of the "Nerve" packaging is censored due to copyright issues, incorporating what is implied to be a spin on the logo of "NERV" as featured in the anime franchise Neon Genesis Evangelion. Their third CD single, "Primal.", an emotional rock song, was released on 21 December.[9] That month, at Bis' solo concert "Idol is Dead", Yukiko Nakayama announced her intention to graduate from the group.[10] Bis responded by releasing the song "Tofu", a free digital download, intended as a diss track for Nakayama.

2012 saw Bis, a three-member group for the second time, announce a new single, to be titled "Idol" (アイドル (aidoru)) and featuring a change in image.[11] It was advertised with the tagline "Let's buy the same CD over and over again", referring to the marketing technique used by the management of idol groups to encourage fans to purchase several copies of a CD single. Before the single's release, the music video for "Idol" was uploaded to Bis' official YouTube channel and was met with criticism; the once shocking, punk rock Bis were singing a very typical cute idol song, wearing maid outfits and simpering. However, this video (with its deliberate parody of idol groups) was revealed to be a joke at the expense of their fans. It was then made private and a new video for a different song, titled "Idol", was released. "Idol"'s metal-inspired sound was strongly different from the exaggerated cuteness of "Idol". Both songs were eventually released on the HMV-exclusive CD single in April, the group's last release on an indie label.

Bis were signed to the major label Avex Trax in mid-2012, and auditioned for new members to join the group.[12] This led to the initiation of Yurika Wakisaka and Rio Michibayashi, giving Bis a total of five members. Their first release with Avex was the July single "PPCC" (an acronym standing for the onomatopoeic phrase "pero-pero chu-cchu", meaning "lick-lick kiss-kiss"), and a horror film about and starring the group, titled "Idol is Dead", was released in the same year.[13] The film did not feature Wakisaka or Michibayashi, having been filmed before their debut. October 2012 saw the release of their first major album, Idol Is Dead, which featured seven new songs, "PPCC", a cover of Shinichi Osawa's "Our Song" in a shoegaze style, and re-recordings of several of their tracks as an indie group.[14] It charted at #30 on the Oricon weekly charts, and was their highest-ranking release so far in their career. Around the same time, a short anime series about Bis titled "Backstage idol Story" aired on Space Shower TV.[15]

2013's first release by Bis was "Get You", a collaborative effort released with the idol group Dorothy Little Happy.[16] In March came "BiSimulation" and the intention of Yurika Wakisaka to depart from the group due to health issues.[17] Yurika was the center for the single, with a limited edition version of its CD including a photobook of her and the music video for its B-side "Hide Out Cut" devoted to documenting her time in the group. Yufu Terashima departed soon after, although her split from the group was a less amicable one: Pour Lui openly writes in "BiStory: Who Killed Idol?", her autobiographical account of Bis, that she strongly dislikes Terashima.[18]

Three new members entered the group after this: First Summer Uika, Tentenko, and Saki Kamiya.[19] In June, this lineup of Bis released the single "Die" (featuring a B-side produced by Noriaki Tsuda of Kemuri).[20] It reached number 6 in Oricon's weekly charts, marking Bis' first time in the top ten. As Bis Kaidan, they also released a harsh noise album.[21] The group also appeared in Dempagumi.inc's music video for their song W.W.D II, apart from this, they had joint concerts and a single 'Denden Passion / Idol', this release was only sold at concerts.[22] On August 15, Rio Michibayashi announced her departure from the group.[23] A double A-side single titled "Fly / Hi" was released to commemorate her departure.[24]

In October, with the nationwide tour "Bis After All" approaching and faced with the departure of Michibayashi, Bis announced that a "JK" would be joining the group as a new member. "JK" is understood in Japanese as a shorthand slang term for "joshi kousei", meaning a female high school student. But instead, the new member turned out to be Junko Koshino, a famous fashion designer who is 74 years old.[25] She was an active member of the group for just one week, and was appointed an honorary lifelong member on the 5th of November. On the 10th, Megumi Koshouji made her debut as the new 6th member of Bis.[26] The group then set out on the first dates of their tour and worked towards their goal of disbanding at Budokan.

January 2014 saw Bis release the single "Stupig", a digital hardcore track produced by Takeshi Ueda of AA= and The Mad Capsule Markets.[27] A sequel to their film "Idol is Dead", titled "Idol is Dead: Non-chan's Great Propaganda War" was released. The release of Bis' album Who Killed Idol?, advertised as their last as a group, took place on the March 5.[28] The album includes a sequel to their classic song "Primal." called "Primal.2" and also a cover of "Primal." by The Yellow Monkey. On February 12, it was announced the group gave up on their goal of disbanding at Nippon Budokan, and that instead they would disband on July 8, at Yokohama Arena, with a concert titled 'Bis Nari no Budokan' (Budokan a la BiS).[29] Members have stated that they were left with no choice but to give up the Budokan, due to some "important people" of the venue condemning Bis' wild antics as inappropriate for the venue. They started their last tour from April 13 to June 29, called "The Bis Who Sold the World Tour", which was later extended to June 30, due to tickets selling out. On April 30, a special edit for the music video of "Final Dance", which is an A-side of their last single, was released onto YouTube.[30] Their final best-of album, "Urya-Oi!!!" was released on July 2.[31] Tracks from "Give me your love all" to "Fly" were re-recorded with the vocals of the current six members, most of them with updated instrumentals. They also conducted a joint gig with experimental visual-kei band Sug on June 25.[32]

Bis concluded their "The Bis Who Sold the World" tour at the Sapporo Bessie Hall on June 30, and went on to perform their disbandment concert at the Yokohama Arena on July 8. The concert was the longest ever performed by the group, consisting of 48 songs (including guest appearances by former members Rio Michibayashi, Rina Yokoyama and Yukiko Nakayama). Nearly every song released by the group was performed, and the setlist was composed so that newer songs were performed first and older songs were performed last. At the end of the concert, the future paths of each of the members were announced: First Summer Uika and Nozomi Hirano would form Billie Idle; Saki Kamiya would form Pla2me with Mari Mizuta; Megumi Koshouji would form Maison Book Girl; Tentenko would start a solo/DJ career; Pour Lui would continue to perform with Lui Frontic Matsukuma Japan. In addition, in classic Bis style, a concert by "Ex. Bis" was announced for the next day at the Shimokitazawa Shelter. Tickets were exclusively 30,000 yen, including an "all you can eat buffet" (revealed on the day to be McDonald's). This July 9 show marked the true end of Bis.

It was announced in January 2015 that Junnosuke Watanabe, along with members of the team that initially conceived Bis would be putting together a successor group Bish. Auditions were held and the group made their debut in March.[33]

Billie Idle held a concert titled "Brand-new Idle Society" on December 12, 2015, which also featured Pop, Maison Book Girl, Lui Frontic Akabane Japan and Tentenko. Following this, a joint tour of the former Bis members' groups titled the "Anarchy Tour" was announced for February~March 2016, concluding with a show at the Hibiya Yagai Ongakudo on April 29 titled "Idle is Dead!?".[34]

Exactly two years after Bis' disbandment, it was announced by former Bis leader Pour Lui, sound producer Kenta Matsukuma and former manager Junnosuke Watanabe, that Bis would reform under a new lineup, and auditions were going to be held. Pour Lui was the only member from the previous incarnation of Bis to be part of the line up, although former members were welcome to take part in the auditions.[35] As a new beginning to Bis, a Pour Lui solo song titled "BisBis" was released through OTOTOY as a free download.

On August 30, 2016, the Bis YouTube channel uploaded videos of eleven audition finalists: Koshouji Megumu, Maina The End, Tontonko, Bug Me, Nagayama Yukiko, Yokoyama Hina, Michihayashi Rio, Terayama Yufu, Cent Chihiro Tsuttsu, Second Summer Uika, and Hirano Nozomu.

The finalists participated in a four-day audition which was live-streamed on Niconico, following a similar format to Morning Musume's initial auditions on the TV show ASAYAN.

This audition resulted in the addition of Maina The End, Koshouji Megumu, Yokoyama Hina, and Nagayama Yukiko, who adopted the stage names of Kika Front Frontale, Aya Eightprince, Go Zeela, and Peri Ubu, respectively. Peri Ubu was allowed to join on the condition that she finish a bowl of curry made with jolokia hot sauce.[36]

The five-member incarnation of the group released their first album, Brand-new idol Society 2, in late 2016. The album consists mostly of re-recorded Bis hit songs, but also includes five new tracks.[37]

The reformed Bis, named in official materials as the "Brand-new BiS", released their second album, Re:Stupid in February.[38]

It was announced at the same time that an audition would be held for all groups managed by WACK (Watanabe Artistic Creative Kabushikigaisha, a management company formed by Watanabe Junnosuke after the disband of Bis to manage Kamiya Saki's group Pla2me), and Pour Lui and Aya Eightprince joined the audition bootcamp as representatives of Bis. The three-day audition concluded with a performance from each group involved, and the results were announced - Pan Luna Leafy and Momoland were added to Bis, while two other successful applicants were selected for a collaborative project between WACK and major label Avex Trax, known as Project aW.[39] It was also announced that Aya Eightprince and former Bis member Kamiya Saki would trade places, with Aya moving to Gang Parade and Saki returning to Bis. This lineup of Bis released the single "Socialism" at the end of May.[40]

At the same time, leader Pour Lui began to appear in a series of videos on the Bis YouTube channel named "Diet or Die", a documentary series showing Pour Lui attending the popular personal fitness gym Rizap in order to lose weight. The first episode of the series states that if she fails to meet a target weight, she will have to pay for the cost of the course herself. However, later in the series, Pour Lui gains rebound weight, and is instructed to lose it under threat of being suspended from Bis. When she is unable to do so, Watanabe announces his decision to suspend Lui from all Bis activities, including an upcoming one-man concert at Akasaka Blitz. The video then appears to show Pour Lui hiding her face, tearfully apologising to fans.

The now-deleted video generated an outrage from fans and non-fans alike, accruing several thousand dislikes in the space of a week and earning coverage on news sites including HuffPost.[41] In response to the backlash, Pour Lui and Watanabe recorded a song titled "Best Friend" together, in which they apologise to fans for taking advantage of them, and thanking HuffPost for spreading the group's name. However, Pour Lui was still under suspension, and did not appear with Bis until October 6, at their "Idol is Dead" concert. The concert began with a 6-member Bis performing together, but during five consecutive performances of the song "Paprika", Kamiya Saki called out for Pour Lui to join them on stage.

Bis later released "I Can't Say No!!!!!".[42] At the end of the "IDOL is DEAD" show, it was announced that Bis would make their second major-label debut, this time from Nippon Crown subsidiary Crown Stones.[43]

On January 6, the group's leader and founding member Pour Lui announced her intention to graduate at the final date of the group's 2nd "Beginning Tour" at Heavy Sick Zero because since Bis got a major-label deal recently, that the group does not need her and she no longer needed them either. Her last show was held at the Ryogoku Kokugikan Sumo Arena on March 4, 2018.[44]

On February 20, Aya Eightprince returned from her rental period in Gang Parade, rejoining the group for their debut single from Crown Stones, "Whole Lotta Love / Dipromise", released March 7, 2018. Kamiya Saki's last performance with Bis before being returned to Gang Parade was held on the 3rd of March, however, the end of the trade period was not made official until the ending ceremony at the March 4th Ryogoku Kokugikan show. "Whole Lotta Love" became the first Bis song not to feature any original members, while "Dipromise" is the last Bis recording to feature Pour Lui and Kamiya Saki.[45]

In the middle of March, an audition was held to find new members for Bis, Bish, Gang Parade, and the newly debuted Empire. This resulted in a major overhaul to the way Bis operates: the group would be split into two teams, named Bis 1st and Bis 2nd. Bis 1st featured current members Go Zeela and Pan Luna Leafy, plus new members Nel Nehru (formerly Orangeko Vampire) and Toriaez Hana (formerly Cent Chihiro Tette). Bis 2nd featured Kika Front Frontale, Peri Ubu, Aya Eightprince, with new members Mewclub (formerly Choushouji Megumi) and Muropanako (formerly Ayuna C). Yuina Empire, a member of Empire, was given a permanent transfer to Bis 2nd.[46] The lineup did not take effect until a new tour in June. A new single, "Don't miss it!!", was announced for release on July 4, in three versions: Bis 1st released two limited-edition versions of the single, featuring bonus footage of the "Who Killed Idol?" show at Ryogoku Kokugikan, while Bis 2nd released a CD-only version.[47]

Momoland was originally intended to debut as part of Bis 1st, along with a new member using the temporary stage name Gamiya Saki, but due to both members choosing to leave Bis before the release of "Don't Miss It!!", Bis 1st consisted of four members. This system was referred to as "Bis.League", and the top four members voted for by fans were to make up future iterations of Bis 1st.

On April 18, Momoland did not appear at Bis' scheduled show, sending a message to the other members that read "I can't go today." She did not respond to contact and the show was held with five members. On April 20, it was announced that Momoland would leave Bis, due to physical and mental exhaustion. The rest of Bis' "I Don't Know What Will Happen Tour" was held with five members until the new members debuted in June.[48]

In November 2018, Bis released "Against the Pain", their second single under the Bis.League system. Bis 1st (Go Zeela, Toriaez Hana, Aya Eightprince, and Pan Luna Leafy) released it in the form of a collector's box edition limited to 1,000 copies, while Bis 2nd released it as a single CD. "Against the Pain" also contained voting tickets for the Bis.League system, and voting continued until December 24.

After the voting period for "Against the Pain" had ended, the results were announced at the final date of the "I Don't Know What Will Happen Tour": Bis 1st was to consist of Go Zeela, Aya Eightprince, Kika Front Frontale and Peri Ubu, while Pan Lunaleafy, Mewclub, Nel Nehru, Yuina Empire, Muropanako, and Toriaez Hana were placed in Bis 2nd.[49] However, manager Watanabe announced that the Bis.League system would be abolished for the next single, and all 10 members were to perform on it. Despite this, five members were designated for assignment: Aya Eightprince, Yuina Empire, Muropanako, Toriaez Hana, and Nel Nehru. The future of these members in Bis was to be decided by the sales figures of the new Bis single, "Are You Ready?", released in March.[50] It was announced that "Are You Ready?" was to be used as the ending theme for the anime show Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS from April onwards.[51]

On January 1, 2019, Nel Nehru announced her immediate departure from Bis, bringing the number of members DFA to four.[52] The nine-member Bis went on to promote "Are You Ready?" with a 69-hour release event consisting of song performances, fan interaction and merchandise sales, and sleeping on stage.[53] The single charted at 2nd place, the highest position for a Bis single to date, but the four members designated for assignment were still sent to participate in a week-long WACK audition bootcamp.

During the bootcamp, Aya Eightprince, Yuina Empire, Toriaez Hana, Muropanako, Mayu Empire (of Empire) and Ayuni D (of Bish), were each assigned to lead a team of new audition candidates. On day four of the camp, it was announced that any Bis member to be eliminated from the auditions would also lose her place in Bis. On day four, Aya Eightprince was eliminated. On the morning of day six, Toriaez Hana lost a sit-up challenge to avoid elimination and was subsequently eliminated.

The results of the audition were publicly announced on the March 30 at the free WACK Exhibition event where Bis performed with the eliminated members. They announced that the 9 members of the group unanimously agreed to disband Bis for the second time rather than continue with members missing.[54] The final concert of Bis' 2nd generation was held on the 11th of May, the final date of their "Are you ready to go?" tour.[55]

Auditions were held in April to find members for a third iteration of the group. One month after the second generation's disbandment the third feneration members: Manako Chiii Manako, Chantmonkee, Neo Trees, Toggy and Itou Musensiteebu, were revealed.[56] Their eyes were obscured until they each reached 15,000 followers on Twitter.

Bis' third generation released their first album, Brand-new idol Society, on August 14.[57] A day before this, Manako Chiii Manako withdrew from the group.[58] A new member, Zuzu Death, was set to join the group in late September however she withdrew before her face was revealed to the public.[59]

The first major single of the third generation, "Dead or a Lime", was released in November.[60] A re-recorded version of Brand-new idol Society came next,[61] followed by their second album Lookie in Early 2020.[62]

• Toggy
• Ito Musensiteebu
• Chantmonkee
• Neo Trees

• Pour Lui
• Nozomi Hirano
• Rina Yokoyama
• Yukiko Nakayama
• Yufu Terashima
• Yurika Wakisaka
• Rio Michibayashi
• Tentenko
• First Summer Uika
• Saki Kamiya
• Megumi Koshouji

• Pour Lui
• Saki Kamiya
• Momoland
• Nel Nehru
• Kika Front Frontale
• Peri Ubu
• Go Zeela
• Pan Lunaleafy
• Muropanako
• Mewclub
• Yuina Empire
• Aya Eightprince
• Toriaez Hana

• Manako Chiii Manako
• Zuzu Death